DC Universe: Suicide Squad #2

Writer: Tom Taylor
Art/cover: Bruno Redondo

Let me start by saying I enjoy Tom Taylor's take on Harley from Injustice so I'm actively looking forward to a much less cringe version of her in this series than usual. 

The artist is good too - only the cover is a bit distracting for me because all through my post-high school education I would buy these cheap notebooks for classes from the campus store, and they ALL had this swirly design on them, in various colours but including this exact scheme. So it's a little flash backy for me, like I suddenly remember I have an assignment due tomorrow when I look at this! Also... there are a lot of characters winking at me here... and this concerns me. 

Did I miss an in-joke? Are they cracking onto me? Is the background too bright for them too?

Now this issue opens with the ending, which is cool so we'll come back to that at the end - fittingly.
Besides, I like this part better. Yes, I know Scale and Fin annoyed me in the first issue, but Fin suffering without Scale - more interesting. Bit of character development. Looking at him sitting there in his solitary tank, mourning his brother not just for the fact that he was a relative, but because of their telepathic connection - I felt sorry for him. I want him to get revenge. I want him to grow from this. All these feelings intensify when King Shark appears and reveals he can both hear Fin and cause more devastation by what he wants to show him.

I don't really get the next part, either Fin has the fist bump power of ten men, his glowing torso is his power level or he psychically enhanced his tackle attack but he smashes said five inch glass to have a go at Shark - which, you know, fair enough. Both of them get tasered before much can happen, but still. Looked cool.

Then we go from this dark, aquatic revenge flick to a super bright, super close up of Harley yelling about how insane everything is as Deadshot and herself walk alongside Lok. This I could deal with  (after my eyes adjust of course) but damn, she just had to get one more jab in at poor Cavalier, who was clearly too beautiful for this cruel world.
She does get psychically shut up though, so that helps. Should be noted that not only Lok was annoyed with Harley's yapping but Deadshot also seems a bit bothered by what happened last issue.

Anyway, Lok's taking the current Squad walkies to see the Revolutionaries who are currently enjoying their glass cubes.

Harley Quinn: Black White Red #1 - Red

2020
Story/Art: Sejic
Lettering: Gabriela Downie

“Harleen: Red” Resolutely defiant in the face of all of Arkham’s attempts to psychoanalyse her, Harley Quinn is suddenly compelled to reveal some of her most vulnerable thoughts - and hints of her future -- when confronted with the simplest of prompts: “What does the colour red mean to you?” Another stunningly beautiful story from the world of Stjepan Šejić’s bestselling HARLEEN!

Not gonna lie - hairline trigger activated when I saw the title! I was like.. are they making a comic series about the gosh darned collectables of Harley Quinn, which are in turn based OFF of comics and such already established? And whose name is based on the fact that she should be black, white and red but normally isn't anymore? Sorry, the mind games involved in that is just... psychotic. 

Turns out it's an extension of the Harleen story that Sejic did, and I'm guessing it's just going to be three issues? Well, it should be or else they should probably rename the series Harley's reading rainbow or something. 

Harley Quinn: Make 'Em Laugh #1

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.

Birds of Prey: Sirens of Justice #1

Not content with her own comic empire, a successful Gotham City Sirens run and a miserable attempt to encroach on the Birds of Prey universe via cinematic vomit, DC has decided to combine all three of these elements to make this Birds of Prey: Sirens of Justice - The inclusion of one Harley Quinn.

Sigh.

At least going from the cover art and the involvement of one Gail Simone, this should be better than that hideous movie-comic tie-in we had before.

Fight or Flight
May 2020
Writer: Simone
Cover: Lupacchino and McCaig
Interiors art: Miranda

As much as this cover is actually visually appealing - I'm a bit concerned that Harley is basically wearing as knock off version of Canary's outfit. Remember that old design guideline where it was basically law for any TV show/movie/comic etc that had more than one female, that they all had to wear a different style top etc? Anime fans would be familiar with uniformed school girls having extremely varied socks - same kinda thing.

They even go as far as to include fishnets on Harley's get up though - like.. a blonde wearing fingerless gloves, jacket, booty shorts with the same belt, fishnets and then the matching mid-calf black boots? COME ON. That job's been taken already!

I really wish they had taken a page from some of the other outfits Harley has worn, like Arkham City, Assault on Arkham, Gotham City Garage, Joker TPB, Injustice and even the rare Suicide Squad where she has pants and a functional looking outfit..


