Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Harley Quinn #0
DC Comics
Conner , Palmiotti, Adlard, Baltazar, Cloonan, Cooke, Daniel, Kieth, Timm, Lee, Roux, Moore, Hardin, Hughes, Johnson, Panosian, Roberts & Simonson
Harley Quinn's solo book launches with one of the most unique comics I think I've ever read. There is no story here. No plot. No high concept to send the book off on. Instead, this comic book is a collection of artist's renditions of the character where the writers add in some dialogue to give the readers a glimpse into how they plan to voice the character. It's not a throwaway comic book at all but it is also isn't essential if you plan to jump on to this series. It's definitely an ambitious idea and comics could use more of that these days.
Comic book fans that frequent comic book conventions, specifically Artist Alley, may observe or take part in the sketch book collection. Fans approach artists with their sketch books and ask for a sketch for a character that either fits the theme of the book or caters to the strength of the artist. This is what this comic book looks like except its inked and colored (for the most part) and some words were added as if the character in the drawing was talking to the book's writers. That's correct; Harley breaks the fourth wall and speaks with both writers on the book.
This allows the reader to determine which artist is drawing which page and it also allows the writers to explain their rationale to the reader for their choices. It's a nice way to keep the book interesting and the writers even make an appearance in the book as characters. All of this is done in good fun and makes the book very entertaining.
The artwork is stunning. The list of artists is impressive enough that you can't find a page that's a dud. The best part of the art though is that the writers poke fun at some of the artist's weaknesses, such as not being able to hold a monthly schedule or not drawing backgrounds. The book is littered with jabs like this and it really brings the story-less comic to life.
This comic book doesn't give you much to go on for the long term. Is Quinn going to be an evil villain? Will the character take more of a bad-girl heroine turn? Will the book play towards comedy or drama? Is the answer somewhere in the middle of everything? This comic book doesn't give you much of a hint, but what it does give you is a who's who of artwork with some funny one-liners here and there that are sure to bring a smile to your face. It's a comic book and it is entertaining. What more else are you looking for?
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
