Harley Quinn #49 – Elliott Kalan, Writer; Mindy Lee, Artist; Triona Farrell, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: This issue finally pulls in tight on the mysterious Althea Klang, as Harley’s new nemesis gets to narrate the issue. It’s an interesting twist that she grew up in Throatcutter Hill – and while Harley loves it as a place of culture and quirkiness, Althea only has bad memories of it and wants them exorcised and bulldozed. The duo has a very odd relationship, seemingly to be passionately attracted to each other but also hating everything the other stands for, and it’s never been clearer than in this odd, flirty, violent issue. As the interplay escalates, Althea steps up her attack by summoning room service – in the form of Amygdala – and Harley sabotages Althea’s new apartment building with a flood of sewage. If I had a nickel for every scatological Harley comic released this week… But despite the slightly juvenile humor, this is one of the stronger issues of this run and packed with funny dialogue.
The Flash #19 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Vasco Georgiev, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Simon Spurrier has always dealt heavily with cosmic concepts in this book, but this arc has done a little better with capturing some real emotional truths amid the chaos. Wally has split himself into two to be able to take his family on vacation while also doing JL duty, and that’s caused complete chaos. One Flash has gone rogue, due to the influence of Eclipso, while the other battles the possessed Warlord on Skartaris. As Linda and the kids bop through time and space, the Justice League rallies its troops to try to see how exactly they can stop a possessed Flash. It’s all very fast-paced, with cosmic entities like Eclipso and Apokalips running up against each other, and it ends with the debut of a massive new threat with a fantastic design. It’s all a little too busy, but I think this issue does a good job of including a few more quiet moments that build on what Adams did with the Flash family.
Power Girl #19 – Leah Williams, Writer; David Baldeon, Writer; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The penultimate issue of this series finds Karen and her allies going up against the Void Three, a trio of alien siblings who are seeking to return the universe to its natural state of nothingness. It’s a huge-scale final boss for such a lighthearted book, which makes the tone of the issue a little odd. However, it has plenty of great action to put any doubts to rest. What works here is the unique rapport Leah Williams has built among the cast, and it makes me curious to see what’s to come for the new media company she’s starting with Mariposa. But the ending indicates not everything is what it appears to be – and it ties in very closely to the current issue du jour for all of us. With only one issue left, I’m a little skeptical about kicking off a new plotline now, but I’m hoping Williams will have more DC work to expand on some of it. It’s pretty impressive that this character got to 20 issues, honestly.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
