This allows Harleen to stand apart from the circus iteration of herself. What was particularly interesting about this telling is how little time we spend with a fully realised Harley. She suspects they can no longer feel empathy, something that she focuses on offering and having for them, which then makes her vulnerable to Joker. The artwork serves to paint both the realism of the mundane situations while being able to sharply cut across it with more absurd moments that tease Harley’s descent into mental instability.Īcross the three generously sized issues, we journey with Harleen as she studies the inmates of Arkham Asylum, hoping to find the answer to why these outlandish criminals choose the lives they do. More brutalistic, darker elements are introduced with conjurings of Harleen’s dreams, in which she sees the villainous Bat dominating a fragile Joker. It is lightly coloured to reflect the murky world of Gotham and to show we are witnessing the memory of events. This graphic novel is drawn, also by Stjepan Sejic, with a haunting palette. She couldn’t have known what she was allowing herself to become because she was sure it wouldn’t happen to her, it was too improbable and she felt she was in control. She looks back on herself with concern but resignation. The narrator’s voice feels more Harleen than Harley, with such a clear connection to the what and why of her life rather than the disconnected, rapid fire looseness that feels more in line with Harley Quinn. The story is smartly told by a Harley/Harleen who has been through it all – the years of normal life, the infatuation with The Joker and her emancipation. Ground level comics have grown to serve a new perspective on what can become highly fantastical stories, but this takes the superless human to a new level by really taking you into the mind of Harleen as she begins to lose her grip on morality and sanity in Gotham. In a city that is fighting a crime war, when you aren’t following The Dark Knight and Boy Wonder from crime scene to cave in luxurious vehicles and armoured suits, you are on the streets where bullets fly. She could easily have been one of his many nameless victims. What makes Stjepan Sejic’s tale, of Dr Harleen Quinzel’s life and what led her into the path of The Joker, so intriguing is almost banality, as if she could have been anyone. Who was Harleen Quinzel and what led her to become Harley Quinn? If you’ve been wondering about the origins of this unique DC character, who made her debut in Batman: The Animated Series almost 30 years ago, and has now helmed her own movie in Birds Of Prey, then Harleen is an excellent three issue graphic novel to pick up.
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