Harley Quinn fans are in for a treat as Frank Tieri, Inaki Miranda, Eva De La Cruz and David Sharpe revisit the Old Lady Harley concept in a debut issue that is fun, funny and sets up one hell of an apocalyptic future for the DCU.
After liberating New York City from her now-feral Gang of Harleys, poor Harley wants nothing more than to slip back into retirement in her coastal (and heavily guarded) paradise. But the Laughing Boys Gang has another idea—they’ll follow her to the ends of the Earth, to drag her back to their leader! It can’t actually be…him! Right?! He couldn’t possibly still be alive, could he? After all…Harley killed him herself with her bare hands! Should she turn to President Power Girl for help? Or flee to the 51st state, Atlantis? Step into an insane vision of a future DC Universe we all better hope we don’t live to see!
Old Lady Harley #1
Written by: Frank Tieri
Art by: Inaki Miranda
Colors by: Eva De La Cruz
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
Writing
Harley Quinn has sort of become DC’s defacto ‘metacharacter’. That can be a blessing in the hands of the right writer and a curse in the hands of the wrong one. Luckily, Frank Tieri is the right kind as Old Lady Harley #1 is a solid balance of pop-culture riffing and honest to goodness comic book world building. Tieri excels at the mile a minute jokes Harley fans are accustomed to. Some of the highlights here include a ‘Kraken Barrel’ restaurant (I’m sure you can figure that one out!), ‘nameless references to Thanos and Infinity War (complete with finger snapping comment), and an extended cameo by none other than the fucking Condiment King himself.
It’s not all Jokes though, as one can tell Tieri is carefully laying out not only a detailed future DCU but a tragic story for Harley as to what led her to her current state (SPOILER ALERT it has to do with something she did to the Penguin). Highlights for this future DCU include Azrael robots, the Laughing Boys Joker gang, and best of all (ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT) a cliffhanger appearance by Batman Beyond!
ART
For any Harley Quinn comic to work, the art has to match the energy of the writing beat by beat. Inaki Miranda and Eve De La Cruz do a great job of following the momentum of Tieri’s storytelling. The visuals pop and are filled with visual jokes and easter eggs. The layouts are dynamic. The colors compliment everything well. Check out page 21 for some fantastic composition!
Letterer Dave Sharpe also does some awesome work with fonts, word balloon shapes and other lettering tricks. It adds an extra level to everything.
Conclusion
Harley Quinn fans need to check out Old Lady Harley #1. It gives you everything you love about this fan favorite character, but with the addition of a crazy new world to explore as well. Who better to guide you through an insane new future than the DC’s insane Harleen Quinzel?
