Harley Quinn Fartacular: Silent Butt Deadly #1 – Joanne Starer, Writer; Brandt & Stein, Artists; Marissa Louise, Colorist
Ray – 5/10
Ray: One of the most impressive things out of DC right now is just how shockingly consistent their line is. I don’t know the last time I actually disliked a DC book since Infinite Frontier…but every streak has to come to an end sometimes, and it’s only fitting that it comes to an end with a fart-themed Harley Quinn special. Now, full disclosure, I’m reading this through digital review copies, and as such have not gotten to enjoy the “scratch and sniff” features associated with the comics. I’m okay with that. This is an April Fool’s special, which is the only way it could have been printed, but I wasn’t prepared for the fact that this actually would be…forty pages of fart jokes. It all starts when Ivy lets out a fart while gardening, and Harley is amused (and maybe turned on? I don’t even know). After Harley makes one joke too many, an insecure Ivy kicks her out of the house and Harley is determined to get her girl back.
This kicks off a bizarre adventure that includes the reveal that famous Irish author James Joyce had a fart fetish, a series of cursed letters that left a supervillainess named “Dutch Oven” with chronic farts (an affliction Harley later picks up), and a guest appearance by Plastic Man, who at one point becomes Harley’s fart-containing rubber suit. Look, are there good points to this? Sure. Brandt & Stein’s art is delightfully cartoony (in a fart comic) and the comic has a few good messages about respecting boundaries (in a fart comic). I’m sure this book is for someone, but it’s very much not for me, although the last few pages did have a reveal that was pretty amusing. But overall, this is a book that went “Let’s tell a double-length story about Harley maybe having a fart fetish” and played that out to the stinky end. I don’t even know what to make of that, but happy April Fool’s Day, I guess.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
