Harley Quinn #35 – Tini Howard, Hannah Rose May, Writer; Logan Faerber, Leomacs, Artists; Triona Farrell, Jason Wordie, Colorists
Ray – 7.5/10
Ray: This continues to be the most ridiculous Harley run in a long time, taking Harley and constantly interrupting her everyday life with surreal cosmic adventures. This time, her rivalry with Lady Quark comes to a head when the OMACs calling themselves the Brothers Eye capture Harley’s students and her estranged friend Kevin. But it turns out Lady Quark might not be behind it—and her daughter is in danger as well. Combining Harley’s antics with a hard-sci-fi concept complete with some eerie robot torture segments isn’t exactly a natural fit, but it is fun to see some progress in Harley’s relationship with both Kevin and Lady Quark, especially since the latter rivalry has gone on a little too long. Love the bizarre role Bud and Lou are playing here, as well.
I was a big fan of the backup, which features amazing work by Leomacs (last seen on the excellent Black Label series Rogues). This is a bizarre Indiana Jones-themed adventure for Harley and Killer Croc, as their latest mission for Amanda Waller takes them into a tropical jungle with a distinct dinosaur theme and some surprising death traps and guard monsters. It’s very surreal and funny, with a last act twist that pulls the whole thing together as only Harley can.
Power Girl #4 – Leah Williams, Writer; Eduardo Pansica, Penciller; Julio Ferreira, Inker; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The first arc of this new title wraps up with a bang, as Power Girl’s attempt to help a dying Kryptonian lion has ended with her being possessed by a vicious symbiotic being—who proceeds to hijack her body and immediately use it to attack Superman. Supers fighting each other is nothing new, but it is pretty new to see it get this vicious. Power Girl, or at least her body, is out for blood while she watches helplessly from inside her mindscape—that is, until Omen and Streaky show up. A Kryptonian having a psychic as her backup actually makes a good bit of sense—after all, the Super’s most vulnerable spot is their mind. Also, it’s good to see Streaky get to maul some things for the greater good. It seems like this new villain, Symbio, will be hard to get rid of and will be sticking around a bit, even as this title moves on to a new main plot for the next arc.
Batman Beyond: Neo-Gothic #6 – Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Writers; Max Dunbar, Artist; Rain Beredo, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Lanzing and Kelly wrap up their second Batman Beyond mini with a bang, as Terry heads to the surface to take on the massive overgrowth caused by none other than an undead John Constantine—desperately holding on to life by doing some horrible things. At some point, a whole magic crossover event broke out in this series, which is definitely not what I was expecting here. In many ways, Lanzing and Kelly are the writers who have taken Terry into adulthood, and he takes a pretty shocking step this issue to determine the kind of Batman he’s going to be. His potential relationship with police officer Beam Boonma is interesting, but the bond of his that felt the most genuine this run has been his partnership with the young splicer who was formerly Constantine’s mentee. Is this the start of an unconventional Batman/Robin bond? I’m hoping we get to find out in a third mini.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
