Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Real Sidekicks of New Gotham Special #1

[Hypo]

Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Real Sidekicks of New Gotham Special #1 Preview
Writers: Tee Franklin, Conner Shin, Jimmy Mosqueda, Jamiesen Borak and Alexis Quasarano
Artists: Max Sarin, Logan Faerber, PJ Holden, ONeill Jones, Erica Henderson, Jon Mikel

[Frontier]

How does Tawny have enough pull to prevent the police from arresting people? But hey, it's nice to see some characters we haven't had in the show for a while .

Oh hey, it's Vixen and Tee Franklin...I mean, Elle! Who somehow prefers two violent criminals and murderers to Batman because...lesbians, I guess ?

I'm surprised they still have Mari running around in that classic look.

"Wu-San sisters?" Shiva's sister rarely ever comes up, let alone as her partner in crime. Actually her death is part of what drives Shiva to be a villain.

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Hmm. Due to the way this special is structured, I'll just share my individual thoughts on each story. I'll try to keep it brief.

"Tawny Talks" - These segments essentially bind all sections together. Honestly, they're probably the low point of the comic despite Max Sarin's expressive art. They don't always gel with how each story ends and some of them get too wordy and preachy. I think the only one that actually pulled that off was the end of Dr. Psycho's story, since I always thought that him brainwashing Giganta was never given the gravitas it deserved. I did like Vixen's previous love interests being callbacks to Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

"Double Date" - It's basically a Vixen and Elle story with some Harley and Ivy near the end. It gets too mushy and quippy for me. Interesting that Vixen is back to wearing her very first costume. Interesting that Lady Shiva's sister is alive and apparently a criminal too. I wonder if that or the White Rabbit stuff will come back in Legion of Bats. Then again, Eat, Bang! Kill Tour also had some plot points that were never resolved. White Rabbit in particular can be confusing if the reader is unfamiliar with how her powers work in the comics.

"Identity Crisis" - Fun story, but nothing great. I ended up getting used to the art more than I expected. I guessed Noah would end up being the Calculator after it was revealed he was a computer programmer. The Oracle tease is neat, but like the other plot hooks, I wonder if they'll actually do something with them.

"Showtime" - I liked this story a lot more, but Clayface here felt weird. He felt more pathetic and sad than how he usually is in the show, so it was hard to imagine him with Alan Tudyk's voice. I liked the art, but it felt removed from the actual show's art style. I did like this version of Annie, though. It's something I could see the show doing, but I could also get how repetitive it would be to make another villain into a parent.

"Wild Ride" - A pretty underwhelming story. I liked the art, but otherwise it was just kind of cliche. Joker in particular felt too chummy with Psycho and King Shark. And although the reconciliation between Psycho and Herman tenuous, it was meant to be played straight, which is then offset by the Tawny follow-up.

"Two Jokers" - This one's not strong with humor, but I did like the art and the idea of the story. Essentially, it takes the Three Jokes concept from the comics to make a commentary on portrayals of the Joker and how this Joker has changed. Making the other Joker Joaquin Phoenix (followed by a third Jared Leto version) was amusing, but it did feel a bit too similar to the Joker episode we had in the show a bit ago.

Overall, it was a mixed bag. Some stories were better than others, but I did like it a bit more than Eat, Bang! Kill Tour, I think.

[Top Hat]

Is this worth getting it’s pretty darn expensive and I am really trying to cut back on the titles I buy now?

[Frontier]

Is this worth getting it’s pretty darn expensive and I am really trying to cut back on the titles I buy now?

I think it was okay, but unless you're a big fan of the show, I'm not sure if it's worth a purchase.

[Top Hat]

I think it was okay, but unless you're a big fan of the show, I'm not sure if it's worth a purchase.

Thanks. Sounds like I’ll be giving it a miss then.