Harley Quinn #3 Review

Writers: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Chad Hardin

What will Harley get up to on Valentines Day? Read on to find out.

The official description from DC Comics:

It's Valentine's Day, and Harley is getting depressed watching happy couples walk by. Will a special gift from Poison Ivy turn things around for Harley?

So far Harley Quinn has been a very fun series, giving the kind of energetic alternative that the New 52 has needed for a while. Due to this it' the perfect series to tell a Valentine's story during, and given Harley's recent experience with heartbreak there is a lot of possible ways this story could have gone.

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti give us a simple yet another amazing one-shot story, with these quick tales being enjoyable to read. There is however a small part of me that wishes that there'd be more of a continuous structure, as despite there being the continuous threat of the bounty that's on Harley's head, it appears to be quite random. Though in saying that this is rather fitting for Harley. Conner and Palmiotti also utilised the Valantine's theme perfectly, utilising Poison Ivy's cameo from last issue in a subtle yet effective way.

Chad Hardin's art on this series has been simply amazing and one of the things that I've enjoyed the most. The sheer detail of Hardin's art is simply wonderful, with his unique and smooth flowing layouts giving depth and tone to this quirky story. Hardin also showed the emotion and excitement in this issue perfectly as well, with both the characters facial expressions and the action giving some definition. Combine all this with the splendid colours from Alex Sinclair and this is a comic that visually should please everyone.

A fun Valentine's story that'll appeal to any Harley Quinn fan with it also having it's usual lively tone. Highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

Harley Quinn #2 Review

Writers: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palimotti
Artists: Chad Hardin & Stephanie Roux

What will Harley do when faced with saving the lives of unwanted pets? Read on to find out.

The official description from DC Comics:

Harley and guest star Poison Ivy set out to rescue a bunch of cute puppies and kitties! What could possibly go wrong?

So far Harley Quinn has been a terrific series, being the kind of quirky and vibrant addition that the New 52 has needed since it's launch. It is however still in it's early days, making it slightly hard to decide exactly how to judge the series.

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti did however up their game with this issue, as although the subject matter itself wasn't overly interesting, the fun and energetic nature of the issue made it amazing. Conner and Palmiotti also showed Harley's nature perfectly, showing that despite her playful attitude that she does have emotions and feelings towards certain living creatures. The addition of Poison Ivy was also much appreciated, as despite it not being overall necessary for the story, it was nice to see these two friends team-up again.

The artwork in this issue was shared between regular artist Chad Hardin and Stephanie Roux. Now I could probably separate the two artists work out, but the similarities in style make the transition nearly unnoticeable. Alex Sincalair may have had a hand in this with his colours creating a great tone and consistency for the issue, helping the transition to feel more smooth. Hardin and Roux also did a great job with the layouts of this issue, with it having a very energetic and fun feel throughout, with some panels practically jumping off the page.

Harley Quinn continues to be a fantastic series, with it keeping the fun and energetic style that has made Harley such a well loved character. Highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

Harley Quinn #1 Review

Writers: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Chad Hardin

Will this issue be as fun and wacky as the amazing zero issue? Read on to find out.

The official description from DC Comics:

Harley is set to begin her new life, but she needs a job first! Enter the Coney Island Roller Derby! It’s game time as Harley sets out to destroy her competition—literally!

The zero issue for this new series was simply phenomenal and easily one of the best zero issues ever. This issue however was a little different, though it had the same overall tone being just as crazy and wacky as the zero issue (if not more).

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti did a terrific job of setting up a continuing storyline for Harley, whilst also managing to keep it fun and unique. I especially loved how Conner and Palmiotti have taken Harley out of the main DC Universe and given her some room to show her characteristics, as despite the fact it would probably be nice to see Harley interact with other DC characters, this gives more room to make the story even more unique. The issue was however overall not be quite as good as the zero issue, as despite the fun nature of the story, the pacing of the issue was very inconsistent. This is however the early stages of the series so it is expected to get minor quibbles like this.

Chad Hardin’s artwork is simply perfect for this series and although there may be better artists than him working for DC I doubt there is anyone that could have matched the tone of the story quite as well. The layout as well as the expressions on Harley’s face is what grabbed my attention the most in this issue, as it added a lot of intensity and impact to the issue visual wise. I also loved how Hardin showed the crazy nature of this series as well, as despite the script being the key thing that made this issue wacky, the art followed suit perfectly and I hope Hardin stays on this series for a long time.

Although this isn't quite as good as the zero issue, it is still fun and crazy, showing Harley at her best and I’d highly recommend picking it up.

Rating: 8/10

Harley Quinn #0 Review

Writers: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artists: Amanda Conner, Becky Cloonan, Tony Daniel, Stéphane Roux, Dan Panosian, Walter Simonson, Jim Lee, Bruce Timm, Charlie Adlard, Adam Hughes, Art Baltazar, Tradd Moore, Dave Johnson, Jeremy Roberts, Sam Kieth, Darwyn Cooke & Chad Hardin

This is a series that I've been looking forward to for some time now and the delay just made me even more excited for it's release, as Harley Quinn has really needed to feature in a good series for a while now, as although she's been used decently, the stories she's been in have been rather poor.

Plot

Harley Quinn searches for the right artist for her new series.

Review

This was a brilliant issue and one of the most unique zero issues that I've ever read. Due to this my review will be very short as most of what I can talk about is to do with the artists. As for the writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti did a terrific job of giving us a quirky and exciting zero issue which was very fun and crazy, taking the Harley Quinn tone to another level. The only small problem I have with this is that it doesn't give too much of a look into what the series may be, unless it's just going to become a completely crazy series, with random stuff happening. In saying that I haven't enjoyed a zero issue quite as much as I enjoyed this and if Conner and Palmiotti keep this style throughout the series it could very well become one of my favourites.

The artwork on this issue would be done by many different artists with writer Amanda Conner doing the first couple of pages with an array of artists doing the rest including, Becky Cloonan, Tony Daniel, Stéphane Roux, Dan Panosian, Walter Simonson, Jim Lee, Bruce Timm, Charlie Adlard, Adam Hughes, Art Baltazar, Tradd Moore, Dave Johnson, Jeremy Roberts, Sam Kieth, Darwyn Cooke, as well as the regular slated artist Chad Hardin. Now usually I'd have a problem with the class of styles, but due to the way the story would see Harley looking for the best artist it made the story very unique and interesting. Now artist wise I really enjoyed Lee and Hughes' artwork the most, and the fact that Harley's co-creator Bruce Timm featured was an other bonus. I was however not a huge fan on Baltazar, Kieth or Cooke's art feeling that it didn't suit Harley, and if it wan't for the story I would have probably enjoyed it less.

The other key feature of this issue would see Harley breaking the fourth wall and talking to the writers of the series knowing that this is a comic book (much like Deadpool used to do and sometimes still does). Now I loved this as it would give us something very unique, and the fact that Conner and Palmiotti would feature as characters would also make this even more entertaining. Now it would be revealed that the series wouldn't continue to break the fourth wall, and although I enjoyed this issue that is probably a good thing as it allows us to get some properly plotted stories from now on. Also if it continued like this issue it'd no longer be very unique and would soon become mundane.

Final Verdict

One of the most unique zero issues that I've ever read this was a brilliant introduction for new fans of Harley Quinn as well as a brilliant story for old fans. It would have an array of wonderful artists all vying for the job of drawing Harley on a regular basis with the tone being simply perfect for her character. Due to all this I'd highly recommend this issue and if the series continues with this tone it's bound to become a hit.

Rating: 9/10