DC Comics Presents: Harley Quinn #1 Review

Harley Quinn's stock is on the rise lately, what with her busting out of the pages of Suicide Squad and into her own ongoing series again. To coincide with that book, DC has released one of their $8 oversized special issues crammed with old-school Harley material. Unfortunately, between the fact that there's no new content in this issue, as well as the fact that you'll have to look elsewhere for the cream of the Harley crop, this comic is a hard sell at full price.

The lion's share of this issue is taken up by reprints of Batman: Harley Quinn #1 and Joker's Asylum: Harley Quinn #1. The former is a lengthy one-shot that chronicles Harley's origin and introduction into DC's comic book universe as part of the No Man's Land crossover, as opposed to her DC Animated Universe origin in Batman: Mad Love. Though both origins were written by Paul Dini, Mad Love is a far more elegant and timeless take on the character. It also had much stronger art thanks to Bruce Timm. But as Mad Love is available elsewhere in various forms, I don't really blame DC for including this reprint instead.

The Joker's Asylum story works better in this context. It's a simpler tale from writer James Patrick and artist Joe Quinones that sees Harley break out of Arkham in order to celebrate Valentine's Day with Mister J, only to realize his puddin' has been kidnapped by the mob. Quinones' art is the real selling point, expertly capturing Harley's wacky, cartoonish antics and wide emotional range.

The rest of the issue is a little more eclectic. There's another Dini tale that focuses on the lovable Harley/Ivy relationship, as well as a pair of stories from the two Batman Black & White mini-series. The first is a fun silent tale that also captures Harley's zany world well. But while the second offers more vibrant work from Quinones, it's hard to ignore the fact that it only just appeared in the second Black & White series a few months ago. The inclusion of another two-page rendition of Harley's origin also feels like wasted space.

In the end, this package is mixed at best. It does offer a nice glimpse of who Harley is and why she was a more entertaining character prior to the New 52. But it's by no means a comprehensive look at the character. I would have liked to see some of Dini's later work from his Detective Comics run included where Harley made a go at an honest, Joker-free lifestyle. Or better yet, a reprint of the full, hard-to-find Harley & Ivy mini-series. This issue is a decent, if pricey primer on all things Harley, but newly converted fans will have a lot of other reading to do afterward.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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