Harleen appreciation topix (there will be spoilers)

[Arnoldoaad]

The only thing I don’t like in this is how Stepan draws Joker. He’s too handsome and don’t give me the Joker vibes. More like Alan and Anna arranged role-playing.

Stupid sexy Joker

[Nite-Wing]

This was a really good read. My Harley origin story tolerance is kinda low but I admit sitting and reading a bit of fleshing out of her time as Harleen in this was mesmerizing.
I almost didn't want this book to end by the time she finally met and spoke to the Joker.
Oh and Joker in this is soooo good. I almost was afraid I'd see the edgy psycho but we got a nice mix of threatening,seductive, and funny which is how I imagine Harley views him and sort of get a grasp on why she fell for him.

Its like Harley is currently getting a wealth of black label content now
This book
The curse of the white knight
Joker Harley criminal sanity
Its a tough rank but this is currently edging out Curse of the white knight

[KangMiRae]

I like that Joker is kinda handsome. It makes me think this is how Harley sees him, so even the most superficial reasons could have added to her falling in love with him.

[lucius121]

I prefer this origin over Mad love, the whole Harley sleeping her way through her education was typical Timms over sexualised writing. Hopefully it forever remains a relic of the past and I sincerely hope the Joker gets his comeuppance physically or otherwise.

[T'Challa Bruce Von Doom]

The only thing I don’t like in this is how Stepan draws Joker. He’s too handsome and don’t give me the Joker vibes.

That was the one negative for me as well, that Joker was drawn as too attractive. He's not supposed to be some pretty boy.

[kjn]

I'm not sure how Sejic's creative visions went here, but I think he needed to present a slightly different take on the Joker than is usual (and I expect the view of Batman will also be different than the usual).

The Joker here is someone who is all things, and that includes being capable of charm and wit. He is not a being of destruction, but of chaos. At the same time, he is a psychopath, and capable of being extremely charming when it suits him.

And as Sejic has pointed out, this is a tragic romance (at least from Harleen's point of view), and for that he needs to sell the romance and make it feel real even as we know how it will end.

Another piece that's interesting is the way Poison Ivy appeared and talked in her interview. Sejic has said that to him, Ivy is at her best and most powerful when she is walking barefoot on bare ground. So by cutting her off from the living earth and the life of plants in order to block her powers, Arkham also cut off Ivy's capacity for empathy and compassion. And if compassion and the desire to understand were the virtues with which the Joker corrupted Harleen, I also think they are the virtues with which Harley will save Ivy.

[Frontier]

I prefer this origin over Mad love, the whole Harley sleeping her way through her education was typical Timms over sexualised writing. Hopefully it forever remains a relic of the past and I sincerely hope the Joker gets his comeuppance physically or otherwise.

I think it's worth pointing out that the animated depiction of Mad Love didn't keep that aspect and that seems to be most of what people go by as far as Harley's origin.

[Arnoldoaad]

I think it's worth pointing out that the animated depiction of Mad Love didn't keep that aspect and that seems to be most of what people go by as far as Harley's origin.

well of course not
Its a kids show

Its actually amazing that the show still kept the "ride your Harley" line

[SiegePerilous02]

I saw this in the store, and flipped through it quick. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to get the individual installments or wait until the trade, but this easily looks like the best Harley comic since the early DCAU tie ins. Not that that's hard to beat.

One of the aspects that I liked from Mad Love. It was nice seeing a character who wasn't some genius for a change, and her getting through college by sleeping with her professors felt fitting for her character. Since it set up her not being a good psychologist and her falling for the Joker because of it. Always felt making her super smart did not fit with her character and I was never a fan of the change. While not excusing her actions I always felt it worked best with her being more simple and getting swept up in all the craziness.

I think it's worth pointing out that the animated depiction of Mad Love didn't keep that aspect and that seems to be most of what people go by as far as Harley's origin.

I think the scene of her sleeping with the professor is no great loss, but it does sort of reinforce the "brilliant but lazy" aspect of DCAU Harley. Why put much effort into things when you can coast by and let others do most of the work while you have fun? This is present in the Gotham City Sirens issues by Dini, she can deduce fairly easily that Bruce Wayne fits the profile of Batman, but when ivy tells her it is stupid and to shut up, she does. Because Ivy is in charge, and Harley isn't that much interested in being proactive.

She was never dumb even back then, but she her interactions with the Joker and Ivy show her as being an enthusiastic submissive. They are more domineering personalities and Harley continually seeks them out and lets them take charge, but being who she is, she understands them far better than most and can subtly manipulate them to get what she wants while leaving them thinking they are fully in charge. And can lash out against them if she feels she is being slighted or not getting what she wants, sometimes with violence against their person. She did this with the Joker numerous times. it's why, while the relationship is totally toxic and not something to be emulated, I don't really like the depictions of Harley being a total victim and lacking any sort of agency in her "romance" with the Joker. Nor ones that pain her romance with Ivy as being purely good without any abuse, because there definitely is some there. Cutting out all this stuff makes the characters seem less authentic to themselves, and it's hard to separate the dynamics from the DCAU because they originate there with Harley. I will give this take a shot at some point and it will probably be better than most.

[Arnoldoaad]

Sejic put some teasers on twitter for next issue
https://twitter.com/stjepansejic/sta...845802510?s=20

[Arnoldoaad]

[Frontier]

Sejic put some teasers on twitter for next issue
https://twitter.com/stjepansejic/sta...845802510?s=20

Curious how the Two-Face accident happens in this continuity.

[Arnoldoaad]

Curious how the Two-Face accident happens in this continuity.

Im guessing that it wont deviate to much from "Maroni threw acid on him"
the thing Im most curious about is that he is in the public with the bandages
on both The Long Halloween, The Dark Knight and on B:TAS he kinda disappears from the hospital as already Two-Face
here it looks like it will have some kind of transition period.

[nebezial]

i friggin loved reading this whole thread!

sometimes as a creator i need to sense that the audience is invested and my god this thread just energized me because you are all paying attention!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE!

you are all in for some very intense treats with issue 2 and 3


Stjepan


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[Arnoldoaad]

i friggin loved reading this whole thread!

sometimes as a creator i need to sense that the audience is invested and my god this thread just energized me because you are all paying attention!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE!

you are all in for some very intense treats with issue 2 and 3


Stjepan


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keep the good work
you are killing it!