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| 2020 Writer: Mark Russell Artist: Laura Braga Colours: Luis Guerrero Cover: Andrew Robinson |
It’s hard out there for a freelancer! Looking to make some quick cash, Harley takes on odd jobs in her many wheelhouses—therapising bad guys, tracking down stolen art from the Gotham Art Museum...but when it turns out the thief has his own mental baggage to unpack, Harley’s got a real Thinker on her hands!
First things - not sure why this series is called 'make 'em laugh' and honestly I thought the sub title of 'Head Shrink' meant that this story was going to be about Harley seeing patients all day.
Gotta say, when I saw yet another Harley title I did get a bit aggro about it. I mean, it's really over kill at this point. Plus the cover did not grab me at all - Clayface is hyper-realistic but Harley doesn't match that at all, looking like a rough sketch with weird stick arms and severe Miley Cyrus tongue. The background is juvenile looking with the stars and visual onomatopoeia. I've seen worse covers but this one is a bit mismatched. Apart from that, I do like the poses and Clayface does look good.
Thankfully the interior art is beautiful - it's detailed, proportioned, the colours are amazing and the people all gesture, move and look like.. well, people! And this artist is Braga - who I previously panned for the weird art, backgrounds, poses and faces in Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica. Well, what a damn turn around! You go girl!
However, the best part of the book is actually Harley. More on that later, let's have a look at the story.
Harley is using her psychiatry skills to pay the bills but is also taking up freelance work, like looking into an art thief for the Gotham Metropolitan Museum of Art. I like that the museum staff aren't too sure - one outright suggests this is crazy and Harley could even be responsible for the crime, the other doesn't seem to mind Harley too much but admits they're desperate. This is a nice change because when Harley did this freelance lark in her solo series it was either Harley forcing her way onto jobs and solving everything with violence or people being so far up her butt they couldn't tell she was the worst person they could have hired.
