Harley Quinn #24 – Stephanie Phillips, Writer; Matteo Lolli, Artist; Rain Beredo, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Death has not particularly led to good things for Harley, as Stephanie Phillips continues her run. Last issue revealed that while she was back from the dead thanks to the help of her sidekick Kevin, she didn’t come back entirely well in the head—which, for Harley, is tentative in the best of times. She’s left Kevin behind this issue as she’s gone on the road with her new creepy pet Parry and kidnapped the serial killer Mr. Zsasz—not because she thinks he’s her killer, but because his unique murderous MO makes her sure he’s the only person who didn’t kill her! That doesn’t mean this is going to be an easy issue for him, though, as Harley puts him through a particularly bizarre interrogation before dragging him along—still tied to a chair—as she investigates the patterns that led to her murder. It’s an old-school detective adventure, but with that typical bizarre Harley Quinn energy.
This is definitely a better story than the last few arcs, because it has more chaotic energy than the Verdict story and Harley works best in Gotham rather than space. The book has been good all the way through, but watching Phillips get to finally indulge Harley’s more vicious side this arc is great. I’m a big fan of the current Harley, but she had some moments before her reformation where she could be genuinely scary. While it’s clever that her portrayal in this issue isn’t exactly… right due to her Lazarus madness, it’s also not like she’s possessed or something. This is Harley, just with her morals and personality just a little skewed—but the ending takes a bizarre turn that indicates we’re nowhere near completely down the rabbit hole yet. This is a great series, and whoever takes over after Phillips will have a hard road to hoe. It’s been great to see Harley consistently develop over the last few runs.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