The interior art is  very much a step below the cover. I'm not really a fan of Miranda's art. At least here there is a bit more to differentiate Harley and Canary, although I stand by my previous comments about Harley needing a better outfit because she looks ridiculously out of place compared to the people she's with, to the extend someone could have poorly photo-shopped her in.
The background work is very nice though, so points for that.

Happy about Simone being back in the saddle - her dialogue between the Birds seems natural and fits their respective personalities, plus her Harley sounds less like an inbred hick and more like someone who genuinely has a bit of an accent/dialect.

My first issue with this first issue though is that it opens on "Later. Ten blocks away and thirty stories up..." which could work for the intrigue aspect but it just happens way too often in comics. Like, flitting between then and now is fine, but didn't we used to just have the comic open and THEN have the later/earlier sequence pop up? This reeks of Conner/Palmiotti. Ugh.

Next issue is immediate.
Harley Quinn is making all the decisions for a team she's not even in and everyone else just goes with it, while making vague comments about her mental capacity.

Suicide Squad New52 #23 - Overkill

Oct 2013
"Slash 'n' Burn"
Writer: Ales Kot
Pencils: Rick Leonardi

I'll be honest with ya'll.... this cover looks familiar but I don't recall ever reading this issue before now. Is that good or bad? Honestly not too sure. Maybe I did read but but forgot about it? Who knows. This cover is basically a representation of the Squad's teamwork style - all doing their thing without factoring in what the rest are doing and if it's safe to jump in with your claws when someone's either shooting a gun or aiming a RPG at your intended trajectory point...

I mean, it's not a bad cover - I kinda like the stark white contrast of the background compared to the colourful outfits of the cast. I am concerned about the body shapes of the women though... Cheetah looks like she has no strength in her arms and is painfully contorted. Harley - well, still awkward pre-pubescent boy body yet huge boobs but with the addition of super weird pigtails. Deadshot is squished off to the corners because his outfit's not revealing enough.

Back in Louisiana, Waller and Gordon are having a heart to heart. It's kinda nice seeing Waller having someone she can talk to and not just exposition over or constantly have to compete in urination contests with. Well, that still happens but the conversation here between the maniacal control freak and the one eyed obsessive mother-lover seems quite genuine, and not forced.

Well... it still gets weird. Gordon takes a break out of talking to Waller to monologue his favourite Foreigner song even after she compliments him and tells him she respects him.

Batman: The Dark Prince Charming #1

I've been wanting to do this review for a while, basically since I heard it existed.

Jan 2018
Story and art by Enrico Marini

I'm a big fan of people who write and create/draw their own visions. So many Manga stars do this, and just have a crew to help with backgrounds and inks etc. I mean, not wanting to kick people who can't draw, because on the other hand some people who can draw can't write the story or can't do the inking or colours. But it's like - when someone writes the story, then goes and makes it - you're seeing exactly what they envisioned with the story.

Plus it's a standalone story with a new version of Joker and Harley Quinn. Wait, that doesn't sound like me recently. Wasn't I sick of all the conflicting versions of Harley? Yes. This is true. But, back in my early fandom this sort of thing was exciting. It was cool to go from the Harley Quinn in BTAS
to the blood soaked, unforeseen psychosis of Thrillkiller Harley. Later on or I guess more recently - I would say the same thing about the stupid solo version of Harley and then latching onto the Injustice version for sweet relief.

Also the detail in this scene is amazing... and the subject matter quite terrifying.

Opening on a little girl in a dodgy looking basement. Oh, well, that's mean. The basement is quite nice for a basement and looks functional as hell, but it's not the kind of basement a young girl would like to be in by herself after being kidnapped. That's what I'm saying. Especially when the Joker is coming down the stairs. In Gotham. I mean, you don't wanna be in Gotham at the best of times but yeah, this, this is not that time.

It's not even safe in stately Wayne Manor. First Bruce gets a suspicious gift decked out in Joker colours, then he has to go and stop a clown robbery.

On the plus side, Gotham has a nice selection of rooftops. 

Damn the art is nice in this. Also, The Joker is his own thing in this yet somehow a mix of what made him funny in BTAS, crazy like in the Joker standalone, in love with Harley like in White Knight and obsessed with Batman like.. well, like a lot of things he's been in.

Not one, not two, but three sex puns? Niiiice.

Side note - if you're driving a loaded semi in peak hour traffic in Gotham while reading a nudie magazine.... you kinda deserve to be hit by a clown with a bat hood ornament. Just saying.

