Harley Quinn #73 – Sam Humphries, Writer; Sami Basri, Artist; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Sam Humphries is wrapping up his Harley run in only two more issues, and he’s certainly got a lot to wrap up before he goes. This current Los Angeles-set story arc has had a lot of mysteries, but at its core, it’s playing into a larger story that deals with Harley’s very bad ways of dealing with grief. She’s been grappling with the death of her mother since the early parts of the run, and it’s led her into self-destructive behavior. When we last left off, she chased down the supposed mastermind behind her friend Alicia’s death. But what she finds there is a corrupt and evil man—who has nothing to do with the tragedy she’s seeking answers for. Alicia’s death is something else entirely, and it leads to one of the most devastating moments of the run. As Harley battles with the idea that sometimes there isn’t an easy answer or a bad guy to punch, she continues to spiral and finds her way back to Booster Gold.
The relationship with Booster has been a mixed bag. I’m not a huge fan of the idea of the relationship, especially as most fans are more into Harley and Ivy, but Humphries has made Booster a compelling shoulder for Harley to lean on. It helps that he quickly figures out that she’s in a desperate state this issue and isn’t willing to take advantage of that. This story could have easily been very creepy. But it doesn’t resolve much either, and Harley continues to seek out self-destructive behavior, leading her back to the ring where she chases death against a ruthless wrestler. But just before the issue ends, the story takes a big twist and Harley is set off on a new mission, one that goes back to the very start of Humphries’ run for the next big bad. I’m not sure what Harley’s next run will be like—every creator on the title has been very different—but they’ll have a big task to live up to following Humphries’ run.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
