Saturday 24 March 2018

Batman: Harley and Ivy #3

Aug 2004
"Hooray for Harleywood"


This is by far my favourite cover of the series. The pure joy in Harley's face as she peers into a film strip of Ivy punching Batman is just so in character and it's a great way to set up the comic's premise.

This comic gets around a bit. First issue was mostly set in Arkham/Gotham City, while the second one was in a Costa Rican jungle mainly. This one has come back to a US based location.

Hollywood! Geddit? It's gonna be Harleywood.

So the comic opens with Harley kicking her "Puddin'"'s face with the reveal being it's actually an actor. And a pun on Mark Hamill being the Joker's voice actor, and also being an actor in Star Wars. Not subtle, but passable.



Obviously these two have snuck onto a set and there are no security guards to worry about. Now, the comic is not long enough to go into great background about this but I wanted to mention it because the most recent Harely and Ivy series.. as in "Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica"...
the girls were struggling to get past a butler with a spring of some random plant Ivy was carrying.

This was to go to a high schooler's costume party, no where near on the level of sneaking into a normally security focused work place. Just a bit of perspective.

Okay - here we get a bit of flashback alright and it's mostly focused on the character differences between Harley and Ivy.

This one page expresses what I will always consider the base relationship between these two. It also gives the artist another excuse to cram in some more underwear based scenes.. Look, I'm not gonna lie. I think it's unfortunate. I have no issue if this was a genuine lounging around in comfort-wear situation but when we have Ivy doing her scientist thing who just happens to be playing around with lab equipment and possibly corrosive chemicals in her lacy bra and an unbuttoned shirt, I kinda call bullshit.

True, Ivy probably can't be hurt by the chemicals but like the other two issues where we had a nude shower scene and then a prison shower fight scene where our very first shot is of Ivy's crotch with her legs spread... it just seems like half naked scenes just *because* there are female leads and they saw the chance.
Harley isn't sexualised as much, hell, that looks like me every friggin' morning with my bowl of cereal over my unfortunately stained carpet (wow, that sounded wrong!) watching cartoons.


The exasperation Ivy shows at Harley in regards to her lack of help in this masterplan to me will always be their relationship. Ivy is the straight person, the brains, while Harley is the comic and while smart, is not known for masterminding schemes. This also ties into why I think these two would make a shitty couple, but are good as a duo or friends.



To prevent anyone from getting bored, Ivy strips off, meticulously disrobing a bit per panel and proceeds to have a shower with the door open while having this conversation. This bothered me, sometimes I can't hear my husband while he's in the ensuite shower talking to me in the bedroom, but Ivy has no problems being heard across another room, during as shower, while Harley watches TV.

Here's a scene of Harley, the Jewish underwear Nazi for some reason. 


Anyway, it's thanks to this TV that the plot takes a severe turn when Harley sees a news flash about Harley and Ivy being portrayed in a movie by one woman who looks more like Ivy than Harley and one woman who looks more like Selina than Ivy. Harley's ticked off about her counterpart not looking like her at all instead of the dumb blonde slurs from an even dumber redhead but Ivy is incensed about a supermodel who sells perfume made from rare flowers.


So the pair rock up to a production meeting in Hollywood which is a bit late at night for an industry that I thought often started super early.. but anyway. Maybe it is early morning. I... don't know.



Bruce Timm and Paul Dini do their own little cameo here as downtrodden writers before Harley comes in and starts dissing her plastic surgery counterpart. At least, I assume she's had plastic surgery. I assume even if she hadn't the pair would find some catty way to belittle her like how they were calling them bimbos before. Sistahs are doin' it for themselves, indeed.

Anyway instead of just wreaking justice, they decide to take over the film and skim off the top.



Hot tub shot! This one I have less problem with because there's a lot more emphasis on the character's expressions and driving the plot instead of naked hot tub shenanigans.
Man, if I start getting more search engine based hits to this blog I'm gonna know why!

This goes pretty well until Harley goes OTT with her effects and re-shoots.

Oh look, male objectification!

Business in the front with Ivy, party in the back with Harley getting her heterosexual perv on.
I'm not sure if I should be more concerned with the expression of the man she's ogling BECAUSE he's being ogled or because he doesn't really have eyeballs or any real facial features.

Completely ignoring this abuse of power and open sexual harassment, Ivy instead has concerns with how Harley's running her side of the production (IE using real jewels instead of diamontes for authenticity).

Ivy has a really weird nightmare after relenting to let Harley have one more day of shooting.


Movie inspired, obviously. Then when she wakes up...



I appreciate keeping Harley in pigtails, but the male writers obviously have no idea how uncomfortable sleeping in pigtails is. I would probably liken it to a punch in the face, which Harley also gets here.



The last day of the shoot - predictably - does not go well.
Harley convinces Ivy to play herself and they prepare for the final act.

Harley casually submits the hunky Batman actor she was drooling over to extreme violence in unsafe stunts before running off to join Ivy in the Harleycopter. During the mid air scene, Batman appears and in Harley's eyes, wrecks the shot. Ivy realises this is the real Batman but Harley is lost in the Hollywood merry-go-round, insisting they'll fix everything in post production.

Ivy gets incredibly frustrated with Harley - especially when her fancy suit and poor aim cause the Harleycopter to crash into the dynamite - setting off an epic explosion and resulting in Batman carting their butts back to Arkham.








This next bit was funny the first time I saw it, but now it just makes me think if this is what happened right before Suicide Squad was released. It would explain.. some.. things. 





As it turns out.. much like that inane waste of camera film, the film made some money and Harley was a popular star. It's notable that the comic version was lauded as a parody of overblown action epics.. while the live action Suicide Squad movie.. well, I don't think anyone knows even now what it was trying to be apart from not good. 






We get a nice little epilogue as well, showing Ivy escaping again after Harley's new found direction and fame drives her nuts.



The Short End of the Jester Schtick



Well these comics still hold up - whatever issues we nitpick get waylaid because the art is great, the characterisations are perfect and it's genuinely funny without resorting to lazy jokes.
The visual humour is ace, Ivy retains her 'straight man' role to Harley's shenanigans and eventually loses control of her own scheme when Harley's cinematic vision comes to life.




Towards the end, there's a splash page of entertainment magazines and news articles celebrating Harley's jump to fame and I love all the little touches in there, like one note hidden under the main article header saying ' Gosh help us, why do we love Harley Quinn?" or 'Psycho nut case fruit cake.... star!', 'Former shrink tells all', 'Bat-baby says: "I am Harley's love-child!"' and '"Repent, Harley Quinn!" The unauthorised biography.'

A lot of the shots in the comic are framed really well, especially the last page. The only part that didn't really gel for me (but I know was necessary) was Batman doing his big reveal, then leaping on the Harleycopter like he's Steve Irwin wrassling a crocodile.

Like.. we just saw the accented hunk tied up, Batman somehow replaced him and tied himself up, then cut himself free, leaped into the Harleycopter glass with a knife and didn't even bother to stop the dynamite from being engaged? Come on.


Wotta Comedian!


Harley: Ha. Cartoon. Funny. 

Fawny: I just hope I don't get typecast as dumb blondes after this. I mean, I've done Shakespeare, you know....... back in high school....

Harley: Okay, let's set up for another take! And splash some more of that day-glo paint on the set! It's lookin' kinda drab...

Ivy: Now, if I could have a second of what I laughably refer to as your attention..

Harley: Now for my wacky catch-phrase... SMILE, SPLATMAN -- You're on CAN-DEAD CAMERA!
Ivy: Since when is that your wacky catchphrase?


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