In Issue #34 we saw how Harley was dealing with losing Mason tragically. She and her close friends took off to Florida for some much needed R&R. Madame Macabre left Harley in charge of the museum. And, things went back to normal. Right?
This issue starts off with Big Tony in a bar, and he’s just won a head-butting match. Big Tony seems to be the champion. On the way back home he mentions that he misses Harley and that he hasn’t really seen her in a while. That’s when things get weird…something chases Big Tony down an alley. And, to make matters worse the alley is a dead end.
Well, with loss it can sometimes take a while for things to go back to normal. Everyone handles loss differently. At first Harley was open to being around friends, but in this new story arch she really just wants to be left alone. Harley’s Gang of Harleys is finding this out the hard way. They’re following her around and trying to be sneaky about it. They aren’t doing a great job as Harley confronts them about it by scaring the crap out of them.
While Harley is asking them about their new creepy stalking habits she finds out that Tony hasn’t been heard from. That’s really unusual for Tony. His friends say he checks in pretty frequently, and will even check in if he’s hooked up with a lady. This concerns Harley enough to “play Scooby-doo” and investigate. When her friends offer help she demands she be left alone and sets out on her own.
Harley checks out Tony’s favorite bar and partakes in the same head-butting competition. Of course she wins easily. While sitting at the bar she talks with a “homeless youth” that tells Harley about the last time he saw Tony. And, that in involves a giant Bat. Harley thinks this guy is full of shit, and takes off to investigate more.
While Harley is doing her solo investigation Spoonsdale and the Gang of Harleys are checking out Arkham Asylum on a lead. The team visits Dr. Jeremiah Arkham to discuss Kirk Langstrom. You may recall that Kirk Langstrom is Man-Bat. He used a serum to transform into the creature, but it wreaked havoc on his mind. The team finds out that Langstrom has not left Arkham and that he’s been safely locked up for a while. So, who is the bat that’s flying around abducting people?
There are some things I really loved about this new story, but there was one thing I didn’t love. Let’s start off with the things I loved. I always love it when classic characters are brought together to form a cohesive plot and that’s what is going on in this tale. Man-Bat is a villain that doesn’t get enough attention in my opinion so it’s cool to learn more about him and see him as a major player in this new tale. The ending of this story is nuts in the best way and I can tell that leading into the next part of this tale will be really interesting.
Ok so now to talk about the thing I didn’t love so much. Where is Harley’s accent? I was so accustomed to reading her accent and hearing her voice in my mind as I read. I didn’t really see that much in this issue so it felt like something was missing. Don’t get me wrong Harley’s dialogue is pretty spot-on, but her dialect is missing. Her character has always had a very strong New York accent, so that messed with me. All-in-all I can say I like the story and where it’s heading.
Rating: 7/10
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