Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special (2022) #1

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Batman/Superman: World’s Finest continues to just be an amazingly fun ride. Mark Waid is clearly having the time of his life in his return to DC Comics, and I couldn’t be happier for him. Coupled with amazing Dan Mora artwork in every issue, this book is a ca n’t-miss book each and every month. This was initially meant to be Harley’s only appearance, but there was something magical about Sorkin’s performance. Nobody could forget the way she said “Mistah Jay” or landed a perfectly timed punchline. Harley Quinn had arrived and the DC Universe would never be the same. The story may be called Injustice, but it brought nothing BUT justice to Harley fans hoping to see her take on a less villainous role. In many ways, Margot Robbie can be considered the casting that launched a thousand cosplays. In 2016, Task Force X came to the big screen for the first time in the David Ayer-directed Suicide Squad…and of course, Harley Quinn was on the roster.

Cover image for 0722DC025 Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special #1 Jerome Opena Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Jerome Opena, in stores Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from DC Comics To celebrate 30 years of Harley Quinn, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, DC and Palm NFT Studio are releasing a new NFT collection dedicated to the Clown Princess of Crime. These collectibles will grant access to exclusive experiences as part of Harley’s crew. This free collection of 30,000 Harley Quinn NFTs will drop over two days, starting on September 29 at 9am PST, with early access for DC Bat Cowl Collection holders. The snapshot determining eligibility for early access will be taken on September 28, at 9am PST. On September 30 at 9am PST, open mint for all DC NFT account holders will begin. To learn more about the Harley Quinn collection, please visit nft.dcuniverse.com.

There isn’t much plot to the chapter itself, it’s just Harley traveling through a circus that represents various moments of her life and relationships in a surreal fashion. It’s still not great, and I absolutely did not need another sequence praising how wonderful the Harley/Ivy romance is after what I’ve been exposed to in this comic. Still, I would probably put Mindy Lee and the Dodsons on the list of who should actually be writing Harley. It took us ten stories to find a creative team still capable of that. 8/10 A person can grandstand about how wonderfully progressive they are with the changes they have made to this character, but your true colors get revealed by the actual content of these comics you release. DC writer Tim Seeley once said in a ScreenRant article: “We’re aware of how toxic, and unromantic, and un-idealized their [Harley and Joker’s] relationship was. Nobody should want to have that in our story.” I’m sorry, should we want stories talking about how Alfred “spent a lot of time with Harley’s beaver.” Or stories romanticizing Harley and Ivy’s S&M style relationship instead? The mere depiction of Harley with Joker is what’s a bridge too far for DC editors, but everything else is ok? Then there’s the humor, and with Jimmy Palmioti that’s always puns and sex jokes. His most recurring joke for Harley is the fact that she owns a “stuffed beaver.” For those who don’t know, “beaver” is a rather dated slang word for “vagina.” So when Harley mentions anything about her “beaver,” you know what it’s really supposed to mean. At one point, Alfred finds Harley has sneaked into his bed as she exclaims “thanks for spending so much time with my beaver.” What am I supposed to take from that? It’s an example of disgusting, degrading, sexist jokes that only appeal to the lowest common denominator.

The one-shot was written by Dini and Bruce Timm, two of the iconic creators behind some of the greatest Batman: The Animated Series episodes. Freed of the constraints of network television, the comic allowed for a deep exploration of what drives Harley as well as the dark side of her relationship with the Joker, and readers responded strongly. The book won an Eisner Award for Best Single Issue and was later adapted into a 1999 episode of The New Batman Adventures. If you want to understand Harley Quinn as a character, Mad Love is essential reading.Cover image for 0722DC029 Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special #1 Stjepan Sejic Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Stjepan Sejic, in stores Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from DC Comics

