Review: Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn #4
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Katana Collins, Sean Murphy
Artist: Matteo Scalera
Letters:Â AndWorld Design
Colors: Dave Stewart
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
“Keep your eyes open. He might still proved to be an asset to the case. Some of the smartest people I know are also a little….Eccentric.” – Bruce Wayne to Harley Quinn
Positives
Matteo Scalera and Katana Collins are providing the peanut butter to fill in the cracks of Sean Murphy’s “Murphyverse”. What we think we know of the Joker’s origin, Harley’s intentions and Bruce’s situation….we really don’t. Scalera, Collins and Murphy have reinvented a universe that could have been viewed with fatigued eyes.
I credit Sean Murphy with the prior White Knight series in inspiring the retelling of this story. We as fans and readers appreciate the Easter Eggs that are provided in this universe with nods to the Batman movies as well as other major stories in the mainstream Batman story lines.
The fall of Jack Napier into the chemical pit…Harley was not present for this in any other versions, but she is in this one. What a twist and what art! Wow!
Scalera and Collins turn a regular picking up of the twins from a sitter into a foreshadow that will make you shudder. “We had some dinner and did some face painting”…. whew!
To watch Bruce and Harley interact, I feel really guilty. We are so mainstream in our thinking that Selina and Bruce should be together. So watching the interactions between these two makes me think I am rooting for the wrong couple.
Scene after scene are both psychologically deep, riddled with memories of what was, but also the influence it has on this universe. We think we know, but we really don’t know the direction. For instance, last issue I thought that Hector was cross dressing and was the Nanny who was committing the murders.
Nope… great misdirection in story telling!
Positives 2.0
The art is amazing in this book! Matteo Scalera and Dave Stewart are at the top of their game and they emulate the same lines and colors that are known for the Murphyverse. I wish that Sean Murphy could simply expand his story telling and let others in his same vein onto his playground.
To see this art and script writing come together gives us a whole new vein of story telling with characters we have known for decades. It’s fresh and we need that!
Negatives
The only negative here is that I don’t have my hands on the next issue. What a cliff hanger ending again.
Verdict
Sean Murphy, Matteo Scalera, and Katana Collins are hitting all the bases in the series. With every turn of the page, you get Easter Eggs, homages, but better yet…the Harley this character has always needed to be. DC should be praised for allowing Sean Murphy to not only expand the Batman Universe, but to allow other artists and writers play in this Murphyverse sandbox. Now…let’s get Two-Face and Catwoman involved in this!
