Harley Wants to Climb Ivy’s Trellis. And By
That, I Mean Have Sex With Her
Script: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner
Art: Chad
Hardin
Flashback Art: Andrew Robinson
Dream Art: Bret Blevins
Colors: Hi-Fi
Flashback Colors: Andrew Robinson
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Amanda
Conner & Alex Sinclair
Cover Price: $2.99
On Sale Date: November 23, 2016
**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**
So now that Harley Quinn is out of the punk
rock scene, you think she’ll keep that awesome Mohawk? I really liked the fact
that, despite changing her hair last Spring to be in accord with the Suicide Squad film character’s version,
she was able to switch it up later on in the year. Keeps things fresh, and I
feel a scatterbrained character like Harley would probably have a different
haircut every other week. Often, in comics, you don’t want to change a
character’s hairstyle, because it will diminish the reader’s recognition of
that character. That’s not really a concern with Harley Quinn, you could put a
bag over her head and you’re still going to know who it is. No sense in
ruminating on a hairstyle unseen, let’s check out Harley Quinn #8 and see what’s fun with her follicles!
Explain
It!
A decidedly Bruce Timm-looking Harley Quinn, in
her classic red and black jester costume, is napping in her bedroom when Eggy
comes flailing in because all of the animals housed at Casa de Harley—and there
are a lot—have broken free. Harley is not one to be caught slipping, however,
and Eggy’s outburst causes her to reflexively pull the knife from under her
pillow and throw it at Eggy, cracking his shell and spilling yolk everywhere.
So he really is just a giant egg. I thought maybe he was just and egg-shaped
person, or some kind of other genetically-created monster that happened to look
like an egg. But nope, just a giant egg with a face on it. Eggy’s condition is
exacerbated when he tumbles down the stairs, and the building’s pets gather
around to lap up his spilled yolk. If you hadn’t guessed, this is all a dream—and
I wouldn’t fault you for thinking otherwise, since this is something that could
easily happen in an issue of Harley Quinn. She’s talking to her therapist,
Frank Tieri (yes, that Frank Tieri), who runs a shop on the boardwalk where he
dispenses advice in exchange for goods. I guess he’s taking patients now,
because he’s in what I assume must be his apartment (being that there are no
stray animals or other weirdos running around) and listening to Harley explain
her bizarre dream. He suggests that Quinn take a vacation, which is probably
what I would recommend every time I saw her if Harley was trying to bend my ear
with her psychotic problems.
So Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy head out to the
Bahamas—something Harley actually promised to Ivy when she saved their hash
during the alien zombie invasion a few issues ago, if you’ll recall—and they’re
staying at Sy Borgman’s condo in the Colony, a title that should be preceded by
“Nudist” because that’s what it is. The only time I ever witnessed public
nudity was in Key West, many years ago. I thought I was going to see home sexy
people roaming around with their bits exposed, but it turns out that the first
nudists to drop trou in any situation are those over the age of 60. And for
many of them, their bits are exposed even when they have clothes on. So it is
at Sy Borgman’s vacation home, he rolls out in the buff and points out his
robot girlfriend Zena, also naked. You’d think a naked robot wouldn’t be a big
deal, but that’s because you haven’t seen a naked senior citizen robot.
Throughout this issue, there are lots of silly ways the art covers up nipples,
junk, and butt cracks, which was pretty funny. I mean, the nudity doesn’t even
figure into the story prominently, it’s just a device to increase the innuendo
and give Chad Hardin an excuse to draw curves. Which he does, very well.
After this, it’s more or less just Poison Ivy
and Harley Quinn on vacation. Harley keeps trying to get into Ivy’s pants, and
they just sort of reminisce and bullshit about times past. It’s a lot of
exposition that didn’t seem particularly necessary, but luckily it happens in
panels full of side boob and silhouetted butts and all manner of things that would
have had me slipping this issue between my mattress and box spring when I was
thirteen. Spurred on by seeing, in the last issue, the carved soap given to her
by the Joker, Harley tells the story of their first interaction, which wasn’t
much to talk about quite honestly. Not long after this, we fast-forward a week,
which I can only assume involved lots of hot and heavy sex between Harley and
Ivy (contact this website for my sensual fan fiction), and after Ivy says
Harley is her BFF, and that she would stay with her if it weren’t for this
danged Global Warming, they head back to the States, well-rested and relaxed
from their time in the Caribbean. Though Harley is yet unable to get a tan.
This was a cute one-off issue that didn’t have a ton of consequence, but was
still enjoyable to read. There’s quite a bit of catch-up in that conversation
between Harley and Ivy, so if you’re looking for a place to squeeze into Harley Quinn’s crowded world, this might
be a good one. There are lots of little conversations and moments that are
reasonably funny and/or sexually-charged, but they didn’t add to the thrust
(pause) of the story so I left them out—but they are worth reading, if you are
Quinn-inclined. The art by Chad Hardin is spectacular as always, and because
there’s so much implied nudity he really got to flex his modeling skills. I
liked the flashback page by Bret Blevins, brought me right back to the Bruce
Timm cartoon universe that birthed Harley Quinn in the first place. So not a
gut-buster of an issue, but reasonably enjoyable, nonetheless.
Bits and
Pieces:
Not the best issue in the series, but it does contain a lot of nudity. So on second thought, it is the best issue in the series.
7/10
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