Review: Harley Loves Joker
Quick Summary
Pros: The main story is a great throwback to a “classic” Harley Quinn-style story. The low-stakes action is a nice break from most modern stories. The humor throughout the read works well. The artwork looks nice and suits the story well.
Cons: The book’s message gets mixed as the read progresses.
Overall: This is a fun comic that is sure to appeal to plenty of readers. It takes all the charming antics and lighthearted humor that Harley Quinn brought with her from her first few appearances and uses them to tell an entertaining story. The result is a book that stays true to the past while still defining itself as something new and different. Fans looking for an old-fashioned Harley Quinn book will be very satisfied with this read.
Story
Harley Loves Joker, by Paul Dini and Jimmy Palmiotti, does exactly what it needs to do. It returns Harley Quinn and the Joker to a simpler time, when both characters were regular villains trying to carve out their place in Gotham City. This leads to some humorous misadventures and some lighthearted hijinks. It also returns the two to their old dynamic while still showing that this dynamic is not something to celebrate, which is satisfying to see. There are a few missteps in the volume’s thematic messaging but, for the most part, it reads well. Overall, this collection will perfectly appeal to readers looking for a “classic” feeling Harley Quinn story.
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The most immediate appeal in Harley Loves Joker comes from the volume’s return to Harley Quinn and Joker’s classic status quo. The two are committing relatively low-stakes crimes, they have mundane concerns, and, in general, they feel like a simple annoyance to the city of Gotham, rather than a force of evil chaos. This status quo has plenty of appeal for longtime fans of Batman: The Animated Series or for anyone who just wants a break from the high-stakes action of modern Batman stories.
It also helps that this situation leads to some charming comedy. Harley’s penchant for getting herself into situations beyond her control is typically funny. Plus, Joker makes some of the most genuinely funny jokes I’ve heard him make in years. My favorite example was when Joker complained about Harley, stating “the wild mood swings, the violent outbursts…Who does she think she is, me?” In general, this volume succeeds in bringing some lighthearted fun to the narrative.
The most significant place in which Harley Loves Joker feels off is in the presentation of the book’s theme. The book’s overall statement revolves around the fact that Harley’s relationship with Joker is toxic and that she needs to remove herself from the situation in order to grow as a person, a statement consistent with almost all portrayals of these characters. However, especially toward the volume’s beginning, the Joker does not come across as particularly malevolent. At one point, he even opens his heart to Harley and nearly admits he loves her. The narrative could have used these points to show how inconsistent the emotions of an abuser can be but this does not feel like the point here. Instead, the focus on their bizarre relationship ends up mixed, as the reader is never quite sure how bad it actually is.
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Art
The artwork in Harley Loves Joker continues the success of the story by working as a throwback to Harley Quinn’s past. The visuals, from artists Bret Blevins, capture the spirit of the visuals from Batman: The Animated Series without looking too close to them. This allows the comic to maintain the lighthearted appeal and style while still maintaining its independence. All of this is then further enhanced by some wonderful colors from Alex Sinclair, which wonderfully match the tone of this book. The only downside to the visuals is that there are places where background characters or items end up looking really weird, mostly from a drop in the level of detail. Overall though, this is a good looking book with visuals that help accomplish the narrative’s purpose.
Continuity
Harley Loves Joker is a standalone story set apart from the rest of the Harley Quinn series. It is not clear if this volume takes place in an entirely separate continuity or if it simply takes place prior to the main Harley Quinn series. See our “Harley Quinn Solo Reading Order” for more information.
The story here does not continue in any specific comic.