Surely, She Jests.

Harley Quinn (aka Harlequin, aka Dr. Harleen Quinzel) is one of my favorite DC characters because she's so colorful and off-the-wall.  She's a former psychiatrist who turns to crime and falls in love with the Joker.  What a concept!  A love interest for Joker?  Who'd have ever thought anyone could fall in love with a pasty whackjob like him?  It was a bizarre love story 50 years in the making. 

I wasn't reading comics when Harley was given her first solo monthly series from 2001-2003, but I was fortunate to have been around when Gotham City Sirens was published from 2009-2011, a series starring Harley, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman.  It was a decent series and it humanized Harley, showing us her friendship/kinship with other women, especially her closeness to Pamela (Poison Ivy).  It also portrayed her as in between a hero and a villain, much like Catwoman. 

Unfortunately, there seems to have been a lot of inconsistency in developing Harley's character/personality over the years.  With DC Comics' New 52 reboot, Harley has another new, more violent personality; she's a member of the Suicide Squad; and she's wearing a much different costume.  She's also a lot more methodical and serious, which is kind of disappointing because her goofiness, innocence, and naivety were her biggest appealing qualities and what set her apart from other villainesses.  And, although I like the idea of her new costume, I think it could be a lot less skimpy/slutty.  Her former costume was head-to-toe covering, which seemed a little silly (like her), but the slutty look is a bit too extreme, too.  She's not Harley anymore, and she doesn't have that personality that would make me think she'd fall in love with the Joker.  

Now, in late 2013, Harley is being given a chance at a second solo monthly series.   DC Comics recently released Harley Quinn #0.  What should have been an origin story was kind of a throwaway issue.  It featured Harley breaking the fourth wall (like John Byrne successfully did with She-Hulk back in the 1980s) and going from scene to scene, but there didn't feel like there was any flow or story whatsoever.  It was basically a showcase for different artists.  A multitude of artists contributed to the issue, with the supposed hunt for a permanent artist for the series. Why Amanda Conner (one of the co-writers) doesn't illustrate it, I have no idea.  She did an AMAZING job with Before Watchmen's Silk Spectre, and it's evident from her cover art that she could produce a beautiful Harley Quinn comic. 

Anyway, I look forward to reading Harley's misadventures in her own comic outside of Suicide Squad, but I hope the zero issue wasn't any indication of how future issues will be.  Harley and her readers deserve better.