DC Bombshells #14 Combat pt 5 of 9

When we last left off with DC Bombshells, the good doctor Harley had just abandoned her post... crashed a few parties.... dumped Green Lantern and stole a plane. Just a typical night out in London. Am British by birth - can confirm.

Harley flies over the English Channel (comic puts her at 3 miles from Calais, France but still in 1940) singing her best mutilated Christmas Carol when she's shot down by no less than three tanks. I mean, it IS a special occasion after all. Harley doesn't mind, she rides one of the overlarge shells down in her best Dr. Strangelove impersonation - never mind that the shell must be scorching her thighs, there's debris everywhere, she's falling to her imminent doom and she's wearing a bikini top and mini shorts in the frigid weather.

Luckily, she lands safely in a random greenhouse. Her irritation at the shell for.... not going off? ...is somewhat abated by the appearance of a mysterious, yet clearly armed woman.

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.

New52 Grifter vs Suicide Squad

So for a change of pace, thought I might take a look back at the earlier incarnations of the New52 Suicide Squad and their tentative steps into the world of cross overs. I am not a Grifter fan, in case you were wondering. I don't know anything about him apart from his cheap Spidey-Poole costume, fondness for guns and a code name that implies he's dodgy as a backstreet lung.

Feb 2013

Action packed cover. If you're wondering why the artist forgot to draw a bunch of arms holding those guns, it's because Grifter is telekenetic... because of course he is. Still doesn't excuse his lazy costume.

Opening up on some sort of briefing which we're later shown is a recording being shown to Waller alone, we're shown a red haired girl with green eyes and told this is the target, and she's joined some sort of alien cult because how else would she spend her Saturday night?

Anyway, the first picture of the girl is her in a green singlet, then the rest of the panels show her singled out in the middle of the room, then there are two more panels with a girl with red hair and green eyes, yet sitting at the front here and with a different dress.

Plus the people she's sitting next to are swapped out. Soo.... is the red head the same girl the whole time? Is the first image a stock photo and the rest is the 'live' scene? It's confusing. The art's not too bad though.





Waller gets chewed out for a past mission failure and then we're back into the action, watching Grifter run and monologue at the same time. Oh, and also dodging bullets. I wonder who's shooting at this guy? Could it be....

Yes! It's Shooty Robot, Fire Skull and Emo Levitating clown!
Oh lawd, doesn't Harley's face remind you of that time Dc released all the 'Arkham City/Harley's Revenge' tie ins and promos, and she was just constantly either crying or having dripping eyeliner? Wait, is this a nod to sad clowns? Well, either way her pose is stupid and she looks more wannabe emo than a dramatic-comedic persona. Also, Grifter and Deadshot have the same pose more or less.
Also Harley's quip would probably make more sense if she wasn't from Gotham and had a history of breaking into Arkham herself.

Still, as much as Harley's pose and face freaks me out... it's not as bad as the next page.

DC Universe Originals: Harley Quinn Episode 1

What's it about?

Series overview: The series will focus on a newly single Harley Quinn, who sets off to make it on her own in Gotham City.

Episode Specific: 'Til Death do us Part

Following an unsuccessful yacht robbery, Harley Quinn is sent to Arkham Asylum while deluded that her boss and lover Joker would break her out. A year later, Poison Ivy manages to get Harley out during a prison break and tries to convince her that Joker does not love her. Despite Ivy's support, Harley's attempt to break up with Joker fails after he sweet-talked her into staying with him. The Riddler, who also escaped Arkham, provokes Joker in sending Harley to kill him. But she and Batman are both captured with Riddler forcing Joker to choose who to save while the other is submerged in acid. Joker ultimately chooses Batman with Harley realising she never meant anything to the former, learning the ploy was devised by Ivy and Riddler to drive that point home. Following a costume change, Harley officially breaks up with Joker while declaring her intention to make a name for herself in the criminal underworld.

What's good about it?

The animation is good. Colours are nice, physiques aren't too bad... Harley has some amazing gymnastic moves that look great and not cheaply animated at all. There are some smart/funny lines but not nearly as much as I expected.

Jim Gordon was a horrific example of mis-characterisation, but he was funny and entertaining so that can slide a bit. 

The ton of references that weren't in our faces:

• The 'Mad Love' nightie
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The 'Mad Love' waltz
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Harley getting a grenade pin as an engagement ring
  
  
• That scene in Batman Forever where the villain has two characters trapped in an individual  glass dome and forces one character to chose who to save while in the Riddler's lair.

• The 'taste of piss' bit reminded me of the 'you eat pieces of shit for breakfast?' gag from Happy Gilmore. Except that was funnier.
  

Harley Quinn animated interview

So... I read this article recently.. 

Metro.co.uk Harley Quinn's Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell clashed over swearing limit on foul-mouthed DC series Abbie Bray 03/12/2019

....and it confirmed some things.

Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell clashed over their characters in the Harley Quinn animated series for who could swear the most per episode – but who do you think had the last F-word? 

The foul-mouthed cartoon sees Kaley star as the titular anti-heroine, who decides to break up with the Joker and become a supervillain in her own right, teaming up with gal pal Poison Ivy (Lake) to join the Legion of Doom. Although what fans don’t know is that the show has a limit to how many swear words they can use per episode. And as a result, the stars had a bit of healthy competition by revealing they would try to claim more F-words for their characters. 

‘We don’t shoot together,’ Lake told ET. ‘We don’t record together and there’s often a fight.’ 

‘About who gets more [F-words],’ Kaley added. ‘Did Lake take the last f*** again?’

The over the top swearing made the adult themed show just that much more juvenile... like hearing Maggot Robbie spit out 'pussy' because she was under the impression that that's how you show that your character is so much more fearless than the Joker. Just... trying too hard and ultimately failing. Unless she was trying to cover us in spit, in which case she may have succeeded.

And speaking of the woman who has doomed all of my searches for the ACTUAL Birds of Prey or anything Harley related to end in her gross mug showing up, here's what the executive producer had to say about it.

DC Universe: Suicide Squad #1

Well, I'm so far behind in reviewing these damn comics that I might as well start with the 2020 re-release and work backwards, I guess? I suppose if I'm doing the most recent ones as well as the New52 run, I'm bound to meet myself in the middle... right? That's how time works, isn't it?
.......Maybe?

Oh well. So yes, apparently they're doing a new run of Suicide Squad. Let's have a cheeky peek.

Right. So already we have fourth wall breaking from Harley, who is of course, centre stage for the money shot. That was quick. The best I can say about her is that her expression is cute and she's toned down her ridiculous eye-shadow.... but I'm also going to criticise her stupid fairy floss hair. Her awkward legs make my legs hurt by association, and that makes me extra uncomfortable.

Joining Harley is King Shark - who's back to being a Great White again! Woo-hoo! and Deadshot who.. okay he looks more like himself but gotta say I miss the mask. We also have what appears to be Zorro, Zebra Man and a nervous Magpie knockoff?

OOOOH I WONDER WHICH CHARACTERS WILL DIE THE SUSPENSE I CAN'T EVEN...
Yeah, predictable as always there is no doubt it's gonna be some or all of the newbies. It would be nice if this run could take more of a risk with it's headliners and you know, live up to it's name?

But I guess that'll never happen.

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.