“Sunshine Getaway”
Creative Staff:
Story: Dani Strips
Art: Dani Strips
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
What They Say:
Harley was trying to take a nice and quiet post-breakup vacation into the SLAUGHTER SWAMP, but disaster strikes when a bunch of creeps kidnap her beloved hyenas Bud and Lou. Time for her to put a very particular set of skills to use and kick some ass!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Moving into the double digits of this fourteen-issue series, the latest standalone tale is one that comes from Dani Strips for the writing, artwork, and color design. Color design is key with this series and I like that she uses some varied shades of red to give it al little extra flavor and that it’s not such a blunt and bold red like some of the other installments. I hadn’t seen much of their work before but their installment of The Dreaming was strong from what I recall and getting to see them working on a popular character like Harley definitely brings out talent in interesting ways. There’s a lot to like here in how it unfolds.
With Harley kind of hiding out in Florida for awhile and trying to get past all things with the Joker, she ended up hooking up with a low-level criminal named Mickey who she had some fun with and then disappeared on before breakfast could be served. That’s hurt his ego and he hired someone to go and steal her two hyenas. The hired thief doesn’t feel great about it because she basically stole Harley’s pets, but the reality is that Mickey makes it clear the hyenas are Harley’s children for all intents and purposes. She views them that way and acts accordingly, so what’s basically happened is a kidnapping is underway and Harley is leaving no stone unturned to find them.
Naturally, Harley’s methods may be terrible but they’re effective because she’s actually a good detective with incredible luck combined with it. There are amusing similarities in how she and Batman operate but luck is on her side in a different way as an agent of chaos. Watching her going after those who stole her babies and dealing with them is cathartic violence because she’s had something so important taken from her but they’re treated so casually – though at least one of them realizes the real problem that’s been created. It’s fun watching as she reconnects with her babies and apologies but doesn’t hesitate in killing others that took them. It’s not a surprising piece, it’s part of her personality, but it plays well here to really make clear who she is and how she operates.
In Summary:
Though the story doesn’t do a whole lot for me, it does reinforce her love of her fur babies and there’s always a lot to like there. Dani brings in a good number of jokes along the way and some really great designs that make for a very distinctive issue. I love just about how every page looks and that I’m likely to see new details every time I re-read it in the future. The book goes for a kind of standard level of Harley violence here but the design work plus it taking place in Florida just kind of give it a little more intensity. Dani definitely captures Harley well visually and in the script but it just needed a little more oomph in some direction that I can’t quite pin down to move it up to the next level.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology and Amazon Kindle
Release Date: August 21st, 2020
MSRP: $0.99