Here, we finally get a story where Harley Quinn is written as herself. Mindy Lee and Terry Dodson are writing Harley’s voice better than even Paul Dini here because they are not trying to mimic the vapidness of the newer version. She’s got that 1940’s Brooklyn gangster twang to her voice, but it’s not overdone to the point where it’s annoying. The artwork also depicts Harley with a cute, yet sassy expression that matches her character. Cover image for 0722DC023 Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special #1 J. Scott Campbell Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) J. Scott Campbell, in stores Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from DC Comics So my hype for this comic evaporated. I had hope for this anthology because usually when writers are free from the constraints of whatever is going on in the mainstream books, they come up with fairly decent stories for Harley. What I got instead is a comic that reinforces everything wrong with DC’s stewardship of Harley Quinn. The best stories here are simply not as bad as the worst stories. The worst stories fly way over just being badly written and into being utterly repulsive. It’s really heartbreaking for me, because I know what this character means to other people. They are not invested because they can’t get enough of Harley’s high-pitched voices, skimpy outfits, or (recently) dirty jokes. Harley was meaningful to people because she presented a rare female character that was allowed to be vulnerable. It meant something to have that kind of character to relate to. But she’s in the hands of people now who don’t seem to care.Palmiotti and Conner co-wrote the stories during their time on the book, with Conner also illustrating the dynamic covers. All three current seasons available for streaming on Max, new season four episodes every Thursday on Max Cover image for 0722DC027 Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special #1 Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, in stores Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from DC Comics A few months later, on January 18 th, 1993, viewers witnessed the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Batman: The Animated Series paired Harley Quinn with Poison Ivy in an episode appropriately titled “Harley and Ivy.” The rest is history. This comic is not just a bad collection. It doesn’t just reinforce that DC Comics has no idea what the Harley Quinn character should be or what she should represent. There are some absolutely vile things in this comic that I could not believe were published by DC. I have not been this upset at a comic since I accidentally bought a Marvel trade that included the “Rape of Ms. Marvel” storyline.

The artwork was a bit inconsistent, too. I liked the moodier blue and yellow colors used in the story, but some of Harley’s faces looked garbled and weird. Sometimes her body appeared to be a bit “box-like” as well. It gave me the sense of rushed work. 4/10 Cover image for 0722DC028 Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special #1 Lee Bermejo Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Lee Bermejo, in stores Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from DC Comics If you expect disappointment then you can never be disappointed,” said Zendaya’s M. J. from Spider Man: No Way Home. It’s some pretty cynical advice, but it is advice I wish I had taken when beginning to read this book. I was rather confused by this story when it began. Harley’s voice isn’t bad, but she’s portrayed as a whiny little girl who is desperate to join the Gotham’s Women’s Club, saying she should be the star member. She is rejected, of course, but insists that she must join because she’s actually a “good role model to young girls.” Then the rest of the story is Harley teaming up with the girl scouts to effect change and “smash the patriarchy.” I mean, it’s a bit hypocritical to call Harley Quinn a role model to young girls after the kind of content we’ve experienced in this comic so far, isn’t it? I also don’t feel comfortable that this story, which feels like it’s meant for very young kids, is in the same collection as the Sejic story. The artwork, while pretty well executed, also has this patchwork, cotton-textured look to it that re-enforces the feel that this is for kids. Who is this character for, DC? 3/10 Cover image for 0722DC803 Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special #1 Frank Cho Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Frank Cho, in stores Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from DC ComicsWhat's even better is that Stjepan Šejić is the perfect writer/artist to make a Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy romance story because of his experience with his Image Comics series Sunstone. The romantic comedy has great chemistry for its female leads and highlights their vulnerabilities while making the romance work. This is something that Šejić could easily bring to a Harleen sequel because there's so much built-up personality behind these beloved characters. Making it take place shortly after Harley leaves the Joker could give her some internal conflict exploring the difficulties of leaving that type of relationship. Meanwhile, Ivy fears for Harley's well-being as she tries to protect her friend and eventually becomes her girlfriend. DC Comics digital-first series available in both digital and print editions; Season One, Two and Three complete and on sale The story goes that Harley is having temptations of returning to Joker again. Selina Kyle deduces of Harley that her attraction to Joker is not based on love, obsession, or dependency, but because Harley has a bondage “Daddy kink.” Yes, that’s in the comic. Selina Kyle says this and she and Harley go on to explicitly talk about “domintatrixs” and fetishes in a mainstream, premium format, DC comic. She continuously produces cover work for Marvel Comics, DC Comics and an assortment of independent titles. When the DC Universe was reinvented for the New 52 relaunch, Harley Quinn was given a dramatically different new look, a new origin and an all-new team. 2011’s The Suicide Squad #1 placed Harley on Task Force X and she’s been trying to ditch the deadly team ever since. Since this initial outing, Harley Quinn has become an iconic part of the Suicide Squad, appearing in multiple runs of the comic and both Suicide Squad films (more on that later).