How Harley spent her summer vacation.
DC never wastes an opportunity to give Harley Quinn a holiday-themed spinoff. In the vein of last summer’s Harley Quinn Invades SDCC, Harley Quinn Road Trip Special #1 sends Harley on a cross-country road trip full of wacky hijinks. The big selling point, though, is the fact that she’s joined by both Poison Ivy and Catwoman. At long last the Gotham City Sirens are reunited. That team-up results in a fun issue, though like many Harley Quinn spinoffs, the quality isn’t quite at the level of the main series.
The problem is that writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti set themselves up for a great examination of Harley’s past and family life. The entire issue is driven by Harley’s quest to fulfill her uncle’s dying wish and transport his ashes to Long Island. You’d think that would allow for some real insight into Harley’s psychology, but the story never digs into that element very deeply. Mostly, it just showcases the three women causing a ruckus and having an extended party.
Which certainly has its appeals. This comic is all about removing the three characters from their usual baggage and struggles and letting them enjoy their vacation. Harley is temporarily freed from her hectic professional responsibilities. Selina is briefly allowed to return to her pre-Batman Eternal, free-wheeling self. There’s plenty of silliness afoot, including more of the series’ now trademark hallucination sequences. But with the stream-of-consciousness approach to the story, the writers never seem to latch onto any particular situation or gag for very long.
Bret Blevins draws the bulk of the issue, though a a stream of rotating artists come aboard during and after the hallucination sequences. Blevins’ is skilled with the happy-go-lucky, cheesecake-heavy approach the script calls for, though in some cases his work is too flat or lacking in energy. The real star of the issue is Pasqual Qualand, whose gorgeous, elegant renderings on pages 33 and 34 really catch the eye. Hopefully DC has more work lined up for Qualand.
This latest Harley Quinn spinoff is more of the same in terms of offering a fun, breezy adventure that doesn’t quite live up to the standard of the main series. What’s most disappointing is that the writers had an opportunity to explore Harley’s past and her family life in greater depth, but they never fully capitalize on it. Maybe next summer.