Harley Quinn: Future's End

Release Date: September 24, 2014




Harley and The Joker make it legal at last! Follow the happy couple to their secret honeymoon spot, where it’s literally till death do they part!

Alright! For anyone still struggling to cope with Bane-Harley and her subsequent demise in the Suicide Squad Futures End - fear not! In this comic book, the world is still happy and colourful! Harley Quinn is still alive and her.... normal? self. Well, close enough I guess.

I personally believe that it has the best 3D motion cover out of them all, even though I'm not a fan of Conner's art style. In this case, I feel like they really made the most of the lenticular covers and showed a stark change between fantasy and  reality. Close runners up are Wonder Woman and Batwoman and the Suicide Squad one. The rest are kinda meh. Anyway, even if Harley's cover sucked it's still better than that crappy villain's month turd lenTURDiclar cover!

Now the story itself isn't the best,  and in my opinion it starts REALLY lazily with Harley deciding she needs a vacation so she hurriedly posts herself in a crate to kick start the story.

I kinda get they're going for a slapstick Looney Tunes style gimmick but hey, remember when Harley had standards for herself and her lifestyle instead of just sticking it out in a crate with some cured meats for days on end with a bunch of animals.  Like - I've heard the TSA is pretty bad but surely this is an extreme way to avoid them.

Also, don't people presumably check the cargo hold?

Well, maybe they will once idiot here starts yelling at the top of her lungs to the captain when the plane inevitably hits turbulence a few panels down. She wakes up on a desert island with runny eye shadow, but don't worry because it gets fixed further down the page. Of course. 

Presumably the other animals in the cargo hold didn't make it, but Harley is more concerned with her lost beaver and insulting the one surviving animal, a dog she fed bacon to for some reason. This dog makes the wise choice to save it's career and run out of this comic. Ultimate pupper. 

DCeased #2

2/6
"The Monster Inside of Us All"
Writer: Tom Taylor
Pencils: Trevor Hairsine
Inks: Stefano Gaudiano
Colours: Rain Beredo

The ominous narration continues in this one, but doesn't do a thing to warn poor Aquaman not to open the door on the stricken cargo ship. In his defense, they do seem to be fast zombies. Gosh, I hate fast zombies. It's like... the slow ones are bad enough but at least you don't have to run like, allll the time. What is this, the Apocalypse Olympics? Damn.

Now Metropolis is on fire, and the Supersons and Superman are just chilling at their crib. They decide to head to the Daily Planet. Meanwhile, over in Gotham, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are also just chilling but in some dingy alley way. So, clearly journalism pays better than crime. Thanks for the morality lesson DC!

Here, Ivy is abusing the power of the green and hyping Harley up for something, but Harley is trying her best to weasel out of it. They don't exactly say what this task is so maybe the next page is... oh.

Look at that sweeeeet..... gaming set up. 

Oh, is this supposed to be the hideout he used in Death of the Family? Or is it a parody of Batman's computer set up? I don't mind that actually - either one. I DO mind the over the top self aware and stereotypical 'battered/downtrodden woman in a relationship' discussion here. Since when are they officially back together enough to split? And since when has Joker cared what anyone was thinking unless it benefited him? They seem to be making it into a relationship thing..

"Got a new vibe, who dis?"

Suicide Squad New52 #22 - Death and Destruction in Sin City!

Sept 2013
Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Patrick Zircher
Colours: Jason Keith
"Light at the End of the Tunnel"

This is one of the first issues of New52 Suicide Squad that I reviewed back before I had my current format. If you'd like to read my baby blogger prattle, you can click here - otherwise I'll put the highlights in red text if needed.

Alright, so, if you recall last time the Squad had a mini revolution and have now come to work better as a team and there's a lot less yelling 'DAMN YOU WALLER!" and in it's place, more work enjoyments. Like Las Vegas holidays!

I mentioned the cover before so there's not much more to be said apart from - while I do like the aesthetic.... I can't get past Harley's concave and malnourished looking torso. Deadshot should not be front and centre, he looks awful! It's like he took a time out to swear an oath and in the meantime, someone took a shitty sketch of him and photo-shopped it in badly. King Shark - well, I only just now noticed he has human heads in his arms. Sure, in hindsight it's pretty bad that I missed this but I could only see his freaky feet.

Right into it this time, the Squad are in Nevada because of some vague Intel about someone about to use mass hypnosis for some nefarious purpose. I mean, it's always nefarious isn't it? No one ever brainwashes crowds to start doing line dances or the world's best Mexican Wave, do they? When will this discrimination end???

