Harleen

I have never been a fan of Harley Quinn. As a kid, I thought she was ridiculous when she first appeared in the animated series. I think the idea of the Joker having a girlfriend is ludicrous. I was disappointed when she was brought over to the comics and I have been unimpressed by her overly-sexualized, Deadpool ripoff portrayal from the last decade or so. I have found the character to be entirely unnecessary and uncompelling. But I can't deny that this book is fantastic. I only read it because I have been recently making my way through DC's "Black Label" titles and I wasn't even really planning on reading the whole thing but I decided to at least give it a few pages. It grabbed me pretty quickly and I was extremely impressed with what a good job it did of making this character seem believable and interesting. Her perception of the Joker contrasted with who the Joker actually is comes through beautifully in this story. It has honestly become on of my very favorite "Black Label" titles. I wouldn't go so far to say that it has changed my opinion of Harley Quinn on any universal scale, and perhaps my reasons for liking this would be reasons to NOT like it if you are a big fan of other portrayals of the character, but this book is masterfully written (with gorgeous artwork as well) and I'm happy I gave it a chance.

She has become one of the most popular comic characters in the past few decades though her character began on the greatest superhero animated series of all-time. Harleen is a character origin story written and drawn by Stjepan Sejic about Dr. Harleen Quinzel’s turn into Joker’s right-hand woman Harley Quinn. Professionally struggling psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel doesn’t know what to do with her career as her theory on the suppression of empathy for too long as part of the flight or fight response results in losing it and being mentally unbalanced. After a failed grant presentation and a late night of drinking her disappointment away, Harleen is walking home when she suddenly finds herself at gunpoint across from The Joker only for Batman to save her. The next day she is surprised when Lucius Fox gives her a grant from the Wayne Foundation to pursue research on her theory at Arkham Asylum. Harleen interviews the inmates, a who’s who of Batman’s rogue’s gallery, except Joker until she breaks down and does so. All throughout this time, she can’t sleep which is affecting her perception and thinking. The Joker quickly realizes she’s his ticket out and through his contacts gets her research to manipulate her in the future. But Harleen’s theory doesn’t sit well with Harvey Dent who wants her to quit, which she refuses and days later he is attacked with acid to the face. But the mob boss who attacked him is kidnapped by rogue police officers who execute him and release the video though it shows Batman and Robin coming in at the end. The arrival of “the Executioners” seems to make the Joker’s interviews stand out and she focuses on him for her research, though he has nothing to do with the rogue officers. Dent recovers though the acid also caused brain damage, ironically taking away his empathy, and he publicly derides the failures of the system which makes the Executioners come to him looking for instructions. Dent’s plan is to release the inmates of either Arkham or Blackgate Prison to cause havoc in Gotham City to make the general pubic allow for literally executing offenders. The coin toss lands in favor of Arkham and they stage a raid on the Asylum to release the inmates, but once free Joker tells his fellow inmates that the Executioners are there to kill them which sets them off on a rampage on their rescuers. Harleen rushing into the Asylum to find Joker, not only her patient but now lover, kills a security guard to save Joker’s life then has a mental breakdown as a result and becomes Harley. Sejic did a wonderful job in building upon the foundations that Paul Dini and Bruce Timm laid in Batman: The Animated Series of Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel’s origin as Joker’s doctor to his henchwoman-lover. Taking advantage of the DC Black Label’s adult focus imprint, Sejic shows how Harleen’s slow mental spiral between reality and a living dream/nightmare develops throughout the book including a stunning final page that brings things into clear focus. Sejic includes references to previous incarnations of Joker in various Batman media adaptations now and again as nods to the past, which do not distract from the main story adds to the enjoyment of fans of the franchise. As a longtime fan of Sejic’s art, the book showcases it magnificently and frankly I wanted to go back through ignoring the text and study every panel again. Harleen is the story of an earnest, dedicated psychiatrist slowly through her own actions and skillful manipulation of her patient joins those she wanted to help. Stjepan Sejic’s wonderfully written and amazing drawn story is a must get for anyone that is a fan of the character or a fan of a well-constructed origin story.

