DC Black Label's Harleen #110/4/2019 With the launch of DC's new "R-rated" comic line, DC Black Label, we've gotten some seriously unique and inventive comics that otherwise never would have happened. Batman: White Knight showed us a parallel universe just slightly off from ours, where Batman is becoming a public nuisance, and The Joker becomes sane. It's follow-up series, Curse of the White Knight, is currently on it's third issue, and DC recently announced the two series' are officially part of the "Murphy-verse" after writer and artist Sean Gordon Murphy. Murphy is also known for drawing the indie series Tokyo Ghost, which was written by his Curse of the White Knight co-artist, Matt Hollingsworth. Aside from the Murphy-verse, DC Black Label has brought us Batman: Damned, Batman: Last Knight on Earth, and Superman: Year One. All three of those titles have legendary creative teams who've been given much more freedom in their writing than a standard DC comic. It's no wonder every issue published under Black Label sells out! And there's more coming later this year, and early 2020. For now, I'd like to talk about the Black Label series next up on the list to premier: Harleen, by Stjepan Šejić. Harleen promises to be a retelling of her infamous Mad Love origin story, written by her creator Paul Dini. Under Black Label, this series will be able to explore more intensivley the psycological path Harleen Quinzel takes to becoming Harley Quinn. Continue Reading for more on the first issue of this series, and what it means for our favorite Clown Princess of Crime! Illustrator and writer Stjepan Šejić isn't new to comics. His name first came on my radar years ago, when his kinky web-comics about superheroes took the internet by storm. He's done a good few things since then, like Sunstone and a few other online stories. Now, he's onto Harleen, the 3-issue Black Label series about Dr. Harleen Quinzel's fall. Issue one came out last week, and I'm already hooked.
The format of a prestige size comic book isn't going to be in every illustrator's wheelhouse. Thy're magazine sized, so much larger than your traditional comic, and always containing a lot more pages. They also have no ads at Black Label, leaving more room for content. This also means prestige format comics tend to be a bit of a read if you know what I mean. If you're reading this, chances are you're a comics fan yourself. So you know, often times the goal with a comic is to sit and read for a few minutes, get entertained, and move on to the next thing with a lot to think about. With 50+ pages of magazine sized pages, that's more of a commitment read. And I loved every page. Šejić takes advantage of the prestige format pages in multiple ways. As the illustrator and writer, he has the full power to pace the story with the art. On some pages, he has the read focus on the art, with large spreads of action across the page and minimal text. Some pages are done like the 9-panels from classic comics,but with more like 15 panels. It's more work for Šejić, and his efforts make you appreciate what you're holding even more. Even with the giant-sized pages, he has no issues filling the space without over-crowding or confusing the readers' eyes. One page in particular makes excellent use of the negative space: Dr. Quinzel stands shocked, a gun held in her face by the Joker, who's arm is stretch straight between them. Between them, instead of putting mere nighttime background, Šejić puts all the choices Harleen made in her life to bring her to this point. Choices during school, in making her career, in making her reputation, and in choosing to walk down that street on that night. These strip-style flashbacks make up her life flashing before her eyes, and compete the image of the scene for the reader. This first issue gives us a deep look into Harleen Quinzel that we haven't had before. Mad Love insinuated that Harleen slept with her teachers to get good grades, and let the audience believe her doctorate was more of a formality than anything she'd earned. Šejić acknowledges flaws in her character, but uses them to further her own story and make her more human. He explicitly writes a scene in which a mentor of hers explains, her past is irrelevant. She earned her doctorate and accolades on her brain, not her affair with a professor. Šejić is also careful to write her personality in a way that the reader can already visualize and understand her reasoning for following the darker path. Being a student of psychology, Harleen is very familiar with why bad people act out. For the most part, they themselves are deeply wounded. The research that gets her a job at Arkham-- through Lucius Fox, on the behest of Mr. Bruce Wayne, who would like to fund criminal rehabilitation efforts after the murder of his parents-- circles around the why of criminal insanity, and how she could potentially fix them--save them. It's wrong to assume that empathy is weakness. For Harleen, empathy seems to be a driving factor in her career and research. It's what got her that far in life, and unfortunately what will lead to her fall. As it stands in issue one, it looks like Šejić may be setting the two of them up to appear to be some kind of star-crossed lovers. Make the Joker look cute and misunderstood, so of course she falls for him! At least, that's what we're meant to expect. Romanticize the villain to make it less painful when he hits her. As Harleen narrates, she herself points out, this isn't a happy story. She doesn't end up adored by her prince, or saving the evil man's soul with her love. I can only wait and guess how Šejić will manipulate the reader to get to that point. My questions for issue 2: We've seen a few other notable villains talk to the doctor at Arkham, will any of them have a more active roll in the story? With her psychology training, will Harleen see what the Joker is doing and give in to temptation anyway, or will she be too wrapped up in the situation to notice him using her? With it's prestige size format, Harleen #1 is a hefty read. Even with that, Šejić's beautiful and clever illustrations and his smart writing and characterization of Dr. Quinzel keeps the reader drawn in and wanting more when it's over. Harleen #2 is out October 30th. A series' success is determined on PRESALES so remember to preorder the issue from your local comic shop!
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