Posts Tagged ‘Harley Quinn’
Batgirl (2017) 18
First, thanks to Jeff for not only bringing this issue to my attention, but adding it to my stocking stuffers from him for Christmas 2018.
Batgirl 18 is a serviceable issue. Other than it makes me feel old. Barb and two friends attend a Christmas party and Harley Quinn crashes.
Batgirl (2017) 18
The story makes me feel old in the fact I can’t see me at a mixer like that anymore. I wouldn’t begin to know how to dress, mingle or stay awake as late as it probably would have gone without interference.
This is not the Batgirl I grew up with. That incarnation was created by Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino; concept by William Dozer. She appeared in Detective Comics (1939) issue 359.
I also enjoyed Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown as Batgirl.
When DC unveiled the New 52 and Barbara Gordon was back complete with working limbs, I was thrilled. Gail Simone took the returned Batgirl through her paces for 34 issues and did an excellent job.
Barbara then received new writers and relocated to Burnside, a ward of Gotham City. More importantly she took on a new persona. Batgirl was now posting selfies and working personal media like a Kardashian.
Having never negotiated a Facebook page and only tweeted a year for an organization I belong to, I felt old.
On the precipice of 54 – as of this writing – social media is the tool of the devil to me. Too much drama. Too many egos asking to be stroked. I’m sure it has its merits, but not to me.
Oh, and Batgirl 18? A good read if you can’t remember when telephones hung on the wall and cartoons came only on Saturday mornings.
Merry Star Wars!
A festive crossover to celebrate the opening of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker in USA theaters. Artwork by Abraham Lopez (aka ArtistAbe).
Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad April Fools’ Special (2016) 1
This one is a real stretch. Beyond the title, there’s no real April Fools shenanigans. What the issue does is act as a launch pad for Rob Williams’ Suicide Squad series to follow.
Jim Lee bookends the title with his artwork while Sean “Cheeks” Galloway takes care of the dream sequence pages. Williams sets the stage with his script.
The book is mainly Harley acting as her own Ying and Yang. Psychoanalyzing herself, Harley finds she is drawn to good – as long as she can still indulge her naughty tendencies. Her dream serves as a sounding board to her struggle between light and dark.
The book itself is designed to complement the upcoming Suicide Squad movie and comic book. Neither seemed to fare well.
Harley Quinn’s Valentine’s Day Special (2015)
“Just Batty Over You” plucked another five bucks outta fanboys pockets in 2015. In the Golden, Silver and Bronze ages those five bucks may have been the only money spent on anything Valentine’s Day-oriented for us, the comic book fans. With the wide reaching influence of silver screen appearances we, the lovers of print and picture, no longer need suffer in solitude.
Harley is one of the reasons for this. With her popularity throughout the various mediums, Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD, was and, to an extent, is still hot. Hot as in dollars and cents. Men, women, boys and girls were throwing down money for pretty much anything she appeared in at the time. Any holiday gave the harlequin honey an excuse to appear in a special.
With skimpy attire and double entendre Valentine’s Day was a no brainer. But, with her and Mr. J’s relationship over, who to target? Why not dust off a notion from the animated series and target Gotham’s most eligible bachelor.
Harley robs from the rich to secure a date with Bruce Wayne who is pimping himself out in a charity auction. Harley has plenty of time to fantasize what her $1 million, $100 bid will buy her. Those dream sequences allowed guest writers and pencilers a chance to fill some blank pages.
Not a bad way to spend Valentine’s Day, but here’s hoping you spend it with someone even more special. Sorry Harley.
Harley Quinn (2016) 55
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.
Harley Quinn Holiday Special
Originally the Joker’s moll for a one off on Batman: the Animated Series, Harley Quinn has exploded in the pop consciousness in the past five years.
No one knew the impact the character would have when she first appeared on B:tAS in 1992. It was – to the month – another year before her first appearance in comic book form, Batman Adventures 12 where she shared the cover with Batgirl and Poison Ivy for “Batgirl Day One.”
Harley wouldn’t receive her own series until 2000 in her self-titled comic book running 38 issues.
By 2014 she was poised for her meteoric rise that had been a slow avalanche at first. Her second series was one of DC’s New 52 titles with a holiday special following that December.
