Writer: Steve Pugh – Penciler: Phil Winslade – Inker: John Dell – Colorist: Chris Chuckry
Harley Quinnn is my favorite DC villains/morally grey heroes out there, and I was surprised at the direction this comic book took. I loved seeing my favorite three ladies; Harley, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy in an environment I didn’t expect to ever see. so with that introduction lets get into it!
-Story line- Spoiler warning…you’ve been warned…
We start off in normal Harley fashion with a heist of a bejeweled Hyena skull, and she has her pet hyenas helping her. Her witty banter isn’t all there and a cop tries to correct her but she ends up beating the crap out of him. The panels for these scenes are chaotic and they really convey the feeling of being caught stealing something.
Fast forward post heist and Harley is in therapy, and she is introduced to the cop she beat in order to confront the damage she did as Harley Quinn. I love this turn of events, we see Harley getting the help she needs and figuring out how to be healthy.
Then a dome cuts off the supers from their powers and the city from the rest of the world.
This comic honestly reminds me of a Rick and Morty episode because these aliens come to earth and demand that they have Harley fight someone or they will destroy the world. Poison Ivy, and Catwoman come for Harley. But will they be able to get Harley to agree to do what needs to be done once they bring her back? Will she ever get back to where she is before the aliens arrived?
I think this was an interesting twist in Harley’s story, and there was an interesting twist with a dome and the supers losing their powers.
-My Opinions-
So Harley gets healthy and back to a semi normal life just for Catwoman and Poison Ivy to barge in and essentially force her to turn back with a concoction of mental health drugs. I felt so bad for Harley because I can’t imagine getting to where she was an easy task for her. She put in the work and it kind of seemed like it was ripped away from her. Yes, I know, the end of the world in neigh. It’s always the end of the world in Harley Quinn-iverse.
I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy this comic, I’ll be keeping an eye out for the second one to finish the series. But, I felt like this aliens forcing you to compete to the death of your world has been done before and it was done well by Rick and Morty. I just hope that the creators of this comic have a unique spin that I get to see in the second issue.
-The Artwork-
So let’s start with the cover. I’m actually not a huge fan of the cover art on this comic. I prefer the traditional comic book illustrations and these are more realistic. Trying to give realistic faces to made up characters. Which I understand. I think that it could’ve been done differently. I didn’t like the background mainly. I felt like the cover colorist could have done maybe a different color or colors that would have contrasted more with the actual character appearance. I feel like a teal, leaning more towards green while still being blue-ish would’ve worked better, and just made it pop a little more. The comic cover for this is just too much, its too colorful and bright.
The inside art is what I expected, and the colors seem to move well with the story. The panels do a great job of relaying the tones of the scene.