The Trials of Reading Harley Quinn
Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Sam Basri
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Guillem March & Arif Prianto
Variant Cover: Frank Cho & Sabine Rich
Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea
Editor: Alex Antone
Group Editor: Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: April 3, 2019
**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**
You know, even though I’ve been bagging on this series as of late, I still like the way Harley is depicted here as opposed to the weird imp she is in Heroes in Crisis. So let’s check out my review of Harley Quinn #60, how about it?
Explain It!
Harley Quinn breaks into S.T.A.R. Labs in order to steal some cancer-curing drugs for her mom. While there, an interdimensional breach occurs coincidentally, and Harley has to fend of hordes of creepy crawlies with a couple of pilfered laser guns. While in a stairwell, she is mocked by a vision of the Joker, then another vision of Batman. Then she sees a vision of her mom who turns into a gross half-bug. This all proves to be too much for her, and Harley breaks down and cries despite the imminent threat of dozens of flesh-rending monsters slavering right next to her.
Then Mirand’r, the Tamaranian who has dispensed the Trials of Harley Quinn, says this is one of her trials, and the Lords of Chaos and Order capitalized on events to put the whole thing on “hard mode.” It’s sort of implied that they, in fact, fully manipulated events—and they would have had to, right? At least in terms of making Harley see the Joker and her mom and stuff. Anyway, Harley Quinn gets her groove back and sets to figuring out what the problem is, which turns out to be that this big interdimensional beast wants to be shoved back into his own dimension. So Harley does that. At the end, the Enchantress shows up and it looks like she’ll be a problem next issue—when she goes after Catwoman!
What is happening with this book? Is anyone paying attention? Sometimes I feel like I must be the only person on earth reading it. When the interdimensional bugs blink away after Harley saves the day, the Joker blinks away with them. So was the whole thing a put-on by the Lords of Chaos and Order? Why is the Joker still a thing with Harley? She moved past that a long time ago. If nothing else, if she’s going to come to grips with her feelings about Mistah J, I wouldn’t expect it to be as a kind of mental aside during a possibly-fabricated interdimensional infestation. Bleh. There’s just no care taken with this book, and the whole feel if it is ugly.
Bits and Pieces:
Harley comes to grips with her sensitivity in order to endure another Trial. There is no joy to be had by reading this comic.
4/10
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