Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey #1 Review

Scatapult My Heart

Writer: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Amanda Conner, Paul Mounts, and John J. Hill
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: February 12, 2020

I am a big fan of Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner and was so excited when I heard they would be back doing Harley.  The only thing I wondered was how they would work in the Birds of Prey angle between Red Tool gags, roller derby mayhem, and Gang of Harley missions!  Yea, I had no idea what the book was going to be about, but a guy can dream, can't he?  CAN'T HE????  So, what is going on here, and is it any good?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with Harley and Ivy getting drinks and powers (?) from Superman on a beach with a near-naked Red Tool serving up grapes.  Yep, this is what I'm talking about!  It's all a dream, but somebody pinch me because Harley wakes up in a bed full of...the Gang of Harleys!!!  The hits keep coming with Bernie, Eggy and... Power Girl and more!

The story continues with Harley telling Power Girl about some recent Gilligan's Island-style troubles her and Ivy ran into that pissed Ivy off so much.  She also is way behind on her mortgage, so yea, Harley's life is pretty F'd up at the moment.  Not as F'd up as Big Tony's face, though!  Some bill collecting goons put him in the hospital and burned down the hotel...again, F'd Up!

After Power Girl leaves, Harley makes up her mind what she has to do to make everything right, visits Tony in the hospital, and then heads to get some quick revenge.  We get the scatapult, decapitations, blood everywhere and lots of cursing...Black Label folks!  We also get our first Birds of Prey sighting as Harley heads off to Gotham, but thankfully, she isn't alone.

On the extended train ride, Harley argues with Bernie, gets spotted by one of Joker's lackeys, and eventually joins up with Huntress to fight a gang of baddies.  The issue ends with a few more Birds showing up just as Harley arrives in G-town.  That's what the kids call it, right?!?

I came into this issue wanting Harley and all the characters from Palmiotti and Conners' run, so I was so satisfied with this #1 issue. There is not much hand-holding, and if you didn't read their series, you will miss a lot of the jokes, but can still work your way through.   If you were expecting more Birds of Prey or something from the new movie, you might not be as pumped as I was, but it looks like that will pick up more next issue. 

Bits and Pieces:

Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner send a filthy-mouthed, and bloody love letter to fans of their run, and while I question the Birds of Prey bit so far, it looks like that will pick up next issue.  The gang's all here, and Amanda Conner's art is worth the price of admission... you can count Palmiotti's beaver jokes and F-bombs as a bonus!

8.5/10