Customer Reviews

Harley Quinn: Preludes and Knock-Knock Jokes

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fans of Harley Quinn should purchase this without hesitation; it delivers the first seven issues of her y2k series in a beautifully bound hardcover.

Visually, the pages here feature mostly fantastic, seductive, pin-up style panels of Harley mixed with some cartoon like panels that resemble her in the Batman animated series. One has to assume the later is done because of time constraints, but whatever. This is more an observation than a complaint.

The stories here are fairly light weight, but are filled with enough action, humor and dialog here to keep things engaging.

More Harley Quinn please! She's perhaps the most interesting "super villainess" in the history of comics.

This book is just pure gold and in complete essence of Harley Quinn. Karl Kesel and Terry Dodson did a wonderful job to transition the title character from her animated medium to one that fits in well with the dark setting of the mainstream DCU, without changing much of what Paul Dini had already established for the character. With Kesel's clever writing and Dodson's beautiful illustrations, the character truly does take a life of her own.

In this volume Harley decides she wants to establish herself as a baddie in old run-down Gotham and for that, she goes on to ditch the Joker and start her own gang. This volume is equipped with half-witted crime schemes, a slumber party, villain team-ups, a failed attempt to loot Bruce Wayne's mansion, and hilarity ensues. The thing that makes this book a plus, is that with Harley's independence from the Joker, the writer is left with plenty of room to explore the character's psyche beyond that of a mere henchgirl with a perverse obsession with one of Gotham's most notorious criminals. The stories go on to illustrate the things that make Harley a heartless criminal as well as the things that make her a sympathetic human being.

Overall this is a good book for any comicbook fan (and Harley fans in general) to possess and enjoy. The stories are fun to read, equipped with witty dialogue, and of course Harley's twisted sense of humour. Die-hard fans of the animated series may be disappointed to learn that Harley's not as innocent in these pages as she is in DCAU, but with Dodson's luscious artwork and Kesel's own spin to establish the Character beyond of what's already familiar to most, make it all worthwhile in my opinion.

The plots are odd. The heroine tries to sabotage an amusement park, holds a slumber party meeting of Gotham's bad girls, and destroys Wayne Manor trying to rob it. The humor is pitch black. Murder is exceedingly common. Yet, in a strange way, this is truly great stuff. Mainly because it's a surreal story. We are being asked to pull for a character who isn't all there and who gleefully engages in destructive acts. Fans of the character from the animated series will find much to love here.

Not exactly deep story telling even by comic standards but it's a fun read. Things are generally light hearted and a good deal of fun.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect with this series but found it quite entertaining to see her go from a sidekick henchgirl to a full blown hero in her own right. Harleys stories range from humorous and quite out there to serious in overall tone. so it never remains to be a one trick pony which is always nice.
You wont be seeing much of batman or much of the bat family for that matter but thats all the better for Harley since it gives her, her own breathing room and more spotlight.
After reading through this book I found myself kinda bummed since it only includes the first 6 issues of her series which spans 38 issues and 2 special one shot issues. Its nice have them all in one book and in order no less but will make you wanna know what happens next so you'll end up scouring comic shops or the internet for issues 7-38. Happened to me and a friend of mine so i think if you are a true to heart fan of hers then you'll also fall into this same category.
The art in the book is pretty nice overall and stays consistent. The witty responses she has throughout all her random exploits are pretty funny and what you would expect and want to her from her. The storylines themselves in this book are a good opening to her character going out on her own and becoming public enemy number 1.
If you do like the book I highly suggest you read the couple of issues that Bizzaro shows up in. They're pretty ammusing and were some of my favorites from the series in general. also pick up the new series Gotham City Sirens which is currently in print and well worth your time especially if you liked this. 5 stars :D

I'm going to try and give a new spin on this book to what other reviewers have offered.

Harley: Kesel sticks very true to her character, and has obviously done his homework on her Batman: the Animated Series roots. Her vocal mannerisms and endearingly psychotic behaviour are perfectly replicated - or, at least, is as best as could be expected from her transition into the real DCU. Fans of the animated series will also notice many little references to the show littered in amongst the many DCU cameos.

The art: I didn't really like the look of the cover, but the inside material is consistently great - the kind of material that benefits from having a stable creative team. Little renderings of animated series-esque Harley Quinn and included amongst the more "realistic" artwork. I have to say that I especially liked the Dodsons' representations of the Joker. One negative though - for the first time in my comics-reading life, I noticed some terrible lettering work. While it gets better, the early issues are atrocious.

