Well, I read one good issue of Knight Terrors. I read another one that sounded good but failed in its execution. Now I can say I’ve read one that falls apart in every way possible.
So, Harley Quinn Has No Fears, You Say?
This comic starts with Harley having a dream about being back in Arkham Asylum as a doctor, which she seems to be enjoying. Then the Joker shows up and tries to attack her, which Harley laughs off because she’s just so “over” that. Then a nightmare-ish vision of Poison Ivy shows up which Harley also ignores. She tells us that she’s seen every weird thing possible as a “crazy” person (whatever that means to her now) and that she doesn’t have any fears. Really?
I wonder if DC realizes that they destroy all of the meaning that Harley’s character is meant to have, as either an abuse victim or survivor, the more they keep acting like her time with the Joker is completely meaningless to who she is. They pretend that she was always a pigtail-styled crazy person before her time with the Joker, and they make it seem as if there was no semblance of sanity she could ever go back to. Any depth the character could have is gone. She’s a flat-line.
Of course, to wonder if DC realizes this is to expect them to care about Harley’s abuse narrative in the first place. They don’t. Getting rid of Harley’s abuse narrative is just performative nonsense, done to make sure there’s nothing about Harley’s character that could possible be perceived as controversial.
Nothing But Gobbledy-Gook
So, since Tini Howard has established that Harley has no fears in an event that is all about fear, where are we left to go? The rest of the comic is a nonsensical kaleidoscope of weird, wacky imagery as Harley travels through time and space. It is incredibly hard to follow. A lot of characters, locations, and actions appear or occur on each page, but it is as if nothing is happening at the same time. The crazy artwork by Hayden Sherman is also shifting between drawing Harley like a woman and drawing her like a man.
Tini’s overly-long, random, and almost unreadable dialogue for Harley made me want to stop paying attention as well. Like the action of the book, it was as if a lot was being said while nothing was being said at the very same time. Such are Harley Quinn comics these days.
It appears Tini didn’t know what to do with the Knight Terrors event so she just threw her hands up in the air and the result was this comic. There’s a slight bit of conflict that brims near the end about Harley not being able to handle being a member of the Justice League, but I know better than to fall for that. It would take a complete overhaul of DC editorial to make Harley not try to be a hero anymore. None of this is going to have any bearing on the future of the character.
Back-Up
Meanwhile, we get an equally nonsensical backup by Leah Williams. Harley meets a version of herself from the future who wants to show her versions of herself from the past? It was very brief and confusing, like reading the first three pages of an incomplete story. The grunge-like, futuristic artwork by Ben Templesmith was nice though, I guess?
Overall
It’s like DC has three things that they can do with Harley:
1. Put her in nonsensical, gobbledy-gook books to fill out pages and sell variant covers.
2. Occasionally have Harley affirm to audience members that, yes, she is over and done with the Joker. You don’t have to worry about that awful relationship anymore!
3. Have Harley remind the audience that Poison Ivy is her girlfriend. She does so constantly in this book, even though the two are barely allowed to be together in person.
What I just described isn’t even a character. Harley Quinn is just nothing right now. She has no ongoing story, definition, meaning, or purpose at DC. While pretty much every other wayward DC character has had an attempt at reinvigorating him or herself, Harley has gone on like this for the lengthiest time. There is absolutely no attempt from DC to change how they handle the character, even in terms of pulling back on the amount of overexposure. Apparently, they hire the lowest tier writers they can get to carry out a book in which they know that no one will read. They seem content with that. All I can do is to tell you to avoid Harley Quinn comics like the plague. They aren’t worth anything anymore.
Score: 2/10
Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
