Harley Quinn #35 –
DC Comics
Written by Frank Tieri
Art by Inaki Miranda
Colors by Jeremiah Skipper
Letters by Dave Sharpe
Cover by Amanda Connor & Hi-Fi
Sometimes it’s good to step back and get a fresh perspective. At the height of her popularity, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner created a whole new direction and identity for Harley Quinn. They built a world and entertained Harley fans for several issues. For the first time in years, someone new will take control of the Harley-verse (that’s a thing, right?) Let’s see what Frank Tieri and company can do.
First thing I can tell you is, that is not a reboot or a reset at all. If you’ve been reading the recent Harley run, you will see a lot of the supporting characters that you have grown to love. As a matter of fact, one of them goes missing under very strange circumstances. That kind of drags Harley back into a world that she didn’t really want to be a part of right now. No matter what the circumstances are, Harley doesn’t turn her back on her friends. As she investigates there a lot of frustrations, both friend and foe. She also isn’t the only one looking, as we find out later in the issue. I can tell you that we do find out who is responsible in this issue, and that may be the most interesting part of this story. The ending is a bit predictable, given the cover, but that doesn’t mean it lacks in intrigue.
While this issue was fine, and certainly had it’s interesting moments, something just felt a bit off. It can’t be easy to just take control of a world and a story that someone else created, but that’s essentially what Tieri was given here. Part of me expected a bit of distance from that, and letting the story become something new. It’s like seeing Dick Grayson dressed up as Batman. It’s not like it’s not good or not interesting, you just know something is not right. I like Tieri, and he’s very talented, but I wish he had the chance to create something fresh. Some of the jokes were funny, and the antagonist story is very interesting, but this wasn’t the fresh take I was hoping for. The art, on the other hand, was a nice change of pace. I love Amanda Connor and Chad Hardin, but Miranda does a fine job at giving the story a bit of an edge. The art does set a bit of a different tone, which the book really needed (especially with the villains.) Again, I liked the issue, but I was hoping for something a bit different. Still…it’s Harley and I need to see where this story goes. I hope that this may be a slow burn into something different, and not just someone new writing a Palmiotti/Connor story.
RATING: PICK UP