The Joker is dead, Bruce Wayne is behind bars…and Gotham City is just starting to redefine itself without Batman. As Harley Quinn struggles to adjust to her new life as the mother of Jack Napier’s twins, an elusive mastermind called the Producer seizes the moment to assemble a crew of villains-starting with the Starlet, a serial killer who murders Gotham’s golden age film stars in homage to their silver screen roles. When a recent, gruesome crime scene suggests a connection to The Joker, the GTO, and FBI agent Hector Quimby turn to Harley as the one person with information that could crack the case. With some help from Bruce, Harley agrees to investigate-but to protect her children and her city from a fatal final act, Harley must flirt with madness and confront her own past. 

From Katana Collins, Sean Murphy, Matteo Scalera, and Dave Stewart comes what is, quite possibly, my favorite first issue EVER.

If you haven’t read my post on the brilliance of Batman: White Knight, click here.

When I found out Katana Collins was going to be writing the Harley Quinn spin-off to White Knight, my heart was overjoyed. In interviews and even in a tweet to me once (I’ve tried and failed to find my sceenshot), Murphy mentioned that his wife (Katana Collins) was a big part of why Harley was written so well. Obviously, finding out she was going to tackle writing her, I knew it was destined to be excellent.

And boy, was it spectacular.

I think it’s very rare for anyone to really capture who Harley Quinn is. There are aspects reflected really well in a variety of stories – comics, games, books, movies, etc. But this was one of the most perfect embodiments of her character and what I love about her.

Fuse together the things I love about Batman: The Animated Series, Harleen, Batman: White Knight, and Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity – and that’s what we have in this first issue. Harley is incredibly smart, teetering on that line between hero and villain, still.

There’s so much depth and respect to the way her character is written, and it’s such a blessing for Harley fans all around. Plus the babies, Bud and Lou, are prominent in the story, and not just casual background ornaments.

But beyond how incredibly written it is, Matteo Scalera absolutely stunned me with the art. There’s so much beautiful art, I’d love to own a page. The character designs from Sean Murphy are still there, but with Matteo’s own style, and it’s quite breathtaking.

I cannot wait to see the rest of this six issue series, but I’m also going to be devastated to see it eventually end.

Did you pick up your copy?

-Angel