Retro Review: Harley Quinn #21 Hell and Highwater!

August 2002
Writer: Karl Kesel
Cover: Terry & Rachel Dodson
Art: Brandon Badeaux
Inks: Dan Davis
Colours: Guy Major

When we last left off, Harley found out she was literally in Hell alongside some former partners and after a few failed attempts of reasoning with the powers of the underworld, decided to bust out.

This issue brings a new card into play - Ulysses Highwater - a damned bounty hunter, who we see chasing down a bank robber seemingly intent on not just getting his man, but also finding out information on a certain Nathan Drumm. His current prey can't help him but when Ulysses is summoned to see Etrigan - rhyming demon of hell - in order to capture Harley Quinn and her gang... Ulysses wonders if she might know.

Without a doubt one of the best wanted posters I've ever seen!

Speak of the devil - Harley and her gang isn't doing too bad - stealing a tank, and running down Pettit (no doubt revenge for the knee capping from earlier!) with a satisfying 'sklonjtch' noise.
Eventually they get cornered, but keep going and smash through a gate and into a hidden metahuman containment facility.

American Horror Story: 1984 and Harley Quinn - Criminal Psychologist

I am a long time fan of American Horror Story, but I do admit that some seasons are hit or miss. Plus, they don't really screen it here in Australia unless you have some fancy TV channel subscriptions..

Essentially, loved Murder House - Asylum didn't grab me and the twists at the end were kinda left field... Coven was alright but often felt like the story was built around Stevie Nicks songs and lost momentum/direction after the first few episodes. Freak Show was pretty good overall but did get a bit preachy towards the end, Hotel seemed like the Lady Gaga show and took a long time for me to get interested in it, and I'm not sure I even finished watching it. Because of the aforementioned issue with screenings.. I didn't get to see Roanoke or Cult (although I plan to catch up soon) and basically forgot they came out until a work colleague was talking about the next season. Apocalypse was amazing and I was keen on it all again. So, here we are at Season 9, with 1984.

Thus far, 5 episodes in - I am LOVING IT. It's a real love letter to 1980's slasher flicks, and heaped with nostalgia for the era. The characters are memorable, the soundtrack is amazing and the banter is witty. There are genuine laughs in here. Plus, unlike Stranger Things - there is gore galore.

So, with that said - let's have a look at one particular character that echoes our dear Harley Quinn in so many ways.

Spoiler alert!! Episodes 1-5 only.

Suicide Squad New52 #20

Hello, Harley people!

This blog is going to be about, well, Suicide Squad #20. Duh, pay attention. Now, I did a review of this one aaaaaages ago, so here's a link if you'd like to read it in full. Otherwise, there'll be snippets of what I thought were apt or witty thoughts about it. These'll be in a different colour to the rest of the body, so if my paragraphing doesn't make sense... Y'know. Well, that's my excuse anyway.

It's important to note that from this issue and moving forward, the series had a new writer in Ales Kot. As you'd know from previous reviews, I had a few issues with Adam Glass' writing for this series. I'm not entirely blaming him for this dank ass series but he definitely had a major hand in it.
So, it's been a while. Was Kot any better? Let's find out.

July 2013
"Discipline and Punishment Pt 1 of 2"
Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Patrick Zircher
Colours: Jason Keith

Y'know, I used to review these all the time before it became way too hard - it's a whole new level trying to type something when your arms keep getting thrown up in the air and my typist left because she thought I was swearing at her when I read this stuff. However, now there's a new brain-head doing the series I thought I'd give it another go.


The cover art here shows some wannabe flesh, a sad little skeleton still holding on to the freaking grenade. There are times in life where it pays to drop the ball. Or pear shaped object with a pin.
Around Skeletor is little photos of the Squad, in case we forget who they are. For a 'secret' team, there sure is a lot of this photo stuff going on. That's a problem for another day. Me? I can't get past Hardly Quinn's ugly piggy nose and the fact that Deadshot looks like a scrapped plan for a robot in a third rate sci-fi show.

Now as well as a new writer, we also have some new characters. We met the Unknown Soldier last issue but there's also new inmates (or inmates we didn't previously have the budget to see) as well as Waller's new minion. Waller is going all out, as she also has a plan to break in the current Squad because it took about 20 issues for her to realise that this Squad is useless.

Heroes in Crisis #2

After what seems like a year we finally have issue two and it could be more controversial than the previous issue, which actively killed off heroes.

How, you ask? Yes, well, we'll get into that.

In the meantime, relive Batman's eternal back pain Bane. You can almost hear him screaming at the person taking the picture to get off their ass and help him. Well, classic Harley did over to the left, but then there was the whole strangling thing, sooo....












