A prequel to the new animated film!
Creative Staff:
Story: Ty Templeton
Art: Rick Burchett
Colors: Keiren Smith
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Harley’s sure she’s the best thing that ever happened to her puddin’, but the Joker treats her like just another henchperson. There’s only one thing to do: get the Batman involved!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a new Harley Quinn and Batman animated feature due out at the end of August, it makes a lot of sense for DC Comics to work up a digital-first series for it. Working with writer Ty Templeton and artist Rick Burchett along with colorist Keiren Smith and really fun lettering from Wes Abbot, we’ve got a five-issue series that will lead up to the film and then in October we’ll get a seven issue sequel to the film that brings it all together. I’ve long enjoyed Ty Templeton’s writing so getting to see him dabble in this area is definitely a lot of fun. And Rick Burchett gets huge props for capturing the look of the animated property, and the original Batman: The Animated Series look, because it simply delivers on the fun without getting all caught up in the sexiness. But damn if there isn’t some sexiness to be had here.
The opening isn’t all that much in terms of story but it sets things in motion pretty well. Batman and Nightwing have found out where the Joker is setting up for his next scheme by poisoning people with some killer BBQ sauce and he’s now working hard to both defeat and delay the masked duo so he can escape. It’s all classic style Joker with the silliness and level of threat that he brings out, he is trying to kill lots of people after all, but it has that kind of slapstick quality that makes it very easy to just immerse in it and enjoy it for what it brings to the page. Batman and Nightwing are a bit of lighter players in this overall as they’re mostly trying to catch him and then wrap things up at the end only to be foiled but it has a really classic feeling about them.
What makes things complicated here for the Joker is that all his wonderful toys, included a mecha-Joker, aren’t working as they should. And that’s largely because Harley has sabotaged it all because of how their dynamic works and the way she craves attention from him in a big way. But in a twist from the norm he’s actually ignoring her even more and just focusing on his own escape and revenge. Even when he learns that Harley lured them here he ends up venting in any other direction than Harley herself. That’s what finally pushes her over the edge, even after describing the kind of “twisted” dynamic the pair has, but it takes on a potentially much more enjoyable twist when Ivy shows up to rescue her bestie. I, like many others, have long lover the dynamic between these two women and seeing it here in this form just makes me very excited for what’s to come.
In Summary:
Harley Quinn and Batman delivers what I had been hoping for with this as we get a very fun visual design from Rick Burchett that handles the layouts wonderfully and with a great dynamic sense of flow. I love the action, the joker’s face as things explode on him, and the look of Batman throughout this. Harley’s still a character I struggle with because of overuse but by going back to the “original” version and looking to move her on, even as a prequel to an animated movie, I’m all in. Add in some delicious Poison Ivy material at the end and it’s just fantastic all around. This should be a pretty fun read in bi-weekly form and likely even better when read in full. And for a buck an issue it’s an easy way to get some classic silliness and fun character material.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 31st, 2017
MSRP: $0.99
