Snow Day Review: Harley Quinn's Valentine's Day

My local comic shop has – just as many around the country – yet to receive this week’s new comics due to the winter weather. I blame Captain Cold, Mr. Freeze, Icicle and Jeph Loeb. (I blame him for a lot)

Since I was to start my comic reviews today, I’ve decided to review a book that was still on shelves from last week, but you still may not have read.

Harley Quinn’s Valentine’s Day Special is DC’s attempt to channel Deadpool. That’s a double edged sword, I assure you. While the intent was likely to create a stand-alone comic in a lighthearted vein – which it is – that is also one of its more annoying qualities. The plot revolves around Harley’s move to New York, (already odd for DC), and her attempt to win a date with Bruce Wayne at a charity bachelor auction. This already raises eyebrows as it seems like a sadly convenient way to tie Batman to Harley outside of Gotham, which doesn’t really make a lot of sense anyway. ‘Hilarity’ ensues when an eco-supervillain called The Carp kidnaps Wayne in an attempt to further his well meaning environmental protection efforts.

The book is full of tongue-in-cheek quips and winks at the audience, even breaking the 4th wall by imaginary characters addressing readers directly. It bounces from dream sequences to main narrative, the difference being a minute change in the level of silliness. The whole thing is peppered with toilet humor and innuendo, which I find out of character for Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti.

All in all, the book just feels like it’s trying too hard to appeal to the Deadpool crowd, and, sadly it may be the new standard for DC. This may just have been a snapshot of what Dan Didio meant when he said that ‘storytelling trumps continuity’ after the Convergence event.

While this type of book certainly has a place in the comics world, and I’m sure will find a new readership that may have avoided comics before, it’s really not what I look for in quality comics. Let’s just hope DC has something else up their sleeves for the future.

Snow Day Review: Harley Quinn’s Valentine’s Day

By Skip Harvey | Feb 19, 2015