Panning over Vegas there's some tourist information helpfully posted around Jnr being smacked down by Waller. Someones doing some hypnotism and they've gotta be stopped! Again, not uncommon in Vegas. The source is confidential!! Or hasn't been written in or thought about much. Again, not uncommon in Ve-. Suicide Squad. 

Anyway, Waller tells Jnr to shut up again while Deadshot and Harley gamble in disguise. That is to say, Deadshot gambles like an ordinary person while Harley clings to him in over sized gauntlets and aforementioned clown whore. She also spouts things such as 'Like a boss!' and 'tiger blood' which is a reference so dated it took me a moment to place it. When were these comics written?! 

Naturally as only one of them blends in with the ordinary folk and the other looks like the serial murderer as seen over the news a while ago, a security person at the casino asks them to come with him. Have they been cheating? Winning too much? I couldn't say, it's the first freaking panel and they're already being escorted out!

Actually, even though we only have two panels it doesn't really seem like Deadshot is gambling at all. Still, I kinda like the cinematic pan over those two panels. Harley really didn't go into too much effort to change her costume but I do kinda like the head-dress and grape earrings. I'm going to enjoy this possible throw back to her love of grape soda, and ignore the pink fluffy things on her arms that possibly foreshadow her transition to pink and blue nightmare. 

Batgirl #18 'O, Harley Night!'

Judging by the snow and the red and green coloured title, it's already going to be an American Christmas. Why did I specify that? Because I'm English, but now live in Australia.. where the concept of it snowing at Christmas, which is generally the meltiest time of the year but it's because the heat soars higher than any sleigh, and the drops falling are just filthy sweat... not snow.

There is a reason why we amend our Santas to look like this;

for if we don't... THEY SUFFER FROM OVERHEATING. 

So the general or popular opinion that you have to be buried in ten feet of snow for it to be actually Christmas gets a bit grating at times but yeah, sure, it's set in American and it's comics so sure. Ok.

But of course - our Harley is still running around wearing her usual outfit and ... a scarf?
Like - OH NO, It's cold! Better wear a scarf with fluffy boots and not like... do my jacket up or.. heaven forbid, wear pants or something covering my midriff!

She also adds purple and green leggings to her already horrible mish mash of red/black/pink/blue. Why? Who knows. Also not a massive fan of the change of Batgirl costume. I know - I'm behind the times there and it does seem to suit her more youthful appeal but you just can't beat the classics.
Also, how did Harley beat Batgirl to the point where she's just casually looking up at this arse clown while her back is surely breaking? And that my friends, is a 'too soon' for me moment.

Variant cover is alright, Harley is channelling Joker in the face but it's still better than wearing a band-aid on her mug like in cover one. At least here she commits to the Christmas theme and goes full red and green - even though she's wearing booty shorts, at least her jumper is done up and she's wearing warm gloves. The jingle bell belt is nice and I approve of the pigtail fluffy scrunchies and the the British looking old school lamps in the snow, however it seems like Batgirl was drawn by a different artist? And why is her hair made of spray paint? Still, the little gift-bomb is a nice touch.

So - why is this happening?  Let's have a look.

Retro Reviews: Harley Quinn #20 Wouldn't be Caught Dead There!

Last issue, our dominoed dame was the victim of an exploding, stolen jet-pak incident. The Dodson's cover is eye catching - just Harley falling, her terrified face looking back up as she drops into a black void.

July 2002

When this comic first came out, I admit that this story got me. I was like - wait... Harley's a comic character. She can't just die! What-what-what?!
Had only just become a fan, the comic had only recently started, the internet - well, it did exist in my life but certainly not to the extent it does now. Like, I was on MSN, Myspace, college sites and some fan sites for animated series. I didn't have the comic resources I do now. Back then, finding useful information about Harley Quinn on teh interwebs was about as rare as unicorn crap. Wow, there's a redundant comparison as these days unicorn crap is actively marketed and purchasable in mainstream stores.

I'm also a bit wiser about how often comic characters shuffle off their papery mortal coil only to mysteriously pop up again on the other side when it suits the writers. In saying that, I do quite like this afterlife special. Just like Harley herself, she doesn't follow the trend or do exactly what you'd expect of this kind of story, which makes for an interesting and unique run.

The actual story continues on from the cover, something I recently complimented in Gotham City Sirens, I just really enjoy the transition when done right. Really can't stand the overt, fourth wall breaking ones that somehow take you out of the experience.

