Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Harley Quinn #8 Review and **SPOILERS**


Harley Wants to Climb Ivy’s Trellis. And By That, I Mean Have Sex With Her

Script: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner 
Art: Chad Hardin 
Flashback Art: Andrew Robinson 
Dream Art: Bret Blevins 
Colors: Hi-Fi 
Flashback Colors: Andrew Robinson 
Letters: Dave Sharpe 
Cover: Amanda Conner & Alex Sinclair 
Cover Price: $2.99 
On Sale Date: November 23, 2016

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

So now that Harley Quinn is out of the punk rock scene, you think she’ll keep that awesome Mohawk? I really liked the fact that, despite changing her hair last Spring to be in accord with the Suicide Squad film character’s version, she was able to switch it up later on in the year. Keeps things fresh, and I feel a scatterbrained character like Harley would probably have a different haircut every other week. Often, in comics, you don’t want to change a character’s hairstyle, because it will diminish the reader’s recognition of that character. That’s not really a concern with Harley Quinn, you could put a bag over her head and you’re still going to know who it is. No sense in ruminating on a hairstyle unseen, let’s check out Harley Quinn #8 and see what’s fun with her follicles!
Explain It!

A decidedly Bruce Timm-looking Harley Quinn, in her classic red and black jester costume, is napping in her bedroom when Eggy comes flailing in because all of the animals housed at Casa de Harley—and there are a lot—have broken free. Harley is not one to be caught slipping, however, and Eggy’s outburst causes her to reflexively pull the knife from under her pillow and throw it at Eggy, cracking his shell and spilling yolk everywhere. So he really is just a giant egg. I thought maybe he was just and egg-shaped person, or some kind of other genetically-created monster that happened to look like an egg. But nope, just a giant egg with a face on it. Eggy’s condition is exacerbated when he tumbles down the stairs, and the building’s pets gather around to lap up his spilled yolk. If you hadn’t guessed, this is all a dream—and I wouldn’t fault you for thinking otherwise, since this is something that could easily happen in an issue of Harley Quinn. She’s talking to her therapist, Frank Tieri (yes, that Frank Tieri), who runs a shop on the boardwalk where he dispenses advice in exchange for goods. I guess he’s taking patients now, because he’s in what I assume must be his apartment (being that there are no stray animals or other weirdos running around) and listening to Harley explain her bizarre dream. He suggests that Quinn take a vacation, which is probably what I would recommend every time I saw her if Harley was trying to bend my ear with her psychotic problems.
So Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy head out to the Bahamas—something Harley actually promised to Ivy when she saved their hash during the alien zombie invasion a few issues ago, if you’ll recall—and they’re staying at Sy Borgman’s condo in the Colony, a title that should be preceded by “Nudist” because that’s what it is. The only time I ever witnessed public nudity was in Key West, many years ago. I thought I was going to see home sexy people roaming around with their bits exposed, but it turns out that the first nudists to drop trou in any situation are those over the age of 60. And for many of them, their bits are exposed even when they have clothes on. So it is at Sy Borgman’s vacation home, he rolls out in the buff and points out his robot girlfriend Zena, also naked. You’d think a naked robot wouldn’t be a big deal, but that’s because you haven’t seen a naked senior citizen robot. Throughout this issue, there are lots of silly ways the art covers up nipples, junk, and butt cracks, which was pretty funny. I mean, the nudity doesn’t even figure into the story prominently, it’s just a device to increase the innuendo and give Chad Hardin an excuse to draw curves. Which he does, very well.
After this, it’s more or less just Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn on vacation. Harley keeps trying to get into Ivy’s pants, and they just sort of reminisce and bullshit about times past. It’s a lot of exposition that didn’t seem particularly necessary, but luckily it happens in panels full of side boob and silhouetted butts and all manner of things that would have had me slipping this issue between my mattress and box spring when I was thirteen. Spurred on by seeing, in the last issue, the carved soap given to her by the Joker, Harley tells the story of their first interaction, which wasn’t much to talk about quite honestly. Not long after this, we fast-forward a week, which I can only assume involved lots of hot and heavy sex between Harley and Ivy (contact this website for my sensual fan fiction), and after Ivy says Harley is her BFF, and that she would stay with her if it weren’t for this danged Global Warming, they head back to the States, well-rested and relaxed from their time in the Caribbean. Though Harley is yet unable to get a tan. 
This was a cute one-off issue that didn’t have a ton of consequence, but was still enjoyable to read. There’s quite a bit of catch-up in that conversation between Harley and Ivy, so if you’re looking for a place to squeeze into Harley Quinn’s crowded world, this might be a good one. There are lots of little conversations and moments that are reasonably funny and/or sexually-charged, but they didn’t add to the thrust (pause) of the story so I left them out—but they are worth reading, if you are Quinn-inclined. The art by Chad Hardin is spectacular as always, and because there’s so much implied nudity he really got to flex his modeling skills. I liked the flashback page by Bret Blevins, brought me right back to the Bruce Timm cartoon universe that birthed Harley Quinn in the first place. So not a gut-buster of an issue, but reasonably enjoyable, nonetheless.

Bits and Pieces:

Not the best issue in the series, but it does contain a lot of nudity. So on second thought, it is the best issue in the series.

7/10

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