COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Harley Quinn #0

Writers: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti

Artists: Amanda Conner, Becky Cloonan, Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea, Stephane Roux, Dan Panosian, Walter Simonson, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Bruce Timm, Charlie Adlard, Adam Hughes, Art Baltazar, Trado Moore, Dave Johnson, Jeremy Roberts, Sam Kieth, Darwyn Cooke and Chad Hardin

Publisher: DC Comics

After I heard all the moans and groans from people who could not understand why Harley was getting a new ongoing series, I truly hope they have taken back some of the things they said.

Harley Quinn #0 is a fantastic introduction into this new series written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti in the fact that unlike most 0 issues that tell an origin or something of that nature, they went the other route and turned it into a fun and fantastic outing. This issue has Harley asking the hardest question in comics and one that honestly people complain the most about and that is how is her new book going to be drawn? What great artist is going to be the one depicting her every single issue and even goes so far as to ask can this person keep a monthly schedule?

That is the premise for this debut, to find the perfect artist who will be able to do Harley justice issue after issue. Even going so far as to have Harley break the fourth wall and discuss it at length with the writer’s and having them put in their two cents. What follows is page after page of artist renditions of Harley and placing her in many different styles and situations. This is a fun issue in that fact alone and you get to see so many renditions and artistic styles it really is a treat for your optical senses.

You get every style imaginable in this issue, cartoon, realism and even Itty Bitty Harley in a segment drawn by Art Baltazar. In each new style Harley gives her thoughts on the art and discusses with the writers her love or hate for it. The ones I especially loved were the Baltazar piece with the Tiny Titans where it is stated Art could keep a monthly schedule and do his own colors which lead Harley to ask if that is because he uses crayons and makes everyone look 7 years old.

This issue really does have a lot of self humor to it as they do poke fun at each of the artists involved. From stating that all Jim Lee did was reprint an older piece with digital modifications to Adam Hughes first using blue pencil rough and then stating he can’t keep a monthly schedule. In a way this issue was about showcasing the talents of these artists and I think that is good because the art really is the first thing we see when we open a comic and it’s what initially grabs us and wants us to read.

I will say some of my favorites of this issue were Becky Cloonan, Chad Hardin, and Jeremy Roberts. I especially liked Roberts’ art because I think he really showed the beauty of Harley while making fun of her being in the Suicide Squad by actually putting her in suicidal situations. I love his take on her and I will absolutely be looking for prints of his Harley rendition.

The last page is where the story for the next issue begins and will continue in the new series. We also get the reassurance that in Issue #1 they will not be breaking the fourth wall.

I had high hopes for this issue and it did not disappoint. This was fantastic in every sense of the word and showcased the talents of the artists very well. Each page dedicated to a specific artist to show what they are best at and for me that is a check in the win column. Let’s hope that this kind of great fun is carried over into the ongoing series because if it does Harley might well help to save the New 52.

How would that strike you?

So from Spin to all my Puddin’s out there I give this issue a

4.5 out of 5 nerds