Well naturally, Marvel just had the last few weddings of the century so here's DC's attempt at competing again.
Harley Quinn knows a thing or two about dysfunctional relationships. When she hears that her old flame is trying to get in the way of a happy new life for one of her best friends, the Maid of Mischief tracks The Joker down to give him a piece of her mind-and maybe a few blows from her hammer, too.
True, this one wasn't real but it was awesome seeing a mix of villains and heroes at the ceremony and then fighting over the bouquet.. then Catwoman realising that Batman wasn't ever going to truly run away with her while crime exists in Gotham and woke up pissed.
This one was an attempted wedding, where someone tried to domesticate Catwoman and she put a damn stop to it you betcha bucko.
Anyway, now we're milking the Catwoman and Batman semi-romance for all it's worth and that means finding some way to tie in Harley Quinn and Joker.
I'll level with you. This cover art doesn't grip me. Harley looks like a tacky crack addict and her stomach looks like it's making a face at me. The gross face band-aid thing needs to stop. Then, we have Joker who looks like a diseased crack addict shooting at something off screen in a setting that could be a wedding reception.. I guess? Is that a present table? Is that meant to be a table cloth flying up? Did Harley really wear that to a wedding reception? Of course she did. Who doesn't wear fishnets, roller derby attire and weird spliced shorts to an event like this?
The art is much better inside, I like the opener about the kids coming across an old villain stomping ground and then the Joker just busting out and making cracks about teeth.
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| June 2018 Till Death Do Us Part Writer: Tim Seeley Artist: Sami Basri Colours: Jessica Kholinne Cover: Rafael Albuqueque |
Synopsis:
Harley Quinn knows a thing or two about dysfunctional relationships. When she hears that her old flame is trying to get in the way of a happy new life for one of her best friends, the Maid of Mischief tracks The Joker down to give him a piece of her mind-and maybe a few blows from her hammer, too.
Does anyone remember the first time Catwoman got all dolled up in a wedding dress? I remember the first times I saw her in one and it was well before the Cat and the Bat romance got off the ground.
This one was an attempted wedding, where someone tried to domesticate Catwoman and she put a damn stop to it you betcha bucko.
Oh, I miss how she used to call people bucko.
As a young girl I would look at these and have no doubt that this was how my wedding would be. Now I AM married I'm glad it didn't. It's a shame I couldn't rock a catsuit under my shredded dress but I feel that a rogue bunch of commandos scaling the cathedral and shooting it up would have put the whole night out of my budget for sure.
Anyway, now we're milking the Catwoman and Batman semi-romance for all it's worth and that means finding some way to tie in Harley Quinn and Joker.
I'll level with you. This cover art doesn't grip me. Harley looks like a tacky crack addict and her stomach looks like it's making a face at me. The gross face band-aid thing needs to stop. Then, we have Joker who looks like a diseased crack addict shooting at something off screen in a setting that could be a wedding reception.. I guess? Is that a present table? Is that meant to be a table cloth flying up? Did Harley really wear that to a wedding reception? Of course she did. Who doesn't wear fishnets, roller derby attire and weird spliced shorts to an event like this?
The art is much better inside, I like the opener about the kids coming across an old villain stomping ground and then the Joker just busting out and making cracks about teeth.
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| Is he using a Nokia 3310?! |
He's talking to someone, probably Harley, when Harley runs him over with what appears to be an actual clown car, or maybe a multi coloured Daihatsu Charade.
When I saw this scene.. this one scene I was almost ready to throw the whole comic out.
I was seriously thinking is this whole comic just another re-hash of that stupid Hardly Quinn solo where she beats up Joker in jail and the whole thing reeks of bad characterisation and shitty dialogue?
The Joker saying something as blatantly non-funny as that and then Harley coming in and declaring' her Independence from the Joker's pet names while she uses her own pet name for him.
