By: Sheena Fisher
I grew up watching Batman the Animated Series, and as a young girl I really liked Harley Quinn. The reason I feel the need to bring this up first is because in this issue Paul Dini writes a tale for Harley! You will find 2 tales in issue 17. First, Red Meat Part One, and then Harley Loves Joker Part One. But, first things first, let’s talk about Red Meat Part One.
Harley teams up with “Redsie” to investigate why homeless people in the area are suddenly going missing. She goes undercover posing as a homeless person while Eggy and Red hang out as back-up. The thing that I love most about Harley in the Rebirth series is she’s intelligent. Paul Dini and Bruce Timm made this crazy, but intelligent woman and that’s carried over for sure into Rebirth. While Harley is undercover she says something astounding about the homeless. “The thing y’gotta unnerstand is that each one a’ these poor people is in this situation ‘cause a’ crappy circumstances that got ‘em to this point.” She even elaborates on this and talks about how each situation is different. Very reminiscent of everything I remember about the original Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel. Of course there’s a deeper and darker story going on, but I’m not about spoilers so you’ll have to pick up this issue to learn more.
Onto discussing Harley Loves Joker Part One. Fan-service at its finest. Paul Dini and Jimmy Palmiotti transport us back in time to a story that looks like it came directly out of Batman the Animated Series. The story takes place the day after Christmas. Joker and Harley are hanging out in Gotham looking for pretties to bamboozle away from local businesses. But, wait, every place the Joker wants to hit up has already been robbed. This upsets the Joker, but doesn’t deter him from trying again. You can read more from Harley Loves Joker in upcoming issues.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this issue. I liked the set-up for both stories, and was super excited to see classic Harley Quinn. I hope to see Poison Ivy show up in the future, yea, I’m one of those Ivy/Harley shippers. But, if you’re a fan of Batman The Animated Series pick this issue up immediately.
My Rating: 9/10 Stars
