Harley Quinn #1 review

HARLEY QUINN #1

by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner and Chad Hardin

OK, so let me get this straight. This Chad Hardin guy somehow won out over Tony Daniel, Becky Cloonan, and Bruce Timm? Damn, I think the crazy ones are DC's editorial staff.

Harley Quinn #1 was essentially DC's answer to both Hawkeye and Deadpool in one book. Essentially, take the basic plot setup to Matt Fraction's Hawkeye, with the title character becoming the landlord of an apartment building, and then suddenly finding a gang trying to kill them for it. However, instead of Hawkeye, replace your main character with a mentally unstable comic relief of one of your most well known franchises, and here you go. Harley Quinn #1 in a nutshell. I've got to hand it to Mr. Palmiotti and Mrs. Conner, they've given me some of the most entertainment I've had reading a comic for a while. It's absolutely mindless fun, with a sense of humor that perfectly suits the book. Essentially, there's no way you can't laugh at Harley whacking a man's head off with her hammer.. Unless you happen to live in the universe of Downton Abbey. The dialogue is surprisingly well done, and they manage to set up a lot of plot points for the future of the story. My only gripe is that the entire supporting cast seems somewhat one-dimensional and stale, though, considering Palmiotti's character work in All-Star Western and Batwing, it's going to a problem that will soon be fixed.

Now, Chad Hardin really surprised me here. His work on the book looks absolutely amazing, and is perfectly suited for the story. You can tell he has so much fun drawing every panel, it's contagious, and he puts in so many subtle visual jokes. And the colors are definitely excellent as well.

All in all, Harley Quinn #1 was a very successful debut for a new series, one I can't wait to read more of. Now, if only DC could bring Cassandra Cain back, fire Lobdell and Nocenti, and put Tim Seely on Catwoman (Yes, that's right, I've read Hack/Slash).

STORY: 4/5

+ Great setup

+ Ferociously clever sense of humor

+ Funky hyperviolence

- Somewhat lackluster supporting cast

ART: 5/5

+ FRIGGIN AWESOME YESYESYESYESYESYESYES

VERDICT: 4.5/5