Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artists: Mirka Andolfo & Max Raynor
Colors: Gabe Eltaeb
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Bilquis Evely & Mat Lopes
Variant Cover: Frank Cho
Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea
Editor: Alex Antone
Group Editor: Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $2.99
On Sale Date: June 20, 2018
**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**
Back to this weird story about Harley Quinn's benevolent insanity! I have no idea why this story exists, and thusly couldn't begin to guess about where it's headed. So just hop right into my review of Harley Quinn #44 and we can find out together! I mean, I already know what happens, I read the issue to write this review. But we can pretend to be discovering it together in real time.
Explain It!
One of schizophrenia's more bizarre hallmarks is the tendency for sufferers to see themselves at the center of grand machinations that have nothing to do with them. A schizoid person might find personal meaning in a song on the radio, or in a random scrap of paper, or in a snippet of overheard conversation between two strangers. It's a peculiar form of narcissism, something that makes treating the afflicted difficult; there's nothing worse than dealing with a know-it-all who has divined the "true" meanings of the world, whether they're schizophrenic or not. At least if they're schizophrenic, you can feel sorry for them.
This is something like what Harley has manifested in this story line, except she unwittingly stumbled on an actual conspiracy, an alliance between Professor Pyg and the Reaper to, uh...well, I'm not sure. Seems the Reaper gang kills people, while Professor Pyg creates Dollotron minions, yet somehow they are helping each other. Maybe the Reapers get to murder the failed Dollotron attempts? Harley cliques up with a wayward Dollotron and a renegade Reaper to foment little revolutions within those groups, And that ends up being their undoing. And hey, the Dollotron and the Reaper fall in love, too. How about that?
Then, some members from the Gang of Harleys show up to prove to Quinn that she's loopy. All's well that ends weird, I suppose. There have certainly been worse issues of Harley Quinn, but I am still confused as to why these two issues even happened. In truth, Professor Pyg and the Reaper taking over New York City is potentially big news, but here it's just some weird occurrence that affects very few people. Everything looks terrific, and the plotting is perfectly understandable, even when the characters' motivations aren't. But how about that Bilquis Evely cover, huh? That's pretty sweet. The Frank Cho variant is nothing to sneeze at, either. I guess there are worse ways to let three dollars loose.
Bits and Pieces:
Everything wraps up neatly in this low-stakes story about Harley Quinn's tendency to rush to judgment. Long-time fans of Gotham City might enjoy seeing some of its key players operating in New York, though in a very minor way. But that Bilquis Evely cover, though! Whew!
One of schizophrenia's more bizarre hallmarks is the tendency for sufferers to see themselves at the center of grand machinations that have nothing to do with them. A schizoid person might find personal meaning in a song on the radio, or in a random scrap of paper, or in a snippet of overheard conversation between two strangers. It's a peculiar form of narcissism, something that makes treating the afflicted difficult; there's nothing worse than dealing with a know-it-all who has divined the "true" meanings of the world, whether they're schizophrenic or not. At least if they're schizophrenic, you can feel sorry for them.
Bits and Pieces:
Everything wraps up neatly in this low-stakes story about Harley Quinn's tendency to rush to judgment. Long-time fans of Gotham City might enjoy seeing some of its key players operating in New York, though in a very minor way. But that Bilquis Evely cover, though! Whew!
7/10
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