Harley Quinn: Black White Red #1 - Red

2020
Story/Art: Sejic
Lettering: Gabriela Downie

“Harleen: Red” Resolutely defiant in the face of all of Arkham’s attempts to psychoanalyse her, Harley Quinn is suddenly compelled to reveal some of her most vulnerable thoughts - and hints of her future -- when confronted with the simplest of prompts: “What does the colour red mean to you?” Another stunningly beautiful story from the world of Stjepan Šejić’s bestselling HARLEEN!

Not gonna lie - hairline trigger activated when I saw the title! I was like.. are they making a comic series about the gosh darned collectables of Harley Quinn, which are in turn based OFF of comics and such already established? And whose name is based on the fact that she should be black, white and red but normally isn't anymore? Sorry, the mind games involved in that is just... psychotic. 

Turns out it's an extension of the Harleen story that Sejic did, and I'm guessing it's just going to be three issues? Well, it should be or else they should probably rename the series Harley's reading rainbow or something. 

BrazzersExtra - Riley Reid (Harley in the Nuthouse XXX Parody)

The irony of Harley being straight-jacketed in a padded cell while still wearing her killer stilettos is not lost on me.

She's also got a lot of make-up and hair product in. Like.. how long has she been in her cell? Is she not going to get like, a ton of zits and knots from this?


Movie takes about 2 minutes to warm up with some back story - a brief into to some new doctor being brought into Arkham Asylum but for the most part it's a glorified photo shoot for Harley.
Which is fine, but a lot of the shots are repeated and I don't mean they recycled the footage, I mean they reshot NEW footage of Riley doing what she had been doing before. Namely, biting at the camera, licking her lips and acting crazy while lights flicker and someone starts tunelessly humming a "la-la-la" song.

Again, is fine I guess. Even though she's hamming it up with a Hollywood version of fun-crazy, it's still more believable than Maggot's Suicide Squad Harley.

Did I mention I liked the name of the last one I watched? Yeah, this one's better. At first I wasn't impressed but then I was like.. did they just fetishise a crazy person while simultaneously making a male deposit joke about asylums? Niiiiiice.

New doctor warned about avoiding Harley's cell immediately goes to Harley's cell and goes inside.
I'm not even mad. This could be actual writing from a DC comic about their under-trained, easily duped doctors.

Once inside, new doctor is a bit more confident but then screen fades to black as apparently Harley fells him with her baseball bat... that she presumably hid in her hidey hole, retrieved and then used while she was still restrained?
Damn. Gotta work on my kegels before I let the team down apparently!!

Joker's Asylum II: Harley Quinn

"The most important day of the year"
August 2010
Writer: James Patrick
Art: Joe Quinones
Colours: Alex Sinclair

Here's one of my favourite comics to wash the taste of the last review out of my mouth.

Now, I love Quinones art when it comes to Harley Quinn. Maybe it's the similar surname, but he just seems to GET her. A lot more than any squad working on any Harley solo's since her original run.
The interior artwork and all the expressions are just ace. The cover's nice too. A very powerful, somewhat provocative stance (without being exploitative) but damn, look at how much detail there is on the scene. The messed up door and the smoking gun with blood on it, the light hitting Harley from below and casting Batman's shadow... just great.

Being Joker's Asylum, we open with Joker introducing the tale, a la Tales of the Crypt while in a plush chair, a dressing gown and holding a puppy. Our first shot of Harley is her bare feet showing out of her Arkham oranges while she's running down the hall and deftly evading guards and fail-safes. We don't get a good look at her face until she stops at a cliff.

Props to Arkham staff - they really tried. They pulled out every move in a rare attempt at being efficient. I wish they tried this shit whenever Joker feels the need to escape because there's no way he'd make this at all.

Now we see her face, Dr. Arkham desperately tries to understand what has motivated Harley to do this right now of all times but we all know what would make Harley do anything criminal, don't we?

Yep, the siren song of her obsession, her Puddin' and her devotion to him means that even though she could have been out, free and clear if she'd just waited a few weeks but now she's going to be on the lam with Batman and the cops and everyone hunting for her. She can't though, because she wants to be with her beloved cohort on Valentine's Day.






This is the classic Harley we know - the one that would jump off a damn cliff after baking cookies to be with someone that doesn't actually love her.
She arrives at an abandoned YMCA which was their hideout... apparently? I'm not sure what's sadder, the fact that there are several young men who will not be able to use the YMCA services anymore or that the hideout doesn't even have a proper pool.
She meets the one surviving but severely wounded hench man Spider who tells us why Joker's not there himself.

Harley is ticked off that Falcone has taken Joker on today of all days but she's already got a plan and is preparing for when she gets back with her beau.

