Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding: Harley Quinn vs. Joker #1 Review


Written by: Tim Seeley
Art by: Sami Basri, Jessica Kholinne, Otto Schmidt and Dave Sharpe
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 27, 2019

What DC Said:

Harley Quinn knows a thing or two about dysfunctional relationships. When she hears that her old flame is trying to get in the way of a happy new life for one of her best friends, the Maid of Mischief tracks The Joker down to give him a piece of her mind—and maybe a few blows from her hammer, too.


Well, we are finally at the end of these preludes and this one gives us more Joker and if you are like me, you have had enough of him, these preludes and the Golden State Warriors!  The issue opens in Butcher's Block where the Joker spills out of a silo filled with teeth and quickly gets run over by Harley driving a little compact piece of shit...then she hits him with her mallet.

Okay, I appreciate that Tim Seeley gets right to the meat and cheese of it all, but there is no setup here and while it's not his fault, having seen the Joker the past month in the main Batman book kind of takes away the "wow" entrance here.

We continue with Harley attempting to drown Joker in tapioca "puddin'" (get it?) while he goes on and on about not being invited to the big wedding. Harley pulls herself back into the spotlight to show Joker (and the reader) what this is all about...Harley finally breaking free of the Joker's grasp.

The rest of the issue involves Harley and Joker turning the tables on each other and ends with another epilogue, this time with the Joker heading to church...with a few days to kill!

Of all the epilogues, this one is by far the most unnecessary.  The idea of Harley trying to rid herself of the Joker is okay, but already happened in this continuity (Issue #25 of the New 52) and if you read that, it really makes this issue feel way off.  Even if you haven't read that, there is little fun to be had here and it's very obvious that besides the idea of  Joker + Harley = $$$, there is not much else going on.

I liked the art by Sami Basri enough.  It had an animated feel that obviously fits the characters and even though the backgrounds are a bit lacking, it was nice to look at throughout.

Bits and Pieces:

While these Preludes haven't been vital, this one is flat out unnecessary.  While the art was good, the story has been done before and just felt wedged in to make more money before the wedding happens (or doesn't?!?) next week.  This one is best left on the shelf.

4.0/10

4 comments:

  1. This was definetly the most tact on of the preludes. Point money grab. At times art was good, at times it was off. But there's nothing here that matters.
    2/10

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  2. this Jim guy is always so angry.. possibly misplaced sexual frustration.. him and eric should just blow each other and get it over with... maybe then they'll be positive..

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    Replies
    1. i'd rather get better issues that mean something...trust me, these preludes will have nothing to do with wedding

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    2. I just want a book I feel like a creative team put even the littlest bit of effort into and far too often we get trash that any layman can see is mailed in trash you paid $3 - 4.99 for . If this is what comics are turning into, and people celebrate as 10/10 books, I want out of comic fandom because the everyone is special mentality has officially gone to far when you celebrate crap work.

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