Review: Harley Quinn #48

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Sam Humphries

Artist: Alisson Borges

Colors: Gabe Eltaeb

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Review by Philip Clark

Summary

‘Clown For Hire’ Part One, follows the story of Harley as she returns from Apokolips and has to face the worst part of being a fully functioning adult. Paying her bills!

She has two days left before she, and her friends are evicted from her home. Harley sets out and tries her hand a heap of different jobs, including interning at The Daily Planet. None seem to be quite her fit though, that is until she receives a job alert that entails killing ‘Lord Death Man’.

Harley of course, takes the job.

Positives

I love the writing in the issue, it feels like complete and utter Harley Quinn chaos, without it being too overwhelming. Humphries has done a fantastic job at making even the most regular tasks of getting orders right, and picking up coffee, seem nearly impossible to Harley. It makes total sense too! Harley’s not one for doing the boring, day-to-day routine of an intern or taxi driver. She lives for the chaos!

I also really like the character arch of Tina, Harley’s friend from Apokolips. She quite obviously stands out in a crowd, and she knows it. Just from the brief interactions with humans that she has, Tina knows she doesn’t fit in and it affects her. I’m interested to see how Humphries approaches her character going forward.

Negatives

The artwork was a bit hit or miss in this issue I feel, there were some panels where it was great, and others where it lacked. Which is unfortunate, because I would have loved more consistent art, to partner the writing of the issue.

I also feel like the cliffhanger we were left on in the last issue, and the beginning of this issue, was a bit anti-climactic. When Harley arrives and reads over the paperwork, she finds out she actually has two days left to find enough money to pay her bills. Although that leads to the hilarity of her trying out a whole bunch of different jobs in one morning, I feel that a more heart warming story would have been her trying to get the place back.

Verdict

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this issue of Harley Quinn. I like what Sam Humphries is doing. There are some mentions and what seem to be plot threads littered throughout the issue, as well as the last run, that seem interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing what else Humphries has in store for the wonderful Harley Quinn.

Images Courtesy Of DC Entertainment

(This review was originally published on the DC Comics News website on August 17th 2018)