REVIEW: ‘Harley Quinn,’ Issue #73

Harley Quinn #73 is published by DC Comics, written by Sam Humphries, art by Sami Basri, colors by Hi-Fi, and letters by Dave Sharpe. Ever since Harley found her best friend dead, she’s been on the hunt for those responsible. Believing she’ll find answers from one Johnathan Wittleson, she heads to his home to see what she can find out.

With all the chaos of the past couple of months, I momentarily lost track of Miss Quinn and her quest for justice on the part of her tag team wrestling partner. I was worried that diving back into this storyline having missed two issues would leave me in the lurch. Happily, thanks to a bit of recap at the front end of the book I was able to catch up to the harlequin with no problem at all. And I’m happy I did. The creatives put together a great book here.

Harley Quinn #73 opens with our titular hero having had enough. Having left a path of destruction in her wake she now confronts the super-rich Wittleson to get answers about the death of her friend. In this sequence, Humphries does a fantastic job of balancing Harley out. Keeping her slightly nutty persona present in the story without allowing it to ruin the delivery of just how angry she feels is executed with skill. Harley’s verbose personality is perfectly offset by Wittleson’s smug self-assurance.  Humphries makes Wittleson the perfect corrupt businessman that we all have zero problems hating.

The information Harley gleams from this meeting won’t be spoiled here, but suffice it to say, it hits her hard. At one point in Harley Quinn #73, she gets a bit drunk and goes calling on Booster Gold. I have to be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of Booster. But, much like his writing of Harley, Humphries is winning me over. Booster in this scene is absolutely wonderful. He sees Harley is hurting and does what is right to try to help her. And even though this wins him Harley’s temporary wrath, he does it anyway. She’ll sober up, and see he was right. May we all have friends that are made of such Gold.

Basri’s art continues to perfectly reflect the excellent balance of Harley Quinn #73’s story. Its slightly exaggerated look allow Harley to be Harley, while still allowing the harder hitting moments to land well. And while the character and comedy are both well served, the art shines the best when Harley gets to cut loose and crack some skulls.

Harley has never been the most precise fighter in the DC Universe. She’s always depended more on brutality than skill and Basri’s art captures this aspect of her superbly. When Quinn fights it isn’t always pretty, but it gets the job done.

The colorwork in Harley Quinn #73 also works to augment its story well. Hi-Fi’s colors make every page vibrant and enhance the liveliness of the tale. This completes the art’s job of delivering Harley’s world excellently, making it just a little bit louder than anyone else’s. And that’s just how Harley would want it.

This bit of extra punch that the art implements is furthered also by Sharpe’s lettering. Exclamations and points of emphasis are apparent in the lettering of this issue, but, while it puts a little supplementary energy into its words, it never hindered my ability to read them. It’s an excellent balancing act, and to see style and substance come together so well is always a treat.

When Harley Quinn #73 wraps up, it’s on a one-two punch of emotion and surprise. Where the story goes from here I can’t possibly imagine. But as long as Humphries and company keep putting out this level of quality, I am along for the ride.

Harley Quinn #73 is available June 9th wherever comics are sold.