Wow. The art is phenomenal, the Joker is that perfect balance of sinister madness and charming seduction. Harley Quinn finally gets the treatment she deserves as an intelligent young woman pulled into the insanity of a narcissistic psychopath. For once I resonated with Harley Quinn, more than I thought I ever could. Stjepan obviously knows humanity and is a master of his craft. I agree with others that this should totally be the definitive Quinn origin and that it does feel like The Killing Joke for Harley. The artist captures every human expression flawlessly, every subtlety in the sociopaths playbook, every technique of suspense and subplot perfectly interwoven into a satisfying tale that leaves me wanting to revisit this story again and again. If anyone has made me a comic book convert it is Stjepan Sejic. Stjepan gives Harley nuance and humanity while maintaining some of her more fun quirks, creating a character that is the perfect mix of strong and flawed, victim and villain, smart and naive, clumsy and sexy. Harleen is an excellent representation of what it’s like to experience emotional abuse and neglect, madness, bad days, resilience, and hope. A+

As always, Sejic’s art never disappoints. Really glad DC gave him a chance to tell this version of Harley’s story because his style fits from the art to the emotional and psychological aspects. If you like Harley Quinn (from any of the shows, movies, or her main comics series), this is another retelling of her origin that somehow manages to improve on the original. Some great twists, even if you already know how it is going to end!

Son derece hızlı ve iyi paketlenmiş halde geldi.Herhangi bir hasar yoktu.Mükemmel.

You already know the entire story of the book from the very first page, if not the product description, and yet the book manages to deliver one of DC's best stories yet. Comprised of three smaller books, the plot explores a twisted and abusive relationship between the two main characters and is entirely narrated from Harley's POV. This could honestly be recreated into a dark, Joker (2019) style movie; wish DC explored this side of Harley more, rather than jumping to her lunacy. A nice little touch was how almost every major DC character appears, or is mentioned, at least once in the book. The artwork is PHENOMENAL. It doesn't try to be realistic and yet manages to make every single character and scene feel real. I've only finished reading the comic once, and some of those scenes are already ingrained in my head because they were depicted so well, especially the ones where an entire page, or two pages are used for just one panel. I surprisingly received the comic in good condition, but note that if you're ordering this in India you won't get the transparent jacket that international reviewers are talking about.

Absolute masterpiece! Story and art are just perfect! If not the best, it definitely is one of the top 3 graphic novels I own. Must buy!

Recién llegada a casa, apenas hace unos minutos, y un día antes de la fecha señalada por Amazon. Excelente servicio. La edición en sí es muy bonita, con una encuadernación preciosa. Un deleite para la vista y, por lo poco que he ido viendo, con una calidad de dibujo impresionante. Eso sí, quiero valorar sobre todo el trabajo del repartidor. Con los tiempos que corren, con todo esto del covid-19, es normal tener miedo al contagio y que se haya terminado el reparto directo a la puerta de casa. Con todo y con esas, el repartidor ha tenido la amabilidad de esperar abajo, en el portal, vigiliando el paquete hasta que lo hemos recogido, y se agradece mucho. ¡Un aplauso para gente como él, y mucho ánimo en su día a día! Hoy más que nunca queda claro lo fundamentales que sois los mensajeros en nuestra sociedad.

First thing to know about this book, is that it's a deep dive in what makes harleen quinzel "harley quinn. Best thing I can compare it to, is the new joker movie. This while story is told from harleen's point of view. You def get to see her slowly descend into madness. This is def not your typical comic super villain story. Just like how the new joker movie was not your typical comic movie. Second thing to know is that this book is just stunning. Inside and out. Its magazine size. Same height as your typical omnibus, but longer length wise. The art def benefits from this oversized format. The story is full of imagery to explain what is going on in Harleen's. It's rather amazing how the arist/writer pulls it off. You see harleen interview the joker on one panel, then the next page you get see how she is seeing it in her mind. One scene shows her dressed like red riding hood because she sees the joker as the big bad wolf. This whole book is full of images like that. It's very thought provoking. In my mind? This book is a must buy. It is truly unique, and I hope that this writer will write more stories that are set in this continuity. Just on how he shows poison ivy in this book, makes me want to see a whole story based on her. Or more of harley. Or whoever he decides to do. After this book? I will take whatever he decides to put out.