Harley Quinn #12 Review

While I impatiently await Batman and Joker’s first collision of the Rebirth era and for the Dark Knight to get to the bottom of this “three Jokers” business, the current arc playing out in the pages of Harley Quinn will go a long way in tiding me over. Yes, I was a bit critical of the last issue – and I stand by my statements – but this installment delivers more of what I was expecting when this was first announced several months back.

But before we get to the main course, let’s take a moment to talk about all this jazz going on with the mayor and Madison Berkowitz. This dirty game of politics gets more and more intriguing as it continues to have a snowball effect. At first, I found it to be nearly superfluous and would essentially be watching the clock until Harley was “onscreen” again even though it did technically affect the main story. But now, I’m really wondering what writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are building to. I’m reasonably certain the opening scene sets the stage for the next arc featuring what appear to be vampires.

As for the showdown between Joker and Red Tool, well, it’s something to behold. Toolbag comes off as the chivalrous one (he had the genius plan of tampering with Harley’s alarm clock and showing up in her stead), but it was obviously the Ace of Knaves who stole the show in the end with his calm demeanor and words that cut like a scalpel. His ability to get inside someone’s head never ceases to amaze.

There’s some bone crushing violence to be witnessed, too, and it’s all in Red Tool’s favor as Joker elects to go the pacifist route, which is probably some form of manipulation (you do know who we’re talking about here, right?). It’s hard to imagine any of this madness not being brought to life by someone like John Timms, who once again takes the wheel for this issue and does a fine job of it.

Still, it’s great to see Chad Hardin return even if only for a dream sequence consisting of a handful of pages. Such displays featuring guest artists have been a staple for this series and this one gave us a glimpse into Joker’s subconscious with some callbacks to Batman: The Animated Series that will no doubt delight longtime fans. Furthermore, there are hints that Joker actually cares for Harley, a subject that I and many others will forever debate.

It comes as no shocker that Red Tool’s plan isn’t well received by the titular character and she puts him in timeout with the intention of exacting her own revenge. Believe me, Harley has really grown to hate her pale-skinned former beau. I won’t give away much more beyond this point, but rest assured that, oh yes, there will be blood.

Without a doubt, Harley Quinn #12 is one of the series’ best page turners to date. I’m still not entirely sure if this is the real Joker (again, if it is, he has a plan), but the next issue most assuredly has my undivided attention. Bravo.