Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Sam Basri
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Guillem March & Arif Prianto
Variant Cover: Derrick Chew
Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea
Editor: Alex Antone
Group Editor: Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: March 6, 2019
**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**
Back into the world of Harley Quinn where she…um…something about Trials of Whatchamacallit? I’ve been so confused by and disconnected from this book, I think it won’t be long before I’ve got to stop reviewing it. Until that day, I remain a person that has review Harley Quinn #59, as shown below!
Explain It!
A long time ago, a sad sack named Franz Kafka wrote a short story called Metamorphosis. It was about a guy named Gregory who goes to sleep, and wakes up the next day as a gigantic cockroach. His task, then, is to navigate the world and his relationships in this new form. It’s more about one’s sense of identity and the perception of self than it is a gross, funny story. Ultimately, Gregory learns that, whether you are a human or a cockroach, the world is an irredeemable piece of shit.
In this book, Harley Quinn wakes up as a cockroach—a weirdly purple-and-yellow bug, which is confusing at first. Indeed, she becomes more like some kind of superhero insect, all humanoid and brilliantly-colored despite being presumed vermin. This happens after Petite Tina is humiliated at some kind of dunk tank event…she’s too big to sit on the ledge and breaks the whole set-up immediately. Harley doesn’t poke fun at this, but turns into a cockroach anyway to learn that you shouldn’t judge someone by their appearance.
And that’s the whole thing, folks: a puerile moral lesson for Harley, expressed in way too many pages, with not a funny thing happening on one of them. If I were writing this story, I’d make a list of all the things associated with cockroaches, and then try and tick off as many as I could in a humorous way. Maybe Harley scurries when the light flicks on? Or perhaps she finds herself compelled to live within a wall? Aside from a penchant for eating spoiled food, and being ashamed of her appearance, there’s nothing here.
There’s even an appearance by the Tamaranian who gave Harley these Trials of Fecundity in the first place, which feels as out of place as if corpulent former President Taft strolled into a scene and played a trombone. Oh, this issue also introduces some bikini briefs with lights that pop on when a trial is successfully completed. This is the first time we’ve seen this in the issues since these Trials began. This series is being written as an afterthought, every script seems to be created under duress, and the book is a chore to read.
Bits and Pieces:
Harley takes on a new form, and she doesn’t even need to change her outfit. Ultimately, she learns a lesson about the bugs within us that show the world our truest selves. Mine is a June bug!
3.5/10
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