The stories: this is where this book really excelled. The first few issues deal with Harley branching out from the Joker, and can get strangely convoluted. But after issue #3, I found myself incredibly surprised by the depth given to the supporting characters - especially Harley's handpicked band of henchmen (the Quinntets). I've never seen such well-rounded characterisations given to henchmen - the unsung foundations of supervillain shenanigans. The banter between the Quinntets, Harley and members of other villains' gangs was hilarious, and gave the book a depth it may otherwise have lacked. Not to mention Harley's unconventional methods of dealing with her henchmen, which always results in awesome tension and WTF moments, including an incredibly bungled Wayne Manor break and enter.

So overall, this book surprised me, and when I finished it left me longing to know what happens to the many characters introduced in the series. I'm probably going to go and track down issues 8-38 now, as it is unlikely they will be released in trade form.

What is Harley Quinn?

A. Bumbling sidekick,
B. Clingy girlfriend,
or,
C. Absolutely awesome villain in her own right?

After reading this compilation of Harley Quinn #1-7, the answer is quite obviously C. In this, the Maid of Mischief goes up against some of Batman's greatest villains, throws a very dangerous slumber party, creates her own team, and overall, is absolutely fantastic. Funny and interesting with great action and superb artwork by the Dodsons.

The art does shift from time to time, and at strange places -- I assume this is a result of Terry Dodson and his wife working together. It will slip from it's streamlined and curvy artstyle to a more cartoony Bruce Timm-esque look, but these changes are pretty rare and don't bother you if you're ready for them.

In this marvelous collection, Harley gets betrayed for the umpteenth time by her puddin', the Joker. She goes on the tussle with Two-Face, throw an all-villainess party, start her own gang, the Quinntets, and then go off on her own schemes that pit her against the Riddler and Big Barda. Along the way, a few detectives search for her, digging into her past.

I'm absolutely trying to find the rest of this series now. Pity it's so tough to find.

I recommend this book! Harley Quinn is my favorite and this collection is much less expensive than buying them separately.

It seems I am always rooting for underdog. Oh well.

I never knew anything about Harley Quinn but I got this TPB because my friend likes Harley Q. I was surprised by well written story and artwork that matched humorous mood. This TPB reminds me of best Deadpool stories, the ones that Joe Kelly wrote and mini series by Nicieza and Madureira.

This IS a commercial DC comic, but it is so enjoyable so therefore 4 stars. If you like something off the beaten path GET THIS!!! If you are fed up with violent stuff that defines today's mature audience comics
(Preacher, Y the Last Man and 100 Bullets), GET IT!!! If you wanna read good comic, GET IT !!!

As funny as best Deadpool and Hitman story arcs!!!

I was excited to learn about Harley Quinn's appearance in the recent Countdown/Birds of Prey/Detective comics in the mainstream DCU. What even excited me even more was the reissue of her series. Now, don't let her fool you. You don't mess with this Harley. With the perfect combination of (dark) humor, silliness (in a good way, it's part of her lovable essence and a fresh break from the other femme fatales of Gotham) and drool worthy art by Dodson (and I'm a girl!) you will have a gem in your collection. What I really enjoyed what Kesel did with Harley was take away her "Woe is me, my puddin doesn't wuv me no mo' cuz I'm a misunderstood soul, boo hoo" and actually give her a personality that makes her stand on her own. With the first issue, she grows like a child and into adulthood when she breaks away from the Joker after his two-timing! THAT'S Harley Quinn, not some spineless, deluded and unlikable joke that Joker/Harley fangirls glorify and ardent Batman fanboys hate. NO! She gets rid of all that and becomes her own character who has a worthy chair of her own in the Batman mythos (and not next to the Joker, huzzah!). One of my favorite quotes was in the first issue, and I am roughly paraphrasing here:

"Enjoy cigars the way they are made best, from my thigh!"

My favorite issue was the Bad Girl's slumber party. It was an interesting and light take of how these evil bevy of beauties cohabit Harley's new digs. If you enjoyed Batman: Mad Love or Batman: Harley Quinn, you might like this as it puts Miss Quinn in a whole new light and in the center. However, if you are one of those ardent Joker Harley shippers, you should still give this a chance.