Then I was like.. are they going to re-hash the whole Harley/Joker relationship AGAIN after stressing sooo much that they're over but then pushing the whole Suicide Squad movie 'romance' in our faces. Make your mind up, DC - either they're a draw card couple for you or they're not.
I decided to keep reading because I figured it had to better than Conner and Palmiotti's shlock.
They next show Joker regaining consciousness in a vat of tapioca pudding served up by a costume changed Harley who looks like she's competing in Masterchef Kids. I think this comic is under done (cooking pun?) by the really chatty, feely, exposition spouting Joker but man, Harley is just looking adorably certifiable. Some of the dialogue hits the mark and I especially liked this Harley's chat about how well Joker knows her and vice versa.
It's a nice change from the shitty thug beat down we got in that prison cell because why would Joker or Harley just go physical? One's a former psychiatrist and one's a sociopath who likes playing mind games.
Speaking of, it's nice to see Harley get back into her larger than life theatricals and clownish antics. Hopefully this giant pudding bowl came from the Finger Warehouse of giant, oversized villain accessories. Who doesn't also love a cameo from the Jolly Jack candy company?
As well as being downright adorable and nice to look at, the feeling of movement is conveyed pretty well. So well that I can even overlook a small colouring error on Harley's gloves.
From here, the dialogue unfortunately develops a nasty case of Hardly Quinn speech which kinda sucks because she seemed so eloquent before. She torments him with a few death traps knowing exactly how he'll escape and then physically attacks him, telling him he needs to know what it felt like to be her in the relationship. By which she means feeling hopeless and never sure she'll be free.
Feeling happy about getting out and then being beaten down and captured and trapped.
This confused me. Yes, Joker is abusive but I've always considered Harley and Joker's relationship both mutually abusive as well as mutually beneficial at times. Don't worry, I'm not shipping them but there's a reason why they're fun to read together.
Joker hits Harley. Harley, is also know to snap and bash the absolute shit out of Joker. Harley loved Joker and Joker played on that.. and while there are some stories like Mad Love which confirm that he did feel something for Harley.. at the end of the day, he doesn't love her. She doesn't respect his boundaries. Harley has often been called the Joker's Girlfriend but that's a polite term for a female stalker in this case.
There are many comics and cartoon adaptions where Joker can be shown to be a little scared of Harley at times. He can usually kill or frighten his foes away but this one person keeps coming back and won't die. She's physically stronger than he is and smarter than she acts but she still gums up his plans every now and then. He can't stand her doing better than him (eg; almost killing Batman in Mad Love) but would never have got that close without her.
So to me, it seems a bit weird that she's playing this full victim card especially now, like, how many years since they split up?
The next part of the book gets a bit strange.
It doesn't really explain what these are. Sure there are projectors there but these characters are talking to Joker. Nothing says "I don't care about my ex" more than a multitude of death traps, three or four costume changes, a rehearsed speech and a pre-programmed, personalised holographic show. I mean, later on even Joker manages to personalise the show even more. How? ...when? ......what ??
This next panel is a lot more in tune with classic Harley Quinn from her solo comic, where she was infatuated with love itself and would do anything to protect it.
It sort of explains why Joker is so talkative and raw as well. If this is really the classic Harley he was in a relationship with - the same partially abusive, partially beneficial relationship with all that history they had.. it would make sense for Joker to 'drop his act' a bit and just talk normally to her. Even though he doesn't really have an act.. but anyway.
Harley tells Joker that this is the final death trap, the one he won't escape from - because she's arranged for the fairy tale ending complete with woodsman. Which is some hench person they've had for a while apparently called Truck.
Aside from being an obvious name for a large man, it doesn't exactly fit the clown theme. Also... I know DC don't like to have an obvious time frame but.. seriously, when was this guy last employed by this pair? When the New 52 started Joker and Harley were already broken up. So, what, this guy's just been hanging around all loyal since at least 2011?
