HARLEY QUINN #18
"The Bride of Bizarro!"
Neutral (4/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Karl Kesel
Pencils: Terry Dodson
Inks: Rachel Dodson
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Ken Lopez
Editor: Matt Idelson
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
It's been a while since I checked in with Dr. Harleen Quinzelle and the creative team on this book. It's as weird and offbeat as I remember it, but it comes off as a little too weird and a little too offbeat. The caption on the cover -- "Um..." -- says it all. I think part of my discomfort with this issue stems from Kesel's attempt to merge the periphery of the world of the Batman with counterparts from the world of Superman, and it just doesn't work.
Jimmy Olsen happens upon the Metropolis hideout of Harley Quinn and her partner Poison Ivy. Just as he's about to frek out about how much trouble he's in, Jimmy discovers things are even worse than he thought: Bizarro is also palling around with the deadly women from Gotham, and they've got the heroine known as Thorn held captive. Bizarro's looking for a mate, so Harley takes him and Jimmy to Lexcorp to find the duplication machine that created the twisted version of Superman.
The Dodsons' art captures the irreverent and sexy nature of the title character quite well. Their take on Bizarro put in mind of Mike Wieringo's and Ed McGuinness's work, which makes sense, since they've been handling art chores in the Man of Steel's corner of the DC Universe recently. Still, the backgrounds are surprisingly lacking, and that depth is sorely missed in the visuals.
Kesel's plot seems based on one too many coincidences and illogical plot twists. Why would Harley, who's trying to avoid a confrontation with Superman, mess around with someone who's noted for his relationship to the hero? Who unfathomable are the odds that Harley and company would encounter a Lexcorp scientist whose ex-wife's suicide just happened to provide for Harley's hideout?
In the end, though, the biggest problem with the story -- as goofy and entertainingly weird as it is -- is that it makes no sense. Kesel gives no hint -- at least not in this issue -- as to why Harley is doing what she's doing. Why does she care if Bizarro gets a mate? What's she doing in Metropolis in the first place? Maybe this has been covered in previous issues, but if that's the case, some extra exposition was sorely needed. There seems to be no method to Harley's madness.
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