Writers: Frank Tieri & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Mauricet
Some Spoilers Ahead
Aside from the Suicide Squad movie, one of my favorite products featuring Harley Quinn to come out of 2016 is the Gang of Harleys mini-series. Frank Tieri and Jimmy Palmiotti spun concepts from the flagship book, added their own brand of humor, and produced something that fits with its big sister but can also stand by itself if need be. I highly recommend that any Harley fan who hasn’t read this do so by hunting down each issue and/or picking up the trade paperback when it’s released.
Mauricet returns to illustrate the entirety of this issue and delivers in spades. While he has always excelled at capturing emotional nuances and various subtle details, his depiction of the visceral climactic battle is simply gore-geous. On a related note, Amanda Conner may have contributed her best piece of cover art for this mini-series with this final installment.
Despite all that’s happened, Harley Quinn wants to help rather than kill Harley Sinn, which came as a complete surprise to me. No doubt due to her generous character growth over the past few years, I would like to think that even Batman would be proud of her noble decision.
Still, we get a touch of the ultraviolence when the Gang gets assistance from their allies in evening the score with a kill squad straight out of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Cyborg. This all leads to the final showdown between Harleys Quinn and Sinn, which does not disappoint and should be bloody enough to please Lucha Underground promoter Dario Cueto.
While the Gang dominated previous issues – and, believe me, they aren’t forgotten here – Harley rightfully takes center stage because the book had to end this way. After all, would any reader have been satisfied if she didn’t get in the deciding licks?
The way I see it, Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys #6 provided an immensely satisfying and fitting ending to this arc. Seriously, wait until you get a load of those final pages. The door is left open for these concepts to return and it goes without saying that I hope this is just the beginning.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment