For many, the holidays are all about family – including extended Bat Family.  Artwork by olybear.

It’s been about a year since I read Harley. Too much T&A and too little substance.

This being the Christmas season and this being a Christmas cover, I had to buy the issue. A little reluctantly. C’mon, four bucks is four bucks this time of year. Especially when I could pick up a vintage Spider-Man holiday comic book for three.

Anyway, when Paul Dini’s backups ended earlier this year, so did I.

But, it is that time of the year. The covers are great, so why not?

Not that the story is destined to be a classic, but that it really hit home.

Alert: there are spoilers contained in this review. Do not read any further if you don’t wanna know what happens.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled break down.

It’s the holidays. More importantly it’s Christmas. Harley has decked the halls, trimmed the tree and set the stage for a memorable time with her family. A family Sam Humphries has culled from those who weren’t cast for Christmas Vacation.

After ruining Christmas dinner, Harley’s carefully trimmed Tannenbaum and generally reeking havoc on the holiday, her mother reveals she’s battling cancer.

What hits home with me is how I spent the previous weekend at a funeral for a someone very dear to me who lost her mother. Cancer was a culprit, but so were other contributing factors. It’s strange how even the fantasy parts of our lives coincide with our real lives. Our escape hatches sometimes dovetail with our reality.

For those who have lost loved ones this time of year, may God’s grace be with you. Having lost my mother almost 20 years ago to cancer, my condolences to you and yours. It does get easier and those who have gone on before us would not want us to be sad at this time of year or any other. Their memories are legacies and the laughter and lessons imparted will guide us.

From Batman #285.  Pencils by Romeo Tanghal with inks by Frank Springer.

Detective Comics 741

The end of 1999. The end of a century and millennium. The end of “No Man’s Land.” So many endings. Not at all what Prince prophesized in 1982.

“End Game” was the end of the beginning as Gotham would rebuild from the ashes of a year-long crossover in the Bat titles. From “Cataclysm” to “Aftershock” to “Road to No Man’s Land” to “End Game.” By the time 1999 finished “No Mans’ Land,” alone, encompassed 80-regular monthly titles and several specials including Batman: Harley Quinn, the book that brought Harley into the regular DC Universe.

To celebrate Christmas, the Joker makes an end run on a rival. The Harlequin of Hate continues to wreak havoc by nearly killing the Huntress and kidnapping the babies of Gotham. Commissioner James Gordon’s wife, Sarah, stumbles across the plot and sacrifices herself to save the children.

Another ending amid all the others.

Sometimes, the best gifts are intangible.

Comic strip by the talented Mike Maihack.

DC’s 2015 holiday card, artist unknown (let us know).

The title may be Batman and the Outsiders, but, as the cover depicts, it’s Superman who does the heavy lifting this issue.

Batman and the Outsiders (1983) 19

Batman and the Outsiders premiered in the 200th – and final – issue of Brave and the Bold before receiving its own imprint in August 1983. Batman was mentor to team members Geo-Force, Katana, Halo and Looker with Black Lightning and Metamorpho appearing as non-cast members throughout the book’s run. Batman eventually left the title, by issue 32, which limped along until cancellation with issue 46.

At least the book was festive for the 1984 Christmas season with “Who’s Afraid of the Big Red S?”

The casual reader may find the book confusing as regulars make guest appearances to discuss current events in the title. Still, the snow and tinsel brings the Christmas season to the forefront. And, what says Christmas more than an attempted suicide plot device? Maybe Superman and Geo-Force slugging it out?

Well, maybe not. Let’s just go with the holiday cover.

At least the fight scene is good. Writer Mike W. Barr rigs the slugfest so Geo-Force appears to have a chance against the Big Blue Boy Scout.

Thanks to Batman’s detective skills the villain is brought to justice and all is well within the DC Universe for another Christmas season.

Captain Marvel stuffs DC hero stockings before the big day.  DC’s 2003 holiday card featuring artwork by Jeff Smith.