knight_moves: (Default)

[personal profile] knight_moves 2023-12-20 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Ehh, this meta feels very corporate? The early Deadpool stuff felt anarchic, like a mad fanboy was on the loose inside the story--he did stuff like uppercut Kitty Pryde out of frame while referencing Street Fighter.



What's Harley really saying? "Harley Quinn sure is a great character, please buy Harley Quinn stuff." She says something that gets bleeped out, gives a censored middle finger (gags that children's cartoon Puss In Boots did), mildly pokes fun at times she was skanked out... it all feels more reverent than punk-rock. She, or rather the writer, is saying there's nothing to her character except a red and black aesthetic--and that's a good thing.

[personal profile] tcampbell1000 2023-12-20 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
The thing is, "Harley wonders who the hell she is given how inconsistent her portrayals have been" is a legitimate self-criticism and a great hook. It's just that it's almost immediately dismissed in favor of "Well, I guess that's not really a problem because I'm awesome in spite of it...oo, or maybe even because of it!" I get that Bruno only had so much space to work with, but this really feels like it should've been a four-issue story arc.

In that context, I wouldn't mind a little feeling good about Harley Quinn at the end, after the character's inconsistencies and issues were more explored and resolved. But in this quickie format, it does all fold down to "Harley is great and we're great for publishing her and you're great for reading her! KEEP READING HER."

(Quite an image, where'd you find that one? Comics do so much self-celebration I figure it's likely to stay useful.)
Edited 2023-12-20 19:20 (UTC)

[personal profile] shadur 2023-12-21 06:11 am (UTC)(link)
It's from the Space Jam movie.

[personal profile] tcampbell1000 2023-12-21 12:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Been a long time since I've actually seen that one!
knight_moves: (Default)

[personal profile] knight_moves 2023-12-22 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
Space Jam.