Retro Review: Joker/Mask #1

Published in 2000

Story: Henry Gilroy and Ronnie del Carmen

Pencils: Ramon F. Bachs

Inker: Howard M. Shum

Colours: Dave McCaig

Letters: Steve Dutro

Cover: Ramon F. Bachs

This is one of my favourite DC cross overs. I love Harley Quinn, I really enjoyed The Mask movie.. I came to learn that the comic wasn't very close in nature to the movie adaption at all but I still enjoy it.

Now this particular comic is a nice mix of Jim Carey style Mask and the more relationshippy Joker and Harley - kind of like how they were written in their visit to Metropolis to poke fun at another bald guy in a suit. 

Gotham's first mistake was holding an event. No, it doesn't matter that it's at the Gotham City Museum of Art, or that it's a kid's night or even an exhibition about masks... any exhibition or event in Gotham is basically a gilded invitation to any criminal scum in the area.

You think I'm kidding? Man, Penguin turned up to the opening of a new pet store, someone opened a new pack of cards, there was the Riddler and Catwoman was seen at an envelope opening.....

They're out of control man.

Anyway, here's the titular Mask making an appearance, along with.....

Harley, Joker and Snucky! Wait, Snucky? Who's that? Apparently an aspiring pro-football player in Joker's gang and the only one to make it to the museum instead of the mausoleum.
As it turns out, Joker is here not to steal masks or because he knows what power The Mask holds -  no, he wants to destroy the collection of frowny clown masks.

Batman: Harley and Ivy #2

Jungle Fever July 2004

This issue opens up with a TV news short about the situation in Costa Verde.

Oooh, foreshadowing!

You remember that place, right? That's where the Zombie Root came from and also where our plucky pair were headed. The very next page is a full spread of.. um, Ivy's full spread after a guard throws her against the wall in prison.

It's definitely one way to open a comic, but not absolutely necessary to have the girls once again in a prison bathroom, this time in their knickers. Sometimes I wonder what guys really think happens in prison for women but it's not "all sexy all the time". Methinks they doth watch specific porn too much.



Also, like my gripe with the first issue, people keep touching Poison Ivy's bare skin and not breaking out in hives/rashes/dying violently! Probably doesn't matter because the body count in this comic is pretty high without her killer touch but still.

Hell, like the sewer this bathroom is gross as. I'm sure Ivy could manufacture something killer in two seconds flat. However, there is still Harley to contend with. A classic moment where she is underestimated and then absolutely creams her opposition .. with a plunger, no less.

The other annoying thing about this scene is that they appear to have gone out of their way to make the guards look like ugly men.





The violence is spectacular in this scene and the guards definitely have it coming but it's still pitting the pretty, young, half naked women against the overly butch, clothed, ugly women as if we didn't already know who we're supposed to be rooting for.

After taking down the guards, the girls have to avoid some heavy gun fire which I think has just been used to open the door.. they're told to go outside as the president wants to see them. So... if the president is there, were guns really necessary?

Suicide Squad New52: #14

Where we last left off, Deadshot shot himself dead.. oh hey look at that.
**laughs for ten minutes complete with knee slapping and near choking**
H'oh boy. That was good. Aaaahh... I needed that before I get into....

"Running with the devil" Jan 2013

Yeah anyway, that happened so now we have another tie in comic! This time it's for Death of the Family - a Joker-centric cross over instead of just Resurrection Man (which I still haven't read, I really hope it keeps the editors awake at night!!)

By the power of greyscale!

Yikes. That's so not right. 

The cover is standard for this event, obviously with different faces depending on which comic you read. It really bothers me how Harley seems to have a more greeny-teal colour to her eyes and a friggin' Glasgow and or Chelsea smile. Also no neck. Good luck eating anything, you clown.

Anyway, somehow the Squad is allowed out of their cells to attend a funeral for Deadshot. I see his family isn't present though. It couldn't have been too short notice though because Harley's had time to go shopping for a funeral corset. Between that and the fact that the angel looks an awful lot like Adam of He-Man fame.. I sure don't know what to make of this funeral.

I mean, damn! I love to dabble in buckles and fishnets but that outfit is the kind of thing super Goths would look at and say whoa man, don't you think you should tone it down a little?
Where would she even FIND that? Did she make it? If so, good gravy why? Where's her belly button? Was her make-up shithouse and runny before she started crying? Why does Harley Quinn wear inappropriate attire to every funeral she attends since the whole New52 thing started?

