Harley Quinn #36

[cyberghostface]

Comments

[kd_the_movie]

if i had known the OG Harley Quinn book was written like this i wouldve picked it up monthly. Its surprisingly character driven.

[janegray]

Most of the stories have extremely depressing endings though.

[tcampbell1000]

This is a strange chapter in Harley's development, that's for sure. I find her practically unrecognizable here: she's not the tragic fangirl of The Animated Series, the lovably extra current incarnation, or an adventurous reinterpretation like in Harleen.

She's... muted. She tells jokes now and then, but they feel almost perfunctory, as if they were sprinkled in after the rest of the material was written. There's a hint of her history when she argues with the window, and we're informed she held a TV station hostage because of their new weatherman, but most of what we see her do and say in these last few issues is simple, straightforward, and functional. It's stuff that Catwoman, the Black Cat, or almost any heroic-antihero character could do. "I put a bug in her bag."

There's something to be said for such an abstract style of adventure story, but I don't think it really delivers what people seem to want most from the character. The later version of Harley, with her always-on persona, steady stream of jokes, and love of attention that rivals her ex's, can sometimes be a bit much, but at least she's distinct for reasons other than the classic costume.

That said, I like the notion that Harley had a "quiet period" after splitting with the Joker and before finding her own feet. That might be worth exploring a bit more in the character's current context.

(Also, the coloring on those arguing-with-herself captions is off: it starts out with putting Quinzel's narration in white and Harley's in red, then switches for no reason and it drives me nuts.)

[tcampbell1000]

(Reads scans of final installment)

Oh.

Uh...

WELL.