This month, officially Tini Howard says goodbye to Gotham City by wrapping up her run on its most colorful character. This last entrance into this chapter of Harley Quinn’s adventures is an extended exercise in duality, one which meticulously wraps up the run’s major plot points while revisiting its major themes of redemption through emotional vulnerability.
It’s Almost Over!
We of course pick up where we last left things with the main title way back in July before the Gotham City Sirens break (check out my review of all four issues!). Harley and Tim, trapped in a crumbling ice tower with a homicidally enraged Mr. Freeze, need to survive with not only themselves intact, but with the sample of Freeze’s frozen chemical compound intact lest all hell freeze over with untold chemical damage. It’s a fairly compelling disaster action sequence, especially considering the additional layer of Robin being trapped in ice for its majority.
In the aftermath of he escape, the GCPD arrive on the scene, Officer Pulaksi’s anti-cape-and-costume task force now closing in on Harley. Harley manages to escape however and, once back in the warm embrace of her beloved Ivy, hatches a plan to repair the legal reputation of Officer Pulaski’s daughter, whose apparent corruption by the influence of Gotham’s villainy is what caused Pulaski to so vehemently have it out for Harley in the first place. Harley hasn’t forgotten about her old pal Maxie Zeus, either, and if this courtroom stunt goes according to plan, his name might just be cleared as well!
Packing both a major action set piece scene and the courtroom episode into one issue certainly sounds like a recipe for an overstuffed issue, but Howard pulls it off with moderately impressive balance. Neither narrative strand is given enough space to truly shine, and so they both fall into some of the trappings of pastiche and generality, but the reader never feels truly cheated. Howard has long ago established Harley as a plucky protagonist who can more than hold her own in any situation she’s thrown into, and Harley’s mission to help people without robbing them of what makes them unique is on display throughout.
Continuing this doubling, both of the major artists featured throughout the run are back for split duties on this issue. The bulk of the action of both settings are handled by Sweeney Boo, while Natacha Bustos is tasked with some interstitial transitional pages, as well as the cold open. I frankly wish the two assignments were flipped. I understand that Boo’s skill set might be more traditionally equipped to handle the big fight scenes, but it’s Bustos’ color palette and expressive characterization that really sells me on the tone of the book. Here’s hoping she’s not saying goodbye to Gotham City.
Looking back on this title, I think Howard surprised me with the consistency of her messaging. I was often found wanting her run to make some sort of editorial decision on exactly what it wants to be, but I do think that this run generally stuck the landing on its central theme: growth must come with sacrifice, but that sacrifice need not be detrimental to what makes you you.
I would like to hope that DC editorial knows what they’re doing when it comes to Ms. Quinn, especially that she is now unequivocally a flagship character for them. I look forward to picking up on this whacky reading momentum.
Score: 7/10
Backup: Harley the Barbarian in: O Kraken, My Kraken!
The Clown Princess dons a loincloth, grabs a talking mallet, and takes to the high seas joining a pirate crew’s eternal struggle against the mighty, magic Kraken in this latest dream-sequence backup. Artist’s Ricardo Federici’s pencils are impressive, and Arif Prianto’s watercolor renderings are absolutely gorgeous, but Alexis Quasarano’s script is muddled and rushed. It’s a down-the-middle decent outing whose greatest feature is the fact that it’s the last we’ll hear of these silly, inconsequential dreams… for now.
Score: 5/10
Recommend if…
- You’ve loved the more 2D artistic efforts on this book and want to see those types of panels one last time
- You believe in Harley’s mission of non-punitive redemption
Overall:
I know that Tini Howard hasn’t had the greatest run of things in the eyes of DC readers, and while I do agree that it’s time for a shakeup, I’ll be missing her take on Harley Quinn. It was never boring!
Overall Score: 6/10
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