Predictably - every graveside visit must be followed by rain. This time, it's green rain. Ooh, I wonder what THAT means? A low rent rip off of The Last Laugh? A 'surprise' cameo that no one will be surprised about? Terrible characterisation between Joker and Harley? All of the above?

Yep.

Clown thugs get fatter, Joker gets skinnier. 

Retro Review: Harley Quinn #17 - #1 Am The Loneliest Number

Even if you're not a fan of the original Harley Quinn run, you have to admit that the covers are completely ace.

The only issue I could really nitpick is that Ivy - while extremely buxom and bordering on only wearing leafy pasties - has a really.. really small waist. That and her shoes look kinda dorky. But like I said, that's being picky. I love that both bad girls have attempted to beat poor, oblivious Bizarro with gusto, but he is happily enjoying their company and I really like the candy hearts background done Bizarro style - it is a nice touch.

Now, last issue we say Harley zipping away on her pilfered jet pack only to be stopped by a red and blue blur - suspected to be Superman but revealed to be Bizarro!
Harley's internal Harley pops up again to explain why Superman couldn't cameo himself - but sets it up in a way that leaves a bit of intrigue.

The nice thing about Internal Harley is that she's cute, funny and is a useful replacement for the stock standard editor notes. Have I mentioned I'm not really a fan of editor's notes? Eh, probably not.

The credits box here reminds me a lot of The Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials where they edit the names to be a bit more thematic.. it's not obnoxiously done and you can easily read the comic without taking note of this but if you notice it it's a fun little Easter Egg of sorts.

Even if you aren't too familiar with Bizarro's origins, you can easily pick it up without feeling like you're being given the Cliff Notes versions of the superheroes/villains backstory.
It also gives the idea that Harley is at the moment, completely nutso so Internal Harley is basically not an imaginary construct but her rational mind giving her a heads up.

Honestly I much prefer this to the 'split personality' thing they gave us in Suicide Squad. Harley is Harley - that's why her rational self is also dressed like a harlequin because she doesn't see herself as being part crazy skank and part rational boring psychiatrist - she is who she is without being a cliche split personality. I mean, Joker may have seduced her but I think it would take someone who's already a little bit off the rails to fully embrace the villain lifestyle, even if she's not an all out villain villain.

Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica #5

Almost at the end now. Last issue was basically just filled with tweenage shenanigans instead of the initial plot they were trying to run with so hopefully this one will remember the whole purpose to this stupid cross over and get with the program.

Ooh, look, they managed to put out a cover that DOESN'T involve cheerleaders in any major way! *

*There still is a cheerleader costume here but it's not the focus point. 






I'm probably jaded but the second cover is just making ME think of road safety regulations. I'm also wondering why Harley is not the one driving. Probably so she can show off her thong more.
Yeah, didn't we get quite enough of that in the Rocksteady Arkham-verse?



Anyway, these covers are the best we've had for a while in this series, even if Archie is crammed in there like 'totally still in this comic guys! please buy it!' and Hartly and Ronivy are just.. shoved in as an after thought shaped like a stinky fart. It's a bit bizarre.

(It also looks like they're running from a bunch of goblins shooting stars at them?)

Especially when - yup - these are adult women in teenage bodies mackin' on some teenage boy.
Archie looks uncomfortable... everyone should feel uncomfortable about this. That said, the eyes are nice on that cover, in a lifeless kind of way.

Also - brush your hair Ivyca, you feral.

Gotham City Sirens #7

Gotham City Sirens turn Holiday Story on us when we see Catwoman wailing on some jerks in Santa costumes. She laughs it off to the new Batman (Dick Grayson) but her bravado hides that little bit of fear we saw in the fight scene - she's still concerned about her heart.

Dick asks if the other sirens are staying out of trouble and Selena mentions that because the shelter was damaged recently, Ivy has gone to Central America and Harley is visiting family. Dick's pretty surprised as he can't picture her sitting around being jolly with family. What a weird thing to say, come to think of it. I mean, yeah, the new Hardly Quinn murder-go-round sex doll would be a weird, uncomfortable person to have around a Christmas tree, but sweet ol' pre-Flashpoint/New fifty-poo Harley Quinn?

Robin (Damian) busts in the room angry as hell, calls Selena a tramp, calls Dick a lazy douche and storms off, warning he;s going to take the Batmobile if Dick holds him up more than two minutes.
At least no one's surprised about THAT characterisation.

The other weird thing is when they do that obligatory holiday special thing where they cheers to friends who can't be there with them. 