Anyway, after a fairly rough landing onto her back, Harley stares up wide eyed as Lewis talks to her. Yes, THAT LEWIS. He warns her away from the windows because the police have a sniper outside. Harley is so overjoyed to see Lewis that she misses Nixon Two-Bear's snarky comment about how "She never missed him before." Ruh-oh.

Harley Quinn: Premium Format Figure - Sideshow Collectibles

Sideshow Collectibles has been hard at work making some nice things that I can't afford right now, (and also spelling collectables in a way that offends both my British sensibilities and my spellchecker, but that's another matter entirely) so I thought I'd spend a little time talking about one of their new statues.

One thing I really appreciate with Sideshow is that they seem to understand the appeal of the classic Harley Quinn along with her various reiterations. They're also good at interpreting Classic Harley Quinn for people who want something 'new' without going as far as say, the Suicide Squad movie version of her outfit which is basically two-toned apples and oranges and a far cry from what she started out in.

That and their items are really high quality - hence the 'premium format figure' name being trademarked by Sideshow. They go above and beyond to make sure what they sell is great and packed with fun props/features and detailed bases. So, let's get into it.

Starting with the interchangeable faces - here we have two options. One has a skinny domino mask which showcases her eye make-up, which is sort of thickly winged out and has more traditional clown 'tears' make-up. Her eyes are ringed by light red colouring - which I think is meant to be a nod to her current style - one eye blue one eye pink/red - as opposed to the usual clown face paint.

This head has white greasepaint with a very very underhanded and pleasing blush effect. Her lips are a dark red with a bit of a black tinge - which combined with her displeased expression makes Harley look like a much more dramatic character. I like her loose pigtails - the colour is nice, I'd almost forgotten what she looked like without the dip dye! - and the highlights weaved through the natural looking strands looks realistic.

On the other hand - the other Harley head has a much wider domino mask - almost as wide as her cheerful yet vaguely garish grin. Her lipstick is just dark red, and looks a lot like Joker's smile, with the edges of her lips exaggerated and almost brought out into a Chelsea Smile. Her face has the same greasepaint and blush tones as the other head, but is encased in her classic jester hat. Her eyes have more of a smoky look to them - light greys gradually getting darker. Her eyeliner is still winged out and heavy towards the end. 

Batman and Harley Quinn issues 1- 4

Alright, remember that Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie that came out? Then the prequel comics that came out? Then these ones that came out at pretty much the same time? Yeah.. it's a bit confusing. Even I get the whole Batman and Harley Quinn or Harley Quinn and Batman titles mixed up a lot. 

Geez, even DC is getting confused because they're selling the 5 issue prequel and the 7 issue sequel as 'Batman and Harley Quinn' and advertising it solely AS said sequel in a collected graphic novel. 

Let's have a look. 

So already we can see that the art style is basically the same - as in Batman the Animated Series but just bad enough so we don't get sued by WB. 

This issue opens with the suspicious note of '6 days since Harley lit the match' and the title of this issue is 'Busted' which ties into the Solit for the series which was :

Batman's been back in Gotham for almost a week, and that means someone is about to get "Busted"!
Wow! Is it Harley!? Nope. she ain't even in this issue. That's why I'm doing two posts on this run so I can breeze through the majority of it. The chump getting busted is Blockbuster. So.. is that a pun or what? Not sure.

Injustice 2 - Issue 72

"Goodbye"
Aug 2018

Side note - this issue would have been tucked in with the rest of the shitepost of Injustice 2 however.... I got ahead of myself and didn't realise this series ended with this issue. Oops.

This one opens up on Alfred making a hard decision so early on we see him talking to the Kents via telephone. It's good to know that the Fortress of Solitude has cell reception. Alfred is the coolest butler ever... he's wrangled all the Robins/Batgirls, one of the few that can put Batman in his place, politely but firmly kick Superman's ass, knows all the superheroes and supervillains AND he buttles.

Usually pretty good, but he's been struggling a bit since his rebirth. Oh, snap, a DC pun.
Anyway, I like how the Kents and Alfred are so civil and all despite what their 'offspring' are up to.

Meanwhile, Grodd is taking back the town with a heaping of violence and mental manipulation. 

Grodd successfully tells Deadshot not to shoot.. and without this core element of his nature, Deadshot crumbles apart like so many Marvel characters in Infinity War. Well, no, not really but he's pretty upset about not being able to shoot things. 

There are worse things though.. at least he didn't get his head blown up like Man-bat. Or his son threatened like Solivar. 