Joker gets real about his feelings for the Quinn, that she's his inspiration. She immediately smells a trap but halts his execution all the same to trade barbs with him.
There's nothing here that we don't know already - obviously Joker's been in the game so long that his ideas start to stagnate and we know he hates to share the spotlight or give credit to anyone else.
We just have to wonder if he's having a real heart to heart moment with Harley or if he's just saying what he knows will get her attention in order to prolong his life.
Then Joker turns the tables by revealing that while Harley made sure everything looked and sounded right, she wasn't looking at the human side of the equation. She assumed Truck would side with her but Truck - as Joker knows - is really wanting to give himself over to something more.
Joker is freed from, his death bean-bag and uses Truck's ace to slice his former henchman's head open. To be fair, Truck seems pretty happy about this.
I'm not sure if I completely buy Harley's failure to understand people's motivations as a plot device here seeing as how she's famous for knowing what buttons to push but I suppose it's okay for one comic and a henchman no-one's heard of before.
Then we have the bit I mentioned before, where Joker manipulates the holographic projector somehow (Willpower? Meddling with it well in advance? Plot device?) to create four more Jokers who all come at Harley with axes.
I don't know if it's the outfit or the fact that she doesn't know which Joker is the real one but Harley wastes no time with fancy acrobatics, she just moves straight into street fighting mode. She moves on from each figure once she realises they're illusions but Joker tricks her by pretending to be a hologram taking a swipe at another Joker. The moment she turns her back to punch what she thinks is the real Joker, she gets an axe to the head.
Not fatally, of course. DC wouldn't dare do that to their cash cows. We see Joker plant a smooch on Harley and reveal some more feelings. Honestly, this is the most intimate this couple has been since the cartoon back in the nineties.
Well overall I enjoyed this comic. It was a looooot better that I thought it would be. Still it places another twist in the Joker/Harley relationship that doesn't quite make it fit in with the overall state of DC comics or even Harley's piece of shit solo comics (which I still don't feel are canon).
Looking at this comic from a cynical perspective - you could easily assume that DC wanted to cash in on their most notorious relationship while the most teased relationship grabbed headlines. And that's still pretty fair to assume even if you're not cynical. I think the writers here did a good job of not making it SEEM like just a cash in though.
Harley is much more like her original character but not as naive. She cracks a lot less jokes but she's taking this a bit more seriously now. Joker is also more like the classic Joker - thank gosh they kept him in a suit this event. We've had enough changes to both their costumes but good gravy that handyman costume was the worst for Joker.
My main quibble is that they didn't really explain the hologram things. Or the start, but I'm assuming they have been having a death trap battle for a while now or something?
I am intrigued by what this means for their relationship but not optimistic that it'll ever be played out to it's full capabilities, especially not with so many versions of Harley running around. It feels like DC wants to bring them back together but are afraid of public backlash so they're only dipping their toes in when it suits them.
Joker: Playing on your signature line is far too precious. Plus, there's just nothing inherently scary about dessert. I mean, look at it. No fangs or fire or chainsaws at all.
Joker: I'll make face, kiss some cheeks and dance the night away in six inches of blood.
Harley: But donchaknow? All the old fairy tales they based those cartoons on aren't so cute and sanitised. They're like life. Real life. They're cruel, brutal an' honest, filled with horror an' pain... ...an' sooner or later, someone always gets beheaded by a woodsman.
Joker: I wanted to get back at Batman and his weasel-wench, Harls. I wanted them trapped and screaming and thinking, "Wow. This is a death trap! I am just thrilled to be sawed in two, here!"
Harley: Nice try. I'm not gonna play your mind games. Former professional psychiatrist here, remember?
Joker: Look at that. Instead of giving you a grin on the back of your head, I turned the axe at the very last second.
When I saw this scene.. this one scene I was almost ready to throw the whole comic out.
