Art by: Sweeney Boo
Colors by: Sweeney Boo
Letters by: Steve Wands
Cover art by: Sweeney Boo
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: March 28, 2023
Harley Quinn #28 finds Harleen Quinzel suffering the consequences of her crimes when she's sentenced to community service, but a run-in with Two-Face reveals Harley is a threat of multiversal proportions.
Is It Good?
Well, Harley Quinn #28 is certainly something. I won't ask if it's too late to bring Stephanie Phillips back, but the early signs are not encouraging.
Harley Quinn #28 begins Tini Howard's take on the character, and to Howard's credit, she isn't afraid to lean into wackiness. Courage is always a net positive.
Harley busies herself with a mischief war against Two-Face out of boredom while Poison Ivy is out of town. When Kevin calls the cops on Harley, hoping incarceration will scare Harley straight (*ahem*), Harley is sentenced to community service as a teacher at the local community college.
Harley Quinn #28 begins Tini Howard's take on the character, and to Howard's credit, she isn't afraid to lean into wackiness. Courage is always a net positive.
Harley busies herself with a mischief war against Two-Face out of boredom while Poison Ivy is out of town. When Kevin calls the cops on Harley, hoping incarceration will scare Harley straight (*ahem*), Harley is sentenced to community service as a teacher at the local community college.
During one of her classes, Two-Face rams through the class with his car to kill Harley, but Harley wins by magically conjuring a giant, smiling fish to knock out Two-Face in place of her mallet. The very act of conjuring the fish (Harley doesn't know how she did it) instigates a visit by Lady Quark, who explains Harley is inadvertently punching through the walls that separate the multiverse. If she does it again, Lady Quark will destroy Harley, Gotham, and the world, if necessary, to save the multiverse.
Howard's tone is best described a cotton candy wacky. The pacing is good, the dialog is irritating in a Harley kind of way, and the plot is ludicrous. But to Howard's credit, again, at least the stroy has a direction, so that's an improvement.
Sweeney Boo's art is, likewise, cotton candy wacky. The overt-bright coloring and exaggerated figure work feels intentionally cartoonish, so at least the art fits the writing.
On the whole, this is more of the same zany, wacky, nonsensical Harley DC has opted to push. We shall see if Howard can turn the cotton candy into something more meaningful than sugary fluff.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
Harley Quinn #28 turns the wackiness up to 11 with wildly colorful art and a nonsense plot. The story doesn't make a lot of sense, but at least it has a direction, so we'll see if the new writer can make the trip worth taking.
6/10
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