DC Comics Red White & Black Harley Quinn Statue (John Timms vs Frank Cho)

Normally when I review a Harley Quinn volume 3 solo comic, I will place the standard and the variant cover beside each other and critique them. If you haven't guessed by the title of this post, I'm gonna do the same with some statues based on their artwork.

But wait, doesn't Guillem March do the covers now? Yeah, but I've already reviewed HIS statue and it's way out of these guys' league. So, we're stuck with John Timm (interior art) and Frank Cho (variant covers).

Already there's a huge difference between these statues.

YEAH, prepare to get butt hurt because  I'm talking about Harley's size!
 
I have mentioned that I'm not a fan of Timm's elongated, skinny ass butt-less wonder serial killer before.

This is not to be mean to women on the skinner side, but Harley - pretty much until the New 52 where she lost a lot of weight/boobs/muscles and started living in her lingerie - had always been drawn on the more slightly voluptuous side, but not like Cho's cheesecakey nostalgia art.

There's no happy medium.


Personally, I liked that she had a normal, not over-sexualised figure in her original form. It really helped lay down that Harley was - despite being a pro-athlete - basically a regular person who just fell into the criminal clown lifestyle. Like, Catwoman - you go around calling yourself a feline, you better be lithe and flexible! Poison Ivy based a large part of her schemes around attracting and duping men, so you better believe she's a bombshell. Harley was different. As long as she could flip around and be clown like, it didn't really matter what size she was.

The problem I had with Timm's interior art was that everything seemed to lose scale. Harley was always drawn like freakin' Plastic Man and her splash panels were always so, so stretched out (and crammed to the brim with exposition-ey speech bubbles) while she literally TOWERED over her colleagues like a slightly more colourful Slender Man and then there was her face.

I get that the art's not there to please me personally - I mean, it would be nice - but honestly Timm struggles with drawing faces. As in, the angles someone's head is turning, as in the crowd Harley is standing in has the exact same faces as everyone else, it's hard to tell what is hair and what's not plus Harley's nose is always red. This bothers me. Is it a cocaine habit? Is it cold? New found cat allergies? Is it too hard to find her nose on her pasty face otherwise? What?!

I think it was a carry on from Amanda Conner's stupid redesign - but I mean look how many years we've had of Harley doing white face and not having a ruby red sniffer? Even the New 52 didn't screw that up which is saying something! 

Cho meanwhile - is probably the nearest we've had to the Dodson's art from the original Harley solo run since Adam Hughes. Now they could do faces! Bodies! Humour!!! Oh, please come back to Harley Quinn -- Dodson team!

DC Universe Harley Quinn #56

Okay.. I feel like we have already had a cover like this with Harley recently. Or maybe two if you count the 'We are Robin' "parody" in that. Then it's got the obligatory 'who let the somethings out' asked perhaps un-ironically. Probably wouldn't be too bad but.. the cats.... don't look like cats.

They kinda look like stuffed animals with some poor sod's false eyeballs. Clearly they ran out of poses for said pussy posse and they sneakily amended them slightly with different colours, hid them in the background... maybe moved a limb or two. I just can't get past Harley's freakishly tiny hands. .....urrgh.

Second cover is okay.. makes me wish it was 'who let the hyenas out' because that would be a lot more funny and then maybe, just maybe I could get past that time DC killed Bud and Lou horrifically.* Wait... where's the other hyena? Gasp!!!


So we open up on Harley staggering down the street for some reason. Is this to do with Christmas? Who knows? Anyway she gets some horrible Pepto-Bismol laced hot dog because apparently to be American is to eat partial meat substances with the antidote at the same time. Then it's back to the office! By which we mean her home? So why did she leave in the first place? Who knows..?

Now here's the part I have a problem with. She has...gained a cat allergy! *comedic shenanigans ensue* I know it's not impossible.. why, my best friend recently started reacting to her cat and they've had that furry bastard for like a decade! Harley doesn't act like this is a recent development though.. although she sure didn't mention it when she used to have that whole spare floor filled with dogs, cats, birds and a metric tonne of their poop!

Well it's relevant because she now has to evict some tenant's cats. As we all know, I skipped a good load of these comics because I couldn't stand the bastardising last 'creative' team. So.... who the heck is this guy? Was he in the comics recently? Why does he have to get rid of his cats (who appear to be talented) when Harley herself got to have the aforementioned poop-level filled with dogs that literally ate humans... when she had that poop catapult shooting crap over the city she 'loved' so much.. how she had chickens, puppies and rotting beavers in her apartment...

What a hypocrite!!