Destruction, mayhem and chaos! The three words that bring us one troubling villain wrapped in a parcel of red and black. That’s right folks: HARLEY QUINN is back and invading the infamous Comic-Con! Creating all sorts of mischief, she rides on one hell of a roller coaster for the six day convention trying to get her comic seen.
Positives
Brilliant writing is the heart and soul to Harley’s crazy adventure. As she trudges through the woes of being in the general public at a convention, we follow Harley and her journey to get her comic “Hurl Girl” (yes, that does mean puking) seen by the top dogs. Seriously, this pulled at my heart strings as a frequent con attendee; I know how it feels to not only fight the crowds, have people think you are another character and work on stalls all while trying to pitch your work. The thing that most draws Harley out as a unique character is her moments of pure randomness, between going crazy over stars, her own Harley “fan club,” and getting herself to panels, the writer has absolutely captured the essence of what it’s like to be slightly nutty fan.
The subtle slips of other DC characters and DC staff had me playing “Where’s Wally?” on each panel, as I found myself pointing and giving out a girlish giggle when I found each character I recognized. Though the artwork varied again as the previous issue #0 of the new 52 HARLEY QUINN had done, this unique concept displayed a great deal of communication and professionalism between writers and multiple artists showing that they can team up to do a masterpiece like this, giving the fans something special that will be remembered for years to come as one of a kind.
I really commend Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmotti for an exceptional script and the whimsical nature that really makes our dear Harley shine bright,even though as a maniac, she will constantly put a smile to the reader’s face.
Harley’s shenanigans involving a room full of “Puddin’s” was by far my favourite moment, as well as getting her artwork critiqued and overreacting to the point of nearly killing some poor guy until he says it’s pretty good. I knew those facial scrunches all too well and really laughed at the more colourful mirror image of myself. I know every true DC fan who has attended a convention will connect to this issue and see a part of themselves within Harley’s crazy adventure as she takes you across these six days.
Negatives
The small nitpicking at my part would be on two issues. As much as this piece was done by many artists, I felt as if that broke the story a little and I had to re-adjust each time it changed. I felt some artists were not as clear in the artwork as others but that was the concept of the work and it was a unique aspect to give different artists a chance.
The other small grievance was the stacked speech bubbles mostly jammed into the panels, I was struggling to read the mass amounts of text that seemed to shrink as they went on. But, I guess it’s a hell of a task to fit six days into forty pages.
Verdict
Once again, I was laughing myself into stitches at Harley’s antics and became lost in the majesty of Comic-Con with her, running from stall to stall, mobbing artists like a fan girl and exhausting myself with grabbing as much merchandise that your arms can carry. It brought a gigantic smile to my face with each page and I loved it so much that I caught myself reading it again over my partners shoulder. If you want to laugh, cry, and see Batman getting “pantsed,” then this issue is definitely for you.
Rating
