Harley Quinn: Convergence pt 1

Harley Quinn: Convergence pt 1

2015

Writer: Steve Pugh

Pencils: Phil Winslade

Along with the collective "uuurgh" of yet another DC wide 'event' there was also a "oooh!" from my side of the planet when I saw the promotional pages and ads featuring an original costume Harley Quinn getting into shenanigans that didn't involve poorly timed bathtub suicide jokes without context or constant fawning over Power Girl. 

Gosh darn, the new Hardly Quinn comics made me hate not just Hardly Quinn but also G-D Pee-gee! Graaaagh!!

*deep breath, sips whiskey*

H'okay. The point I was getting to was that this comic was my ever loving hope for a good Harley Quinn comic in a sea of new fifty-poop. 

Did we get said good comic? Well, one look at the Gotham City Sirens inspired cover and I was already happy but yes, the comic gets much better. 

So the premise here is that some eternal jerk face basically made a couple of bio-domes around the DC universe, and basically said "fight for your city! We read the Hunger Games and thought it was a pretty cool concept!"

Which while really questionable, did give us pre-flashpoint Gotham City. 

Which is just so beautiful! Here we have Harley - well, yes, doing an internal monologue  during a heist - because she's outraged that while other items at this museum were considered a high risk due to Gotham's colourful rogue's gallery, no one was thinking of her maybe wanting the bejewelled hyena skulls! 

Sadly it's all going wrong, the henchmen are attacked by hyenas, then they're shooting at police which Harley is against because it's ruining her classy comeback. Naturally she yells at the dead henchman who got shot by the police and is about to take her anger out on a cop that approaches her when the Convergence.... converges? 

The cop helps her with her puns and Harley is about to spare his life (briefly) when she notices everyone else including her hyenas Bud and Lou (which the rat faced new 52 killed off - jerks) are being affected by something. Harley's fine, but she does question why her mallet now suddenly weights a lot more than she recalls. 

We skip a few months down the track and meet up with Harley catching up with her doctor. I have to say, I love the artwork, it's crisp and clean, realistic and the colours are all fantastic but what really cinches it for me is the expression on Harley's face in the last panel. It just really captures what she's feeling and thinking. She's barely hanging on there. 

Aside from that purple blip, life under the dome is working out for Harley, if  no-one else. She's dating the cop she almost took out after meeting him during therapy. It's quite the second impression, while she does apologise, she also steals donuts and lunges over the hospital bed to yoink his coffee. She meets him again eight months after that at a support group where he was trying to enjoy coffee and donuts. She's also made some personal revelations about how she used to sidle up to more powerful villains for protection but doesn't need to do that anymore. (Wish someone would mention this to her current solo title)

Harley is enjoying civilian, domestic life with the occasional issue with Joker voices. We become aware that she's run out of medication and has been struggling with her sanity on her own. Louie helps her through it though.

Meanwhile, Catwoman and Poison Ivy team up to take out some goons who consider them fair game as there are no powers under the dome. They happen to witness the light show advising that Harley and some bunny-man have to fight to see which city will survive. 

One of the goons who survived (there are quite a few considering Ivy knocks several off the roof) freaks out and tells his fellow goonies to whack Harley Quinn so they can replace her with someone good to save their own skin. 

What follows is true Sirens style and an illustrated point as to why Ivy would be a shit house romantic partner for Harley. 

Catwoman, Poison Ivy and goon man all hear that Harley is the champion and not ONE of them thinks for a second that Harley could do it. They "would not trust her in the house alone with CRAYONS." Catwoman even alludes to a relationship with Ivy, who casually dismisses Harley again. She's been keeping tabs on Harley you see, and knows all about her current beau. "The best way to teach a CHILD responsibility is to get them a dog" she states before planning to get Nightwing to replace Harley in the battle. 

They talk about trying to find Harley before the goons do, and how she must be so terrified, they're here to help her but after busting into her apartment and assaulting her boyfriend, Ivy barely takes a second to mention what's happening before attempting to de-drug her back into her crazy state. 

Unfortunately, by the time Louie gets Catwoman to understand that there ARE no drugs in Harley's system, she's already been knocked out and put into her costume. 

 Louie is understandably concerned about Harley's well being because she was doing so well without her criminal associates (not friends - or at least I wouldn't call these guys friends right now)

Harley awakes but with a noticeable difference.... she's clearly got Joker in her head, her humourless smile looks a lot like his, and even her imaginary fish are Joker fish. She has tumbled back into her mania and now we have to wait for issue two to see what the fallout will be. 

Bonus - Harley origin pages. These are a bit pick and choosy with grabs from her original solo run, her debut graphic novel and Gotham City Sirens. The basic story-line is followed but they clearly couldn't find a picture of Joker manipulating Harley in the asylum from her good continuity so they had to use a grab from the new 52 and beyond where she sports that stupid two tone crap and then goes back to blonde on the next damn panel? 

The Good!

*Harley's original costume and personality!

*Seeing her make it without medication and without her crew

* I liked seeing the post-dome support groups in place, it was a nice touch

*The art is gorgeous, females are drawn realistically, it's consistent and enjoyable.  

The Bad!

*The Joker coming back into Harley's life and what it means for her and Louie

*While I do like the couple, they don't really show much of HOW they got involved, more how they met. Considering her last relationship......it could be important? It seems like Harley has sort of forced her way into his affections or may have been set up by Poison Ivy as a way to control Harley. They do seem to genuinely care for each other though. 

*When Harley smashes Louie's hand, it's his right hand, and the gun flies off near it, however he reaches for the gun with his left hand while cradling his right. 

The Ugly!

* The other Sirens. Wot biyatches! Look, you can understand why they feel like Harley is a screw-up - she's crazy, dated the Joker, can't even steal a hyena skull without it going wrong and she probably could kill them all intentionally or not in this upcoming battle. What I can't understand is why they think she would have no chance. She's proven she's smart, she's athletic, sneaky and has by now survived several assassination attempts from Joker. The Sirens belittle her, preempt her and make choices for her against her will instead of taking a damn second to explain the situation and see what HARLEY thinks. 

The Verdict! 

Again, I can't stress enough that this is a pure concentration of the Gotham City Sirens relationship - cementing why Ivy is a terrible choice for a ship. She's just as abusive as the Joker and does it with a air of superiority gleaned from "I know what's best for her", and it's so strong that Harley doesn't even get to have any input. She, like the rest of the DC universe, constantly look down on and underestimate Harley all the time. This makes me mad, but it's preferable to the new DC method which is "Damn, Harley is making money. Let's put her front and centre in everything, ship her with everyone, market the hell out of her, and give her twenty different comics where she can be the star and have a new zany adventure each week!" because over-saturation and character worship when DC hardly gave a shart about her before just rings false and ruins her character. Or changes it entirely depending on which comic you read. 

Anyway, the premise is interesting, and I love that Harley is involved with a cop she once tried to kill.

It sort of puts her as the Joker in their relationship, and you wonder if Louie ever feels completely safe or ever holds the fact that she ruined his hand and his job against her. Harley - though in his image, is so unlike the Joker that she doesn't abuse her partner (unlike Red Tool... geez)

 She's struggling, but making progress in her life as a civilian and it's heartening that a comic book - especially a mainstream company - has dealt with Harley's mental health so sensitively. Heck, I even love her wearing her hair in a ponytail instead of pigtails. I myself have a lot of hair and I find I can barely wear it in pigtails for a day without it pulling on my head painfully or getting annoying.

Using Harley Quinn in this way was inspired and makes for fun reading and I couldn't wait for part two.