So, Brucie is a given, but Alfred? Alfred just served you a drink two seconds ago, Dick! He's probably outside in the hall crying his butlery eyes out, man! Also not sure if that's meant to be Catwoman's semi-side kick Holly Robinson in the middle or if it's Jenna the Carpenter. Is the baby Catwoman's from that random side story she had once? Ivy looks pissed about being in the fire. That's fair enough. 

Moving over to Central America - Ivy is relaxed, footloose and fancy free in a jungle. Also clothes free, but that's fine because she can manipulate plant censors like a Disney Princess entrances small animals to do her bidding. 

She's wondering why they hell she doesn't just live here instead of the stagnant filth hole Gotham. 

It's a fair question.

Suicide Squad New 52 #13

These busy covers aren't working for me. Boy, I remember when Harley Quinn used to have eyeballs. Those were the days.

Dead End

Where we last left off, the squad had been infiltrated (off screen, of course.) so Deadshot shoots Black Spider so Harley and he can make a run for it.

They're really pushing the romance thing. I read this and I get the impression Black Spider is being condescending to Harley, but Deadshot sees it as him trying to get all ninja on his pasty vaguely clown-like boner-trigger.

Well, that's a sentence I've only ever used twice before. Interesting.

Harley has gotten a bit better at running (well, she couldn't get worse - surely!) and Deadshot justifies his murdering of Black Spider by telling Harley that it wasn't actually Black Spider. He wasn't sure until he shot him though. I wonder how that'd hold up in court?

Judge: Deadshot, you're accused of shooting Bob Smith. How do you plead?
Deadshot: Not guilty, your honour. You see, I couldn't have killed Bob because the real Bob would have dodged the bullet. Yeah. Totally a Basilisk plant. 
Judge: .....What?

Back to the Amanda Waller Show - Black Spider has been posing for who knows how long with a knife to Gramma Waller's throat, then has the audacity to ask Waller if they're going to bother with niceties or if he's going to actually do his job. What a good question... but not very well thought out given the scenario.

Batman Ninja

Here's another version of Harley Quinn but set in feudal Japan as part of Batman: Ninja - an upcoming animated feature involving the Batman cast being transported to that era for some reason.
Actually, I keep reading that in the limited descriptions around but I'm not sure if the story is going to be ABOUT them all being sent to this Japan stage or if it's just an Elseworlds type story where Batman is established as a ninja already because that's who he is in this timeline.

Personally, I think it's going to be the latter and that would make for a much better story in my opinion but we'll see where they go with it.

There is super hype around a Harley Quinn/Catwoman fight but I can even look past the Catwoman obligatory ass shot because the fight looks amazing already!

They seem to have her doing her licky thing again though..

Between Maggot Robbie and New52 Harley Quinn, I feel like they're trying their best to be the whole VMA Miley Cyrus thing all over again. No one understood it then, no one likes it now.
STOP LICKING THINGS ALL THE TIME.

Batman: Harley and Ivy #1

Today I thought we'd take a trip down memory lane and look back at the classic three part Harley and Ivy mini series.

1/3 June 2004 'Bosum Buddies'

Script: Paul Dini
Pencils: Bruce Timm
Inks: Shane Glines
Colours: Lee Loughridge

Now the cover art is classic Bruce Timm - cartoony, kind of caricature like figures that are over exaggerated but work well in their animated like setting. Sometimes it gets a bit much like here, where the gals look like they're squeezed into tube like corsets and Harley Quinn looks a lot bigger than Poison Ivy. Naturally, in the main stream comics Ivy was always depicted as more of a voluptuous seductress but in the animated series, they went with making her more garden-pixie like for the most part. Especially when it came to the new animated series.

But, the cover is definitely eye catching, humorous, the colours are beautiful and basically, it sums up the character's relationship pretty well.

Opening on Harley and Ivy scaling a wall in anticipation of stealing a rare zombie root prior to it's exhibition the next day, their plan falls apart when it's discovered that they were a day early. Nevertheless they manage to pilfer the item in front of a  startled mass of hoity toity types.

Unfortunately, and somewhat predictably... a Mr. Wayne happens to be amongst this crowd.

Now I'm re-reading this issue, I'm questioning why Ivy just took Harley's word for it that the Botanical Society was showing this item on a certain date. I mean, is it likely that Ivy hadn't heard of some plant related exhibition and hadn't thoroughly researched and plotted their plan?






Not in my eyes, no but I suppose there wouldn't be much of comics if logic lead the way.