I don’t flatter myself by thinking that the authors of the titles I cover actually read my reviews consistently.
I especially don’t flatter myself by thinking that if they did, they would take any of my constructive criticism to heart and adjust their stories based on my influence.
But when I read the opening panels of this 50th issue of “Harley Quinn”, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that somebody out there is listening.
Harley wakes up this morning with a newfound pragmatism to attend her maintained nobility of purpose. She vows to take things seriously— to quit wasting energy by acting so impulsively. As we see her traipse about Throatcutter Hill, telling every friend and neighbor she meets about her new way of life, we learn the reason for her getting serious: the real Harley Quinn (i.e. the impulsive, chaotic Harley we all know and love) is trapped inside her own psyche, and her higher-order intellect, personified as her Quinntellect, is holding her captive and piloting Harley’s physical body. It’s Harley’s rational intelligence which is actually the source of all this vaguely uncharacteristic pragmatism.
Meanwhile over in the B-plot, the ongoing adventures of venture capitalist vulture Althea Klang are growing more complicated by the issue as she finds herself torn between rage at Harley’s meddling in her Gotham gentrification project and lust after the charming Clown Princess. It’s a campy, cartoonish dilemma, one which Kalan is clearly having fun with.
In case I didn’t make myself clear above, I have long bemoaned Harley’s impulsivity throughout this still relatively new creative run. Of course chaos and impulsivity are hallmarks of the character, but her anti-gentrification mission, however noble, has never exactly been a good fit for Harley given those aspects of her essential nature in my eyes. So this literal imprisonment of hyper-intellectualization is a clever way of still telling an engaging story while both staying true to the character and playing with the reader’s expectations before the reveal.
Italian illustrator Mirka Andolfo makes the Harley Quinn debut. Andolfo is best known for their work on Image’s fantasy romance series “Sweet Paprika”. Their contribution is a perfect fit for an issue delving into more playfully supernatural story elements, and their depictions of this brain-hijacked Harley seamlessly continues the cartoonish expression which the series regulars have established. Andolfo is a welcome addition, providing some of this reviewer’s favorite artistic moments this series has had all year.
As you may have guessed, Harley’s precarious (even for her) psychological situation gets her into a spot of trouble in this issue as the violent crime and exploitation that she is trying to root out inevitably comes out to confront her, and she finds her purely logical self less than prepared for the situation. But, where author Elliot Kalan may previously have wrapped things up neatly and left Harley to learn a lesson and live another day, we get something that has been noticeably missing from this title in recent months: a good old-fashioned cliffhanger! Cliffhangers of course are not necessarily the most innovative methods of engendering suspense in your readers, but it strikes me as a breath of fresh air in the narrative propulsion department.
I think we’re out of the woods on the stale formula of this title. This issue is a solid balance of the creative team trying something new while staying true to what this title has established with Harley’s characterization. I can now more confidently say something I haven’t said for a while in these monthly Harley Quinn reviews: I look forward to next month!
Recommend if…
- You’ve been itching for some cliffhangers from this series instead of neatly wrapped up episodes
- You love the art style of the Power Puff Girls
- You’ve been waiting for the payoff on the Harley vs. Her Own Brain gag
Overall: A fresh new artistic contribution from Mirka Andolfo and another welcome break from script formula from Elliot Kalan elevates what could have been a middling outing to an enjoyable, if predictable, comic experience.
Score: 6.5/10
English (US) · 