Harley Quinn: Black, White, and Redder #2 – Kelly Thompson, Ryan Parrott, Writers; Annie Wu, Luana Vecchio, Artists, Brandt & Stein, Writer/Artists
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: This installment of Harley’s new anthology features a trio of stories—including the debut from upcoming Birds of Prey writer Kelly Thompson.
Thompson and Annie Wu kick us off with “Origin Stories for Dummies,” which finds Harley and a bemused Ivy dealing with a captured Zatanna. Harley’s kidnapped her because she wants a magical rewrite—she’s tired of having her origin tied to Joker, and wants an origin that’s more like Batman’s. That doesn’t work out, so she tries Superman—and it goes equally badly, as Joker keeps coming back into the picture. This is silly and meta, which is VERY fitting for Harley. Overall, it feels more like this is Thompson setting her tone for Harley Quinn and setting up the BOP series, and on those grounds, it’s excellent.
“Great Petspectations” by Brandt and Stein is the silliest story in the whole series so far. The Super-Pets are getting an award, and so naturally Harley needs to crash the party to complain to Robin that her boys Bud and Lou are better than them. That leads to a face-off between the Super-Pets and Harley’s collection of evil pets—including Dex-Starr and new characters Squiddler, Barkseid, and Ares’ pet Koala. It’s exactly as ridiculous as it sounds, with some of the funniest moments in the series and some great visual gags.
“Coffee and Pie, Oh My” by Parrot and Vecchio is a unique two-character play between Harley and Gordon, as Harley is under arrest for a series of assaults after returning to Gotham. She has excuses, but Gordon is burning with rage against the Joker and everyone associated with him. This seems to be out of continuity or set in the past, but it has a good, nuanced take on both characters, with Gordon coming off less like a Javert-type and more like someone who is struggling to put his old biases aside.
Overall, there isn’t a single weak spot in this issue.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
