Harley Quinn #57 – Elliott Kalan, Writer; Carlos Olivares, Terry Dodson, Artists; Rachel Dodson, Inker; Marissa Louise, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: It’s Harley Quinn’s 200th legacy issue, and while this issue doesn’t bring in any guest writers for an anthology, Elliott Kalan still manages to make it quite the event. This issue contains two stories, with the first being by guest artist Terry Dodson. In it, Harley is confronted by the Deconspirator, the mysterious new supervillain who proceeds to take her inside her past and show her the hidden hand twisting her life from the start – the writers! It’s a fun meta story with some great art showing all of Harley’s eras from a new perspective over ten pages.
That then leads to an oversized main story as Harley returns to Throatcutter Hill – and finds the entire place in the throes of riots, as the Deconspirator manages to turn everyone against each other and convince them of enemies within. This leads Harley to team up with Althea Klang and her new friends in the Gunbuddies, as she and Althea get closer to a weird relationship. But first, Harley has to deal with the villain – and winds up neutralizing him in a very unusual way. This series is always…a lot due to how chaotic it is, but I think this was a suitably epic anniversary spectacular that celebrates just how weird Harley is.
Batman/Static Beyond #2 – Evan Narcisse, Writer; Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Artist; Wil Quintana, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The first official crossover in comics between the Milestone Universe and the Batman Beyond universe, this title takes place in the years after the events of the original cartoon, with Terry taking over for Bruce while Static is a veteran hero working with the Justice League. But the legacy of the Big Bang still looms over the city, and when Static’s friend Melvin gets a new set of powers, it sends the city into chaos. This issue does deliver some very interesting details about the future of the Milestone Universe, including where Rocket is right now, but the scars of the Big Bang are still deep, with the metahumans of Dakota being considered an underclass for a long time. Over the course of this issue, Static and Terry are a little tense because of the events of last issue, but several developments at the end of the issue throw the whole city into chaos and set up the main plot of the issue – as well as throwing all of the city into darkness.
Harley & Ivy: Life & Crimes #2 – Erica Henderson, Writer/Artist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Erica Henderson’s unique take on Harley and Ivy’s origin enters its second chapter, as the two are finally united after escaping a burning chemical plant by the skin of their teeth – except that united might be generous. Ivy doesn’t trust Harley, for good reason – she assumes she’s still part of Joker’s gang, and will inevitably go back to him. But they soon don’t have much of a choice about their next move, as the two of them being spotted engaging in destruction together quickly leads to the media branding them a deadly feminist terror gang, and they become public enemy #1. The dialogue is very funny, and has some great moments as the duo look back at the rocky early days of their relationship, and the art as always is great. With Joker off-screen for this issue, this feels more like a bridge story before the next big event, but I have a feeling this is being written as a very tight story with a lot of great developments to come.
Justice League Red #5 – Saladin Ahmed, Writer; Clayton Henry, Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The penultimate issue of this techno-thriller asks the question we’ve been wondering about all along – can Red Tornado truly be trusted? Now part of the Watchtower’s security system, the AI seems to have given up his connection to humanity since his body was destroyed and instead focusing on letting his algorithm point his secret squad of heroes towards incoming threats. But when they’re sent to target Black Adam, the Khandaq ruler refrains from killing this motley crew and instead lays out for them how they’ve been played by their former ally. This is really good characterization for Adam, very much in line with the smarter, ruthless but practical version of the character used by Geoff Johns and Priest in the past, and some of the reveals here are shocking. The ending gets us to the point we knew was likely coming, but with only one issue to go, it’s hard to see how it can be resolved so quickly.
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 #6 – Brian Buccellato, Writer; Christian Duce, Artist; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The penultimate issue of this chaotic miniseries finds Monarch battling for control of the Kaijus, with Leland Shaw having taken control of the Suicide Squad after murdering Amanda Waller and escalating her project to turn the Task Force X members into kaiju themselves. This creates some great visuals, particularly as Barbara Minerva is transformed against her will into a giant cat-woman. The kaiju are far from united themselves, of course, as Ghidora has risen and is trying to use its psychic abilities to dominate. As Kong battles for control of the underground and Godzilla recovers under the sea, the heroes have limited success in trying to parlay with them. This series is using characters from across the Monsterverse, but it also has a really strong handle on the DC heroes it works with – across the whole issue, my favorite segment was easily the very funny opening segment involving Barry, Wally, and Iris.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