The first of three stories, “Bad Toy,” allows Harley to revert to her psychologist origins to repair a little girl’s and her father’s relationship.
“Get Yer Cheer Outta My Ear” is a short romp in madness caused by a holiday bug and cured by Santa and sweets.
“Killer Time” rings in the New Year with a grey hair as Harley tries to halt Tyme (read the story).
Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palimotti pen the three tales with various artists giving life to the written word. Darwyn Cooke pencils and inks the final story.
New Year’s Revolution!
Forget resolutions – embrace the revolution. Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman bring in the New Year in Batman: Li’l Gotham (2012) #4, a digital-only effort later reprinted in Batman: Li’l Gotham (2013) #2 and Batman: Li’l Gotham TPB Volume 1. Artwork by Dustin Nguyen, written by Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs.
Batman the Holiday Special (1992)
Batman the Holiday Special (1992)
This book is a pleasurable four-color advent calendar between Christmas and New Year’s Eves featuring the core cast of Batman the Animated Series and some colorful villains to add value to the $2.95 price tag.
It’s hard to pull a favorite out of the five featured here, though the first two stories set the bar high for the remainder of the book.
“Jolly Ol’ St. Nicholas” is an off-beat ‘em up teaming Batgirl, Harvey Bullock and Officer Renee Montoya. The second installment showcases Harley and Ivy as they skirt the system for some last minute shopping.
Paul Dini does the writing chores for all the stories with co-credits to Bruce Timm on “Jolly Ol’ St. Nicholas” and “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” and Ronnie Del Carmen for “The Harley and the Ivy.” Timm does art chores for “Jolly Ol’ St. Nicholas” and color for the books finale, “Should Old Acquaintance be Forgot.”
Harley Quinn/Gossamer (2018)
As the first Monday of November, today is Color the World Orange Day.
Harley Quinn/Gossamer (2018)
Today is a day set aside to educate the populace on an illness still poorly misunderstood. Today is a day to better understand Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, also classified as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a rare ailment that targets society’s middle-aged members.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is a neurological discomfort that includes heightened nerve impulses in a specific body site. Medical specialists speculate the condition is a result of a dysfunction in the central nervous system. An injury to the leg or hand can also bring on the syndrome. A triggering of the immune response can cause injury-related CRPS, which may lead to symptoms such as redness and swelling in the affected area.
The first known situation was documented in 1812 by a British surgeon who published a case report of a soldier wounded by a bullet in his upper arm.
Commemorating the day is Warner Bros. Looney Tunes’ hulking orange monster: Gossamer.
Gossamer debuted in the 1946 animated short, Hair-Raising Hare. Created by Chuck Jones, the legendary Mel Blanc voiced the mainly silent, shaggy monster.
He returned in 1952’s Water, Water Every Hare, reprising his henchman role. Gossamer had along layoff not appearing until 1980 in Duck Dodger’s and the Return of the 24½ Century. It also marked the introduction of his name.
Gossamer would next appear in 1996’s feature film Space Jam.
Harley Quinn/Gossamer (2018)
In A Hairy Predicament! Gossamer is found washed up on the beach following Hurricane Randy. Harley’s fondness for all things fuzzy moves Gossamer in with her menagerie of misfits.
An attack by an oversized robot leads Harley to believe the Joker has made another attempt on her wellbeing. Visits to the Scarecrow, Penguin and Mr. Freeze finally lead her to the Joker’s lair where the Prince of Pranks has Batman in another death trap.
A second attack by a mammoth mechanical manbot frees the Caped Crusader, disposes of the Joker and leads Harley and Gossamer to the real threat: his creator, the mad scientist introduced in Hair-Raising Hair and returned to reprise his role in Water, Water Every Hare.
Harley Quinn/Gossamer (2018)
A shared meal and ride home bring the story to a close with a very special guest star.
Writer Sholly Fisch seals the book with a flourish to the animated shorts from the Golden Age of both comic books and Looney Tunes in Monster Crush.
With a nod to the lighthearted mascot of the day, the more important aspect is CPRS has no cure. Correct medication and counseling help, but with some patients’ symptoms can last for years and even worsen.
To commemorate the day, wear orange, learn more about the ailment and donate for continued research.