Harley gets ready for a return to Gotham.
The ongoing Harley Quinn comic’s status in current Batman continuity is nebulous at best. That’s partly why the series’ latest story arc is so intriguing. Harley is headed to Arkham Asylum to bust her boyfriend Mason Macabre. That essentially forces the book to acknowledge the rest of the Batman family and Harley’s relationships with her costumed peers. Even if Batman or Joker don’t factor into this story, there’s a lot of potential to explore. Potential that this issue barely shows an interest in tapping into.
The problem is that issue #24 quickly gets sidetracked by a completely different conflict – Harley’s ongoing feud with the mayor of New York. This transitions into an extended, very violent romp that winds up consuming the vast majority of these pages. The conflict is reasonably entertaining. If nothing else, it allows a wide variety of cast members to wreak havoc on their hapless enemies. Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti manage to build up a fun bond between the flamboyant Harvey Quinn and the cybernetic killer/aged Bond girl Zena Bendemova.
Sadly, there just isn’t much to latch onto beneath all the carnage. This issue reads like a noisy bump along the road to something much more interesting. And given how much the book has struggled with pacing problems over the past year or so, it’s frustrating that the writers aren’t quicker to dive into this new conflict.
At least the story allows Chad Hardin to strut his stuff. The action-packed script is a great showcase for his dynamic style. Whether it;s Harley smushing the head of a mercenary or Zena rolling over foes like Samus Aran, the action sequences pop with energy and a violent sense of glee. This is definitely one chapter of the series that stands out more for its visuals than its story.
It seems we’ll have to wait another month for the “Harley Quinn in Arkham” storyline that was promised. This issue becomes distracted by a less compelling conflict that results in little more than Harley and her friends killing a bunch of mercenaries. Visually distinctive, but otherwise not particularly memorable.
