Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica #2

Here we are with issue two of Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica. When we last left of, we had the implausible scenario where there was a costume scenario where literally no one looked like anyone but there was extreme drama about looking like someone else.

That said, cover one is actually quite beautiful while cover two is nothing to write home about.
I literally had a notebook at TAFE/college with that exact same spiral background.











So the issue literally opens with what could be the lamest fake-out in recent comic history.

The "bad guys" of the issue just happen to have two cardboard cut outs of Harley and Ivy in shocked poses, right down to Ivy's missing waist and Harley's untied shoe laces.

Untied shoe-laces? She is a *terrible* role model. That's effin' dangerous, that is!

Anyway the apparent villains are thugs that Harley and Ivy have crossed in some way - turning some guy into a peach head, some other guy has been ill affected by laughing gas, and some lamprey guy. I don't know if him being a lamprey has anything to do with Harley and Ivy or if he's just peeved about his poor money investment. All it tells me is that this comic couldn't afford Penguin.

But enough about these two bit villains no one cares about, let's get back to the costume drama.
Cripes, as if we need more costume drama with Harley Quinn but anyway.

If you can't have doubles Veronica, then perhaps you should have made a invitee register and made it very clear last issue.

Besides... and this is very important...
these two sets may as well be different characters because their costumes aren't *that* similar.







Hahahahahaha Can you imagine Veronica at a comic convention?

"Excuse me, you twenty thousand Harley and Deadpool cosplayers, we cannot have repeat characters or "old" versions. It is just too gauche."
Next minute - death by cosplayers. Geez, who even talks like Ronnie?


Smithers the butler tries to drag Veronica outside which is really creepy but luckily Veronica's skinny flailing limbs manage to knock off the tiny garnish Ivy left on his shoulder to control him. Good thing she didn't use her usual kissy kissy trick!

Anyway, Archie and Jughead are mocking Colonel Sanders Mr. Lodge which goes about as you expect once they catch Veronica death glaring them. To be fair, Lodge kind of makes it easy for them to mock him by not stepping out of his 2D role and being a conceited idiot.

Three cameos are crammed into these two pages - first is Zatanna - so that Sabrina can cream her pants, then Josie and the Pussycats appear which excites Betty and Veronica... and also a person dressed like Catwoman. Aww, Catwoman like the cat themed band... how... hmm. Cute or droll?

Meanwhile, no one knows who Archie is.. even though he's literally his own Superhero alter-ego. Even some guys like nah I don't read comics while he's dressed as Brainiac. I keep seeing the Captain Hook guy, Tinkerbell and what I'm guessing is some Indian character together. I suspect it's not theming... but more copy/pasting like last issue. Oh yeah, there they are again but reversed on the next page. ......And the exact same thing on the next few pages also. A costume party to me should deliver more detailed background characters but so far ....not impressed.

More references I don't get like the Blossom Twins..who weren't on the list, talk like the most stuck up celebrities ever and somehow get into the party, someone knows who they are despite their costumes and get them kicked out. What?

Obligatory pudding scene. So.. a gala hosted by fat cats serves.... pudding cups. Wow.

Harley loves pudding. So much so that she manages to shove Jughead out of the way even though he clearly wasn't in the panel before or anywhere near the pudding cart.

He's in a giant blue cuckoo outfit. All I ask for is a little consistency guys!





Some random named Midge allows her random boyfriend or whoever to attack/chase some random dressed as Joker which is why they're involved. Later Ivy talks shop with Selina even though she told Harley to shut her trap earlier about revealing themselves to others.

Then this happens. I guess I'm supposed to be shocked and intrigued or something but I just can't get past those eyelashes. Eeurgh.

Sabrina stalks Zatanna who tells her she thought she recognised the Spellman name. You'd be pretty stupid to assume a normal person has a wack ass name like that in a comic book.

The rest of the pages follow with similar gushing from each of them. Geez, just kiss already. I betcha this comic will end with a magic team-up now you just watch.








Then we get this exchange.... Mel, who even I've never seen with her hair any different - takes time from her set to talk to Harley about the most blatant pandering yet.

Worse, I don't even know what she's talking about exactly. Does she mean she was going to wear pigtails? Was she gonna dip dye her hair? I mean, what?

Plus, who even says 'you rock those pigtails'?

Also - Harley Quinn does not have the monopoly on pigtails, and yes, you can be over-saturated with Harley Quinn.

What a stupid thing to say in a freakin' random cross-over.







Betty Quinn tries to warn Poison Veronica that there are actually two super villains at this gala in their costumes but because she doesn't actually say anything useful, it doesn't work and Veronica goes off to start some shit.
Mantle-Joker tries some banter with Harley Quinn - the kind you'd probably see at a convention if a Harley met a Joker but true to her new buzz-kill attitude, Harley shoves him off and tells him how sad and obsessed he is. Then she hits him with a large mallet that I assume was up her clown car garage because she wasn't holding it before and it certainly wasn't seen during this issue prior to now.

Archie finds this Joker slumped in a pot plant, because now he's clearly got a concussion and somehow thinks he's the real Joker.

Right. So Veronica physically launches herself at Harley and Ivy?
Then Ivy throws a 'here's one I made earlier' planty thing at her. Betty uses.... an giant blade or perhaps a serving tray to slice this giant vine? And it works?

Harley then tries to hit Betty with her mallet but Betty does... something.. not sure what, I mean, I guess she's dodging it but the panel is far too zoomed in for us to see her use her regional gymnastic and cheerleader skills... but she does kick the hammer away.

Showing off her UNTIED SHOELACES. I told you Harley was a bad influence!

Wait, is Veronica also a regional gymnast and karate cheerleader?








Anyway - Zatanna and Sabrina finally deduce that Harley and Ivy are fighting Betty and Veronica.
I'd like to say a) it's super obvious or b) magic? but yeah, no, it's literally in front of their noses.
Not really drawn that well, but yeah it's there.
They use some swirly magic to make the four girls stand together (oh look, they're copied and pasted from the first issue when they met each other at the gala! SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS????) and of course, everyone's favourite comedian yells out "OOooHHH! Swirly!" because she is just hilarious.

Then apparently we miss a scene... Betty and Veronica have been dragged into Catwoman's car and they scream and faint because they assume they've been body switched?
Body switched? Or do you mean you were MISTAKEN for the other two? Even if they were switched, does it really matter? Everyone's got exactly the same body type in this comic. If you're a gross ass doctor-villain and you can be confused with a high school student... well... that's not such a good thing.

The Short End of the Jester Schtick

So this issue took what wasn't an obnoxious comic in issue one and made it ten times worse. I feel like the attempts to pad this comic out to the full size weren't necessary because there's really not a lot going on. Even the parts that could have been interesting weren't done very well. I mean, you can't just have one of your characters do something very unclear and then be like 'hahaha I have avoided your attacks for I am a world class gymnast and a cheerleader' and not show these two characters do ANYTHING gymnastics like? Like, why even bring it up? Am I right?

Plus the other villains are so lame. They have all of ten seconds of 'screen time' and it's spent more on talking about Ivy and Harley as opposed to what their plan is. Plus, Harley exploding a laughing gas cannister? Was Giggle McGee a hench person like Peach Head Henry or some random? Harley's got her own set of colourful thugs in her gang so why would she use this guy? Does she even use laughing gas? She's not exactly a Harlequin anymore with those gags she's just another wannabe thug herself. I feel like this comic is trying to reconcile Harley past and present and not really managing either.

Catwoman felt out of character too. Not even in Gotham City Sirens was she this concerned about the other two. Here she's just a big ol' fuzzy wuzzy plot and exposition device.