REVIEW: ‘Harley Quinn,’ Issue #70

Harley Quinn #70 is published by DC Comics, written by Sam Humphries, art by Sami Basri, colors by HI-FI, and letters by Dave Sharpe. Harley Quinn has stepped away from the world of superheroes to spend some quality time in the squared circle know as pro wrestling. But when she’s asked to fix a fight against her tag team partner, Harley finds herself having a crisis of conscience.  But hey, maybe she’ll get lucky and run into somebody who could give her a bit of advice…

Generally, when I think of Harley Quinn, I think: too loud, too over the top, and just a little too much. And perhaps that’s why a story about Harley as a pro wrestler works so well. Pro wrestling tends to feel like all of the above too. Even though the humor fits right at home in the wrestling ring, Harley Quinn #70 provides a lot more than in-the-ring antics.

When our story opens, Harley is staying with her tag team partner Alicia and her daughter Becca. While we are first introduced to Alicia in the ring, it’s in this home setting with Harley and Becca that the character really shines. She’s an upbeat, fun woman who can laugh and trade barbs with Harley, but also a caring, devoted mom that wants to do right by her daughter. Even though there isn’t anything overly original about Alicia’s character, Humphries executes his writing of her nicely. She comes across as a sincere and fun personality.

This sincerity is also key to the story. When Harley is asked to square off against her friend, for a guaranteed win, Harley has misgivings. She doesn’t want to rob her friend of a match, even though the match will pay off big for both. I don’t think I would’ve bought Harley having as big a struggle with this situation had Humphries not sold me so well on both Alicia as a person and how well she gets along with Quinn.

Basri’s art in Harley Quinn #70 goes a long way to helping the humor merge with the heartfelt. It’s not easy to show a character pointing finger guns at the reader one panel and then have that same character elicit a genuine emotional reaction from the reader on the next page. However, Basri is able to provide visuals that allow both sides of Harley Quinns to feel natural together. I also really enjoyed the colorwork in Harley Quinn #70. The way the shading is done provides a feeling of smoothness to the art. The highlights throughout really popped, furthering the visual appeal of the book.

Also, the letter work here is spot on. With a book that has as much fun with itself as Harley Quinn #70, it would be really easy to just go crazy with fonts and dialogue bubble designs. However, Sharpe knows precisely which words to go crazy with, which bubbles to jazz up, and when to let the dialogue just be. Harley Quinn #70 is a promising start to a new storyline. I’m interested to see where this story takes Harley and if Harley can handle the trip.

Harley Quinn #70 is available February 5th wherever comics are sold.