“Boss B!+(#£$”
Writer: Tee Franklin
Artists: Jon Mikel
Color Artist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Review by Kendra Hale
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – Legion of Bats #3 digs deeper into Harley and Ivy leaning into their new roles. Readers are also treated to the history of Red and her old friend from college, Bella Garten. What the implications are for her arrival in Gotham remain to be seen, however.
Torn Between Two Worlds
Ivy’s getting ready for her interviews with the new prospective members of her Ladies and Non-Binaries of Doom. Frank has taken up not only the role of secretary but has even borrowed an outfit from Harley to play the role. Ivy has interactions with Livewire, Porcelain, and Night Fall but is interrupted when she gets to Lady Marabunta. Harley also debuts her “Red Bat” persona for the first time; a work still in progress in both name and costume.
A History Lesson
With Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – Legion of Bats #3 we get the new art team of Jon Mikel and Andrew Dalhouse. The transition is seamless, as the quality stays at the level we expect. The college scenes are some of my favorite moments of this book, as the facial expressions and color choices really hype up the emotions.
There’s also a moment that should have a spotlight on it, with Ivy and Porcelain during their interview exchange. Ivy mentions that Harley has brought it to her attention that Porcelain is gender-fluid. In a beautiful moment, Ivy performs the simple gesture of asking for preference of name outside of costume. This is something that could just be seen as a throwaway, but it is a showcase of how easy it is to take someone’s preferences into account and show them respect.
The covers for this issue are varied and each artist brings their flair to their individual pieces. While Dan Hipp and Reilly Brown both give us amazing and unique offerings, my personal favorite is the Yoshi Yoshitani cover which is genuinely a piece of modern art. I love the inspiration behind it and the way it’s balanced and composed. In short, it’s stunning.
Conclusion
There are a lot of things established in Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – Legion of Bats #3 that give readers hints of what’s to come. The matter of whether Harley and Ivy can make it when they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum is intriguing, and Bella brings in a different level of personal matters to attend to.
While Ivy has her own secrets, Harley’s no innocent. I’m looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