Opening up with another therapy session - this time a joint venture with Poison Ivy - and then later Harley Quinn because we can't have another Gotham City Siren in the spotlight! Their scene is kinda cute, but they probably shouldn't have a red and black fourth wall breaker do the boop.

I mean, I don't believe Deadpool has the monopoly on the boop (especially if heckin' puppers are around getting startled) buuuut there are enough comparisons between the two already without making it super obvious that this is what DC is going for. 

Joker's Asylum II: Harley Quinn

"The most important day of the year"
August 2010
Writer: James Patrick
Art: Joe Quinones
Colours: Alex Sinclair

Here's one of my favourite comics to wash the taste of the last review out of my mouth.

Now, I love Quinones art when it comes to Harley Quinn. Maybe it's the similar surname, but he just seems to GET her. A lot more than any squad working on any Harley solo's since her original run.
The interior artwork and all the expressions are just ace. The cover's nice too. A very powerful, somewhat provocative stance (without being exploitative) but damn, look at how much detail there is on the scene. The messed up door and the smoking gun with blood on it, the light hitting Harley from below and casting Batman's shadow... just great.

Being Joker's Asylum, we open with Joker introducing the tale, a la Tales of the Crypt while in a plush chair, a dressing gown and holding a puppy. Our first shot of Harley is her bare feet showing out of her Arkham oranges while she's running down the hall and deftly evading guards and fail-safes. We don't get a good look at her face until she stops at a cliff.

Props to Arkham staff - they really tried. They pulled out every move in a rare attempt at being efficient. I wish they tried this shit whenever Joker feels the need to escape because there's no way he'd make this at all.

Now we see her face, Dr. Arkham desperately tries to understand what has motivated Harley to do this right now of all times but we all know what would make Harley do anything criminal, don't we?

Yep, the siren song of her obsession, her Puddin' and her devotion to him means that even though she could have been out, free and clear if she'd just waited a few weeks but now she's going to be on the lam with Batman and the cops and everyone hunting for her. She can't though, because she wants to be with her beloved cohort on Valentine's Day.






This is the classic Harley we know - the one that would jump off a damn cliff after baking cookies to be with someone that doesn't actually love her.
She arrives at an abandoned YMCA which was their hideout... apparently? I'm not sure what's sadder, the fact that there are several young men who will not be able to use the YMCA services anymore or that the hideout doesn't even have a proper pool.
She meets the one surviving but severely wounded hench man Spider who tells us why Joker's not there himself.

Harley is ticked off that Falcone has taken Joker on today of all days but she's already got a plan and is preparing for when she gets back with her beau.

DC You - Batman: Prelude to the Wedding.. Harley Quinn vs Joker

Well naturally, Marvel just had the last few weddings of the century so here's DC's attempt at competing again.

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. 

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. 

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.

Harley Quinn's motivation in Suicide Squad

I just re-read my last post and realised I had more questions  about what I initially thought was the problem with the comic.

Particularly when I read the dialogue in this screen cap.

Harley states that she never "felt right"doing the things they did. Note there are no specific examples of what it was they did. Now, considering the New52 reboot essentially scrapped their previous history.. this was a bit of stupid because we can only really look to the past to see what things they did.

Are they talking about the chaos they spread in No Man's Land? Was it the Joker Fish from the Animated Series? Joker's Last Laugh? That time they took a holiday to Metropolis and doused everyone in gas? Brainwashing Robin in Batman Beyond?

I guess so, but at the same time.. by DC's own logic, it can't be.

I've bought this up a few times but one more time.. DC failed to show us what this new relationship actually entailed and how long it was for. You would assume from Harley's speech that they were together for a while but later on in Detective Comics 23.2 we find out that Joker basically dumped her the second he got out of Arkham. Suicide Squad itself only really shows a few psychiatric sessions, a vat dumping and then a sad flashback of a clown themed bedroom.

I... I'm not corrupt enough (surprisingly!) to picture New52 Harley and Joker banging!
I barely survived the weird... fully clothed Deadshot clown car romp.

In my opinion, this whole dramatic break up would have been a lot better if they had at least flash-backed to or explained what things they were doing.

Now another important bit here is that while Harley states she wasn't comfortable doing what Joker wanted her to do, she did it because she loved him. This, I don't have a problem with because that was very similar in pre-New 52 but with one exception. Harley was never an outright baddie, she was basically lead astray by Joker, only seeing what they were doing as fun and games. So while she would never take it upon herself to carry out large scale crime operations or murder, she wasn't exactly torn up over the 'fun things' Joker and her did either. If someone else complained, they just didn't "get the joke."

The next thing Harley says is that someone else (Waller, presumably) offered her a chance to be something different than what she had been. This part nagged me because when you think about it... it didn't.