Harleen

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.

Amazing work and storytelling. Top notch all around. The story has great pacing and the art is stunning. Highly recommended!

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.

A great new look at a now classic character!

I bought this for my husband and he finished it within a day. He was so happy when he got it. The illustration style is beautiful and he was so fascinated by the story telling throughout. Getting a background on Harley Quinn and how she came to fall in love with the Joker. Giving deeper insight into who she was. Can't wait to get him more from this particular Author and Illustrator. It is now sitting within our collectable shelf on display!

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!

Pre-ordered in September, got it just before Valentine's Day.I wanted to say that this was a great book. The dust jacket is plastic, so there's no need to worry about damaging it. The whole book is pretty.My only complaints are the typos, of which there are far too many, and the font size/picture size are way too small to comfortably read for long periods, especially in the extras in the back (which can be impossibly small). The story is fleshed out well, and there's none of the "male gaze" sexism in the artwork. There's no queerbaiting from the Joker, either, which is nice to see. Very nice to see.I like how their relationship grew, and how the story ended. I won't go too far into it, because I don't want to spoil anybody, but this was done so well that I didn't notice any abusive elements. Harley made her own choices, even if they were mainly to follow her heart. I thought it was a great read just in time for Valentine's Day, and unlike most opposite-sex relationships in fiction, this was believable and not written purely to titilate or to make the woman into an empty sex doll of a person. To those who need to know, there's nothing rapey in this, it's 100000% consensual.Harley was written well, and so was everybody else. This was the best comic book version of the Joker I've ever read. He was pretty, too, and not nightmare-inducing... At least not for the reader. 😏