I was seriously thinking is this whole comic just another re-hash of that stupid Hardly Quinn solo where she beats up Joker in jail and the whole thing reeks of bad characterisation and shitty dialogue?
The Joker saying something as blatantly non-funny as that and then Harley coming in and declaring' her Independence from the Joker's pet names while she uses her own pet name for him.
Then I was like.. are they going to re-hash the whole Harley/Joker relationship AGAIN after stressing sooo much that they're over but then pushing the whole Suicide Squad movie 'romance' in our faces. Make your mind up, DC - either they're a draw card couple for you or they're not.
I decided to keep reading because I figured it had to better than Conner and Palmiotti's shlock.
They next show Joker regaining consciousness in a vat of tapioca pudding served up by a costume changed Harley who looks like she's competing in Masterchef Kids. I think this comic is under done (cooking pun?) by the really chatty, feely, exposition spouting Joker but man, Harley is just looking adorably certifiable. Some of the dialogue hits the mark and I especially liked this Harley's chat about how well Joker knows her and vice versa.
It's a nice change from the shitty thug beat down we got in that prison cell because why would Joker or Harley just go physical? One's a former psychiatrist and one's a sociopath who likes playing mind games.
Speaking of, it's nice to see Harley get back into her larger than life theatricals and clownish antics. Hopefully this giant pudding bowl came from the Finger Warehouse of giant, oversized villain accessories. Who doesn't also love a cameo from the Jolly Jack candy company?
As well as being downright adorable and nice to look at, the feeling of movement is conveyed pretty well. So well that I can even overlook a small colouring error on Harley's gloves.
From here, the dialogue unfortunately develops a nasty case of Hardly Quinn speech which kinda sucks because she seemed so eloquent before. She torments him with a few death traps knowing exactly how he'll escape and then physically attacks him, telling him he needs to know what it felt like to be her in the relationship. By which she means feeling hopeless and never sure she'll be free.
Feeling happy about getting out and then being beaten down and captured and trapped.
This confused me. Yes, Joker is abusive but I've always considered Harley and Joker's relationship both mutually abusive as well as mutually beneficial at times. Don't worry, I'm not shipping them but there's a reason why they're fun to read together.
Joker hits Harley. Harley, is also know to snap and bash the absolute shit out of Joker. Harley loved Joker and Joker played on that.. and while there are some stories like Mad Love which confirm that he did feel something for Harley.. at the end of the day, he doesn't love her. She doesn't respect his boundaries. Harley has often been called the Joker's Girlfriend but that's a polite term for a female stalker in this case.
There are many comics and cartoon adaptions where Joker can be shown to be a little scared of Harley at times. He can usually kill or frighten his foes away but this one person keeps coming back and won't die. She's physically stronger than he is and smarter than she acts but she still gums up his plans every now and then. He can't stand her doing better than him (eg; almost killing Batman in Mad Love) but would never have got that close without her.
So to me, it seems a bit weird that she's playing this full victim card especially now, like, how many years since they split up?
The next part of the book gets a bit strange.
 |
| Is this supposed to be a Chuck E Cheese thing? |
It doesn't really explain what these are. Sure there are projectors there but these characters are talking to Joker. Nothing says "I don't care about my ex" more than a multitude of death traps, three or four costume changes, a rehearsed speech and a pre-programmed, personalised holographic show. I mean, later on even Joker manages to personalise the show even more. How? ...when? ......what ??
This next panel is a lot more in tune with classic Harley Quinn from her solo comic, where she was infatuated with love itself and would do anything to protect it.
It sort of explains why Joker is so talkative and raw as well. If this is really the classic Harley he was in a relationship with - the same partially abusive, partially beneficial relationship with all that history they had.. it would make sense for Joker to 'drop his act' a bit and just talk normally to her. Even though he doesn't really have an act.. but anyway.
Harley tells Joker that this is the final death trap, the one he won't escape from - because she's arranged for the fairy tale ending complete with woodsman. Which is some hench person they've had for a while apparently called Truck.
