Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti & Frank Tieri
Artist: Mauricet
Following up on its stellar first issue, Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys joins our kidnapped heroine (we can call her that now, right?) as she finds herself a bit tied up in the clutches of her captor, Harley Sinn.
Speaking of Harley Sinn, we get a closer look at her as a character this month. While her identity remains a mystery, we do know that she runs a gang of her own known as the “Sinn-dicate” and she seems genuinely more evil than our beloved Ms. Quinn. I kind of get the impression that she thinks she’s doing Harley some favors in attempting to snuff out her Gang; the dynamic between the two somewhat reminds me of the one shared by Batman and Joker in Death of the Family, but maybe that’s just me. On a side note, I think I know people who know people that dress like Harley Sinn….
I really do like how Jimmy Palmiotti and Frank Tieri have found a fine balance of humor and intrigue, among other things, that makes this particular issue a joy to read. We get to spend ample time with each member of the Gang, further cementing them as fully realized characters; they all have uniquely written families and backgrounds, something that continually amazes me. The writing team could just have easily thrown them together and gone for six issues of balls-to-the-wall mayhem, yet they went deeper and I applaud them for it. It will be interesting to see if specific members catch on with fans and cosplayers.
Mauricet’s nuanced art captures every iota of emotion and ultra-violence, as I savored every moment of my panel-to-panel journey. I maintain my position that his style allows the book to stand on its own, yet it also doesn’t feel too distant from the flagship series. Whoever puts together the creative teams for the Harley books has a sixth sense of sorts.
Sure, this was a bit slower than the first issue, but I enjoyed every moment of it. As I said, this installment really fleshes out the ensemble in such a way that we really start to get attached to them, so if the cliffhanger yields any tragic results, we will care. Needless to say, I’m all in for the remaining four issues and fans of the solo title should be as well.
