Harley Quinn and Batman #1

2017

The Last Laugh pt 1

Writer: Ty Templeton

Artist: Rock Burchett

Colours: Kieren Smith

Here we have a Harley Quinn and Batman comic, set before the Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie yet released after it. Why? I don't know. 

The movie was basically a cash grab so this comic based off the movie is going to be basically a cash grab off of a cash grab. 

A few things I noticed... it's in the animated style but it just seemed off. The art and the colouring just looked a bit rough draft.. like the kind of art you see in cheap kids books. Harley's collar seems to be painted onto her shoulders instead of being a movable piece of her costume. 

The story just throws you in, it opens on the Joker's headquarters being blown up and Harley Quinn laughing. Joker himself looks a lot like his Batman: The Animated Series self but with his Batman: the New Animated Series demon face. Everyone else looks like their original BTAS selves.

Yeah, Batman and Nightwing are there, along with some clown henches. Joker doesn't know how they found him but is determined to give them a whoppin' because his poisoned hot sauce spilled. 

Harley seems happy to help - giving him new weapon after weapon. 

Most of these backfire on Joker though, in particular - one blows up in his face leaving him looking like he's dabbling in blackface.

I don't believe that's the intention - they're going for the old blasted off face scorch marks but either the artist couldn't pull it off or it just does not work with B:TNAS demon face. I do like the jab about buying from ACME. Oh, ACME. When will you learn?

It gets a bit weird when the next piece of equipment to use against Batman is a Joker themed giant robot. It's even weirder hearing that he seemed to have brought it legitimately. 

For some reason, Batman and Nightwing focus entirely on Joker and his henchmen and don't even attempt to take out Harley Quinn. Yes, the Joker is the bigger threat right now but let's face it, the clown henches aren't that tough.

Harley Quinn's just getting a pass because her name's in the title.

Okay, this page I found hilarious

We see Joker acting like his usual self - accepting help from Harley when in a pinch but then quick to leave her behind in his escape plan for one. Turns out it was Harley that rigged all of Joker's schemes to fail and even lead Batman and Nightwing to their locale.

Why? The Joker asks fairly calmly.. and Harley explodes because she's angry about all the pictures Joker has of Batman and none of her.

If this was an ordinary couple I'd agree with that rage but it seems weird because these are all pictures of Joker killing Batman. Why would Harley want to be in those?






Second of all, we've seen several frames pictures of the couple together through out the animated universe/their respective comics and some of them are autographed from Joker. It just seems like a strange 'traditional spouse' demand when it's gotta be hard to go into a photo lab and get your crime associates happy snaps printed without killing all of the staff afterwards, and then likely moving headquarters again and again and losing said images.

Trials of criminal life. Sigh.

Anyway, Harley is surprised that Joker wasn't mad at her for ratting him out.

She then explains that the trying to kill each other bit is just their way of keeping the spice in the relationship?





Well, don't I just feel pandered to and condescended at simultaneously.

I have never doubted that there was an element of this in the Joker/Harley relationship but it seems like by having her say that, and then use the fact that Joker (who despite having giant death dolly robots again is super tame and ... a kind of parody of himself?) did not threaten her after her betrayal as a springboard to say "I'm going solo! Hear me yodel!" makes it seem like the writers are trying to excuse the domestic violence that has been an intrinsic part of this pairing since their conception.

Before, Joker had to something terrible to make Harley leave.. that was kinda the whole thing about her infatuation with him. For example, in her original solo comic Harley left Joker not after he tried to kill her, but because he tried to kill Ivy... and she was still trying to rationalise it to herself.

Here it just seems like the writers were told to make her leave the Joker, but only allowed six minutes of writing time.

Now the art here is not the best but Poison Ivy just waltzes in on this skyscraper tall plant construction... right into the lair of the world's greatest detective, the boy wonder and Gotham's finest... and no one notices.

I mean, come on!








Then we have obligatory Poison Ivy team up mode activated.
I like how she condemns literally everyone she just attacked with a plant for being part of Harley's abuse cycle only to literally treat her like a possession. Her track record is not the best either.

#ivyisnotdownwiththeclown #stoppairingassholestogether #keepitcleannotgreen

Anyway Ivy expositions her reason to be there which is handy because Harley seems surprised to see her even though she was apparently in on the plan?

The End of the Jester Schtick:

Well I'm not convinced this comic is worth buying. The story is the only thing that wasn't slapped together faster than the artwork or the movie it's prequelling. Wait, is that a word? No? Eh, screw it, I don't care!
I'm actually pretty disappointed because we're starting to get more classic (sort of) Quinn back, but then the delivery is so shoddy it leaves me over thinking a comic based on the animated series that has none of the nuance, style or humour that the show had.

Who is the target audience here? Are they going for nostalgia? A new younger audience?
They had an opportunity to get more adult - but I feel like they actually dumbed it down severely.
I'm still not sure about the way they explained the Harley/Joker relationship beefs and the fairly flimsy reasons Harley ditched Joker.

One of the problems you encounter with releasing Harley from the Joker's grasp is that in most cases you have to lobotomise one of DC's greatest villains... much in the same way that Suicide Squad thought the best way to tell us Harley Quinn was soo cool was to tell us how more bad ass she was than the Joker..

I really like Harley Quinn - I don't want her to be the everlasting punching bag, but she deserves better than what she got here. I'll probably check out the other issues but they're not going to be a priority.  Overall..... a big meh.