Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special (2022) #1

Product Information

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 Comics Robbie’s portrayal as Harley was a gamechanger for the character. From head to toe, the gifted actress embodied Harley in every single frame in her big screen debut, and the fans took notice. Step into any comic convention and you’re likely to see several Robbie-inspired Harleys…maybe even an army of them. Written by AMANDA CONNER, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, PAUL DINI, STEPHANIE PHILLIPS, STJEPAN ŠEJIĆ, SAM HUMPHRIES, KAMI GARCIA, ROB WILLIAMS, MINDY LEE, TERRY DODSON, CECIL CASTELLUCCI, and RAFAEL SCAVONE The Maid of Mischief was given an entirely new look for the video game, losing her jester outfit in favor of a red-and-blue bodice and thigh-high boots. Batman: Arkham Asylum and eventual franchise it birthed would prove to be so popular that Harley’s comics and merchandise began to take their cues from this new design, all while introducing our favorite Gotham troublemaker to a wider audience than ever before. Most exciting of all, Harley’s proven to be one of the most enduring elements of the franchise, with her most recent Arkham Universe adventure, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, due on consoles next year.

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.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

Variant covers by J. SCOTT CAMPBELL, ADAM HUGHES, STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU, LEE BERMEJO, JEROME OPEÑA, BRUCE TIMM, TERRY DODSON, and STJEPAN ŠEJIĆ 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 There is also an incredible array of Harley Quinn apparel, collectibles and more, including DC Shop which has curated shirts, shoes and even classic animation cels showing off thirty years of Harley Quinn. Go to Shop.DC.Com to learn more. 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. This will follow Harley Quinn's current 30th-anniversary events, including the New York Comic Con pop-up activation, the Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special and the December art book Harley Quinn Uncovered #1.Harley Quinn (which just finished its third season on HBO Max) stars Kaley Cuoco as a Maid of Mischief who’s on a hilarious, often explosive journey of self-discovery. The show’s adult humor takes no prisoners, but it’s more than a comedy. Harley’s journey is an emotional one as she leaves the Joker and comes to terms with the abuse she suffered at his hands and eventually falls for her best friend Poison Ivy. There’s also a septuagenarian cyborg (who first appeared in the Conner/Palmiotti comic) with a sea monster for a sister, a Joker redemption subplot, a still-can’t-believe-we-saw-that Court of Owls orgy and about a billion jokes made at poor Bane’s expense. In short, it’s everything we love about Harley—pure, joyful, unadulterated chaos. And it’s not stopping any time soon. The series is getting a fourth season AND an animated spinoff centering around Kite Man, one of the show’s standout characters. Cover image for 0722DC022 Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special #1 Amanda Conner Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Amanda Conner, in stores Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from DC Comics

Palmiotti and Conner co-wrote the stories during their time on the book, with Conner also illustrating the dynamic covers. 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. 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. During an assignment for Crusade (‘Tomoe’) she and Jimmy Palmiotti became a real team as penciller/inker.From jovial jokester to Super-Villain, Harley Quinn has captivated the hearts of fans for three decades. RSVLTS apparel line is releasing a 30th anniversary tribute to the unpredictable Harley Quinn, which features three soft and stretchy men's and women's button-down shirts: "XOXO," a love letter to Harley through the years, the subtle-yet-sinister "Jokes on You," and "Lil Quinns," covered in a menacing mosaic of mini-Quinn jesters. 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 Dini got the idea to cast his friend Arleen Sorkin after seeing her in a jester outfit on the soap opera Days of our Lives. It was a perfect choice. Sorkin’s vocals gave Harley the comedically anarchic personality that helped turn the character into a superstar.

Harley’s friendship with Ivy fundamentally changed her character, helping her evolve as an individual, and became one of DC’s most endearing female duos. Then there’s the plot itself, which shows Harley trying to hang out with Alfred, and they have long conversations before Harley helps Alfred fight some villains. I was questioning in my head the whole time why Alfred was allowing a crazy person with a murder record to drink tea with him and caper about Wayne Manor, even if she is supposed to be reformed. But that’s another element to Palmiotti’s Harley. He changes anything from DC canon at will to fit his story. This has caused confusion over his run for years as people couldn’t figure out if it was supposed to be canon or not. So what am I to take from this story? Was it meant to prove that Harley is a hero at heart? Because you can’t do that and have her treat death so casually at the same time. This is not writing Harley as complex or fun, it’s just writing her as a mess. Even “insane” characters need to have logic behind the writing. You can’t just have Harley react to things on whims and expect the audience to feel something for her.Cover image for 0722DC024 Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special #1 Stanley Artgerm Lau Cover, by (W) Various (A) Various (CA) Stanley Artgerm Lau, in stores Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from DC Comics All three current seasons available for streaming on Max, new season four episodes every Thursday on Max As a part of the relaunch, Harley’s origin was also reworked. Most of the elements from Mad Love were preserved, but now, in a reference to his origin, the Joker also pushed Harleen into a vat of chemicals to complete her transformation. Along with altering her mentally, the acid also bleached Harleen’s skin, creating her familiar white pallor, which prior to now was created by makeup. The New 52 also retired Harley’s jester outfit for good, giving her an ensemble similar to the one she wore in the Arkham video game series.