Aside from being an obvious name for a large man, it doesn't exactly fit the clown theme. Also... I know DC don't like to have an obvious time frame but.. seriously, when was this guy last employed by this pair? When the New 52 started Joker and Harley were already broken up. So, what, this guy's just been hanging around all loyal since at least 2011?
Joker gets real about his feelings for the Quinn, that she's his inspiration. She immediately smells a trap but halts his execution all the same to trade barbs with him.There's nothing here that we don't know already - obviously Joker's been in the game so long that his ideas start to stagnate and we know he hates to share the spotlight or give credit to anyone else.
We just have to wonder if he's having a real heart to heart moment with Harley or if he's just saying what he knows will get her attention in order to prolong his life.
Then Joker turns the tables by revealing that while Harley made sure everything looked and sounded right, she wasn't looking at the human side of the equation. She assumed Truck would side with her but Truck - as Joker knows - is really wanting to give himself over to something more.
Joker is freed from, his death bean-bag and uses Truck's ace to slice his former henchman's head open. To be fair, Truck seems pretty happy about this.
Then we have the bit I mentioned before, where Joker manipulates the holographic projector somehow (Willpower? Meddling with it well in advance? Plot device?) to create four more Jokers who all come at Harley with axes.
Not fatally, of course. DC wouldn't dare do that to their cash cows. We see Joker plant a smooch on Harley and reveal some more feelings. Honestly, this is the most intimate this couple has been since the cartoon back in the nineties.
Now this scene copped some flack. The epilogue shows Joker finding a gun in a dumpster before heading off the wedding and a lot of readers found this disappointing. Honestly, I don't care too much. The comic has already given us a semi-plausible reason for it being there right from the start - that this area was an old villain stomping ground and a lot of their stuff was left here - and besides, it's the frickin' Joker. He probably had a spare gun hidden up his butthole or something.
You know he's gonna get a gun from somewhere, let's just enjoy the fact that he didn't have to dig around his puddin' filled anus to get it.
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| Plus this dialogue is kinda funny |
The Short End of the Jester Schtick
Looking at this comic from a cynical perspective - you could easily assume that DC wanted to cash in on their most notorious relationship while the most teased relationship grabbed headlines. And that's still pretty fair to assume even if you're not cynical. I think the writers here did a good job of not making it SEEM like just a cash in though.
Harley is much more like her original character but not as naive. She cracks a lot less jokes but she's taking this a bit more seriously now. Joker is also more like the classic Joker - thank gosh they kept him in a suit this event. We've had enough changes to both their costumes but good gravy that handyman costume was the worst for Joker.
My main quibble is that they didn't really explain the hologram things. Or the start, but I'm assuming they have been having a death trap battle for a while now or something?
I am intrigued by what this means for their relationship but not optimistic that it'll ever be played out to it's full capabilities, especially not with so many versions of Harley running around. It feels like DC wants to bring them back together but are afraid of public backlash so they're only dipping their toes in when it suits them.
Wotta Comedian!
Joker: Playing on your signature line is far too precious. Plus, there's just nothing inherently scary about dessert. I mean, look at it. No fangs or fire or chainsaws at all.
Joker: I'll make face, kiss some cheeks and dance the night away in six inches of blood.
Harley: But donchaknow? All the old fairy tales they based those cartoons on aren't so cute and sanitised. They're like life. Real life. They're cruel, brutal an' honest, filled with horror an' pain... ...an' sooner or later, someone always gets beheaded by a woodsman.
Joker: I wanted to get back at Batman and his weasel-wench, Harls. I wanted them trapped and screaming and thinking, "Wow. This is a death trap! I am just thrilled to be sawed in two, here!"
Harley: Nice try. I'm not gonna play your mind games. Former professional psychiatrist here, remember?
Joker: Look at that. Instead of giving you a grin on the back of your head, I turned the axe at the very last second.
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