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HARLEY QUINN: OUR WORLDS AT WAR #1
"Harley Quinn's Pal Jimmy Olsen"
Neutral (4/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Karl Kesel
Artists: Aron Wiesenfeld, Paul Grist, Paul Chadwick, Amanda Connor & Jimmy Palmiotti and Steve Lieber
Colors: Ro Bleyaert
Letters:
Janice Chiang, Kurt Hathaway, Steve Lieber & John Workman
Editor: Matt Idelson
Price: $2.95 US/$4.95 CAN |
Boy, you want to talk about mixed feelings. I haven't much enjoyed Harley Quinn
or "Our Worlds At War," so combining the two for a one-shot seemed like a recipe
for a book I didn't like. Then I saw the list of artists, which includes talent
rarely seen on mainstream books, and some of my favorite artists (Paul Grist,
Steve Lieber) at that, and thought maybe Kesel and company would surprise me.
Unfortunately, my reaction is the one I expected in the first place, because
although I found the art in this issue to range from good to great, the story
itself feels like it's trying way too hard to be wacky and funny, and it never
made me care whether Harley or Jimmy got to Metropolis alive or not.
For me, Jimmy Olsen has never been a
terribly likable character. Unlike the post-Crisis Lois Lane, who was revamped
as a far more independent woman and seemed more motivated by good journalism
than wanting to snare Superman for marriage, Jimmy hasn't changed much since the
old days. His primary purpose is to be a hopeless yutz who gets into trouble and
waits for people to rescue him, and that's what happens here, with the funny
twist being that Harley Quinn, not Superman, comes to his rescue. And that is
honestly a cute set-up, but since Kesel has failed to set up Harley as a
dangerous psychotic for me, Jimmy's reactions seem ludicrous and I never really
believed that he was in any kind of danger from here, which takes the sting out
of several of the gags. Jimmy's frantic inner monologue is mildly amusing, but
also rather one-note, and the whole book read as a gag that could have supported
maybe an eight page story.
However, with eight pages, you wouldn't have
a chance to use all of these artists, and they are the saving grace of the book.
I give Kesel credit for tailoring his story to the various art styles, because
although it makes the overall book read like a mishmash it lets each artist
really cut loose. Weisenfeld is a name that I haven't heard in a while, but I
remember him from his Wildstorm work, and his work reminds me of the
European-influenced Travis Charest, making him a perfect fit for the pyrotechnic
arrival of Jimmy in Gotham. Paul Grist's work is equally suited to the comedic
and frantic fight between Harley and other henchmen. Chadwick's work is ideal
for the the drive through abandoned Midway City and an encounter with a spooky
creature.
I have to admit to being a little
disappointed in the artwork by the end of the book, though. Lieber's work is
great, but he only gets a few pages to show off and I was wishing for more, and
while Connor and Palmiotti do some nice work, their renditions of the Female
Furies seemed a little too restrained. Harriet and Stompa, for example, are too
close to normal human proportions, which loses a lot of the other-worldly power
of the characters.
In the end, how much you enjoy this book
relies on four things: Your enjoyment of the art, your enjoyment of the
characters, your interest in "Our Worlds At War" no matter how peripheral this
story may be to the overall arc and how much you buy into the premise. For me,
the artwork was the main selling point, and that left me unfulfilled on several
other counts.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