Batman: White Knight #1

Finally, I'm getting around to reviewing Batman: White Knight!
You may recall I did some similar blogs about Harley Quinn and her roles in this a bit earlier last year.

The covers here are nice, Joker and Harley in nice evening wear.. looking quite civil. The only throwback to their glory days of crime is Joker's purple/green tie and Harley's diamond motif. He's not even smiling but there is a horrifically eye catching Joker face at the bottom if you found yourself missing that. The alternate cover is black and white (geddit?) and while they're more of a focus on Batman and his proteges, Joker (and Harley?) still appear at the bottom. There's even a little logo for them, three diamonds and a rosette. More on that later.


Oh, you want more? Well here's another cover, summing up the theme of the comic a bit more than the other two.

The issue opens up mostly silent as we watch the Batmobile make it's way up to Arkham Asylum. Once there, the guards offer to take him in but Batman states he knows his way around. Visiting a particular cell we see.... wait.. Batman chained up?! And the Joker come to visit?!

WHAT A TWIST!!

What's even happening, I hear you say? Well, let's go back, one year ago, to the innocent days where a skateboarding Joker and a terrifyingly determined Batman trying his best to run him down was the status quo. Yeah, you read that right.

Some strange costumes here - the T-shirt and suspenders thing I could actually see Jared Leto's Joker wearing but Batgirl (even though she's the voice of reason here) fighting crime in a T-shirt is just downright bizarre.

Wait nevermind, it's actually long gloves not bare skin.

Nightwing has to save a random construction worker and tells Batgirl to get a tighter grip on Batman despite her protests.

We don't hear much from Batman himself, he leaves to follow Joker solo on foot - mowing down a trying-to-be-helpful guard on the way.

Harley Quinn and Batman #5

The Last Laugh pt 5 of 5

Alright, the conclusion of this mini prequel-sequel... thing.
Haha the editor's surname is Quinn.. now that is funny!

Page one of this comic has me interested again because there are so many things I like here. One, Arkham Asylum shown in the daylight, and it's not raining? Whaaaaa?
Secondly, Dr. Leland still exists. Woohoo!
Bruce Wayne isn't on the board for a change.. woohoo!
Asylum hiring heavies from ex-boxing rings and putting them beside normal size wardens/security staff. I like how the biggest one there even has a stick for protection.
Asylum staff talking like actual doctors, and even clarifying a medical/legal distinction for insanity.

What I don't like is the art dramatically decreases in quality again.. on the next page with the facial expressions... Plus Harley is clearly wearing non-regulation inmate booty shorts. Come on!


Okay, so it's one year later apparently. Exactly one year later. Boy, that'll make Calendar Man happy.
Remember when Harley lead Batman and Nightwing to Ivy's hothouse outhouse hideout .. place.

We haven't been shown Harley telling the Caped Crusaders about Ivy's crime spree, so as far as we know in this comic she's going to be dragged back to an asylum just for existing. Hmm.

Also, I honestly doubt Batman would follow Harley Quinn straight in through the front door. Nightwing's all 'oh, now I don't think it's a trap' and that's just swell because you numbskulls would have walked right into it if it was.

Suicide Squad New 52 #7

This is another issue I reviewed back in the day under my original blog. If you're interested, you can check it out here. What, you haven't got time nor inclination? Well fear not, here's the into to it which I feel aptly sums up what I thought about the cover.

Suicide Squad Seven - The Alliterating Issue
Yes, it’s that time of the month again, so dig out your hot pants, get ready to storm Gotham PD and grab that skinned off Joker face because it’s the SUICIDE SQUAD #7 REVIEW!

Assuming I read like a normal person, let’s start with the cover. When I first saw this cover, I didn’t like it. Now I can see it full size it’s kind of growing on me, like Joker flesh on Deadshot’s face.(Tee hee) The new Harley Quinn logo surprised me, as last time they just stole her old one. You know, the one from the ‘original’ DC universe pre-reboot, post-pre-infinite... ehh... you know what I mean. The one that doesn’t exist anymore, or kind of does in some ways, but only in ways DC can make money off it.. Ehhh, you know what I mean.

Yep - remember how they used the previous Harley Quinn logo on the issue just prior to this one? It's been replaced with a new logo for her, and also doubles as one of the nails in the original Harley Quinn's coffin. Quite useful. Apart from that, the cover also raises some questions about Harley Quinn's costume... well, I mean MORE questions. 

For one thing.. does she wear the cape or not? It seems like every other issue it vanishes. Secondly... before her arm thingies looked like gauntlets... but one this cover in particular they look more like gloves. Also her nails aren't red one hand black the other.