Harley Quinn Holiday Special #1

The Christmas Variant Cover.

  

    It's been 4 years since DC or Marvel released a holiday special with their name on it. The chances of a "DC Holiday Special" or a 'Marvel Holiday Special' is getting slimmer and slimmer every passing Christmas season. Thankfully, the holidays still exist in the rebooted universes of the Big Two Publishers. Last year, the Avengers annual was a Christmas-themed tale and a couple of years prior, DC released a holiday comic starring the selfish Orange Lantern, Larfleeze.
 
    This year, DC's heart grew 2 sizes too big and they decided to release the book I'm reviewing now, 'The Harley Quinn Holiday Special.'

    First of all, this isn't the Harley Quinn I grew up with. She's nuts and she's also a big softie and those are concepts I remember. But she's got bleached skin and her hair is no longer blonde but half black and half red. She's no longer a deranged clown as much as she's a psychotic Suicide Girl in a revealing bustier and hot pants.

    I've not read the new Harley Quinn series but from what I've gathered from this special, she's not really hung up on the Joker anymore. Most of her friends seem to be former circus folk and her new boyfriend is a dwarf named Tony. Speaking of Harley's new friends, what' the deal with the zombie beaver?

   The first story has Harley and Tony realizing that they've got too many pets. So, in a while scheme, the duo offer to help patrons with carrying their wares to the car while sneaking in a puppy or two, or three. But when Harley accidently gives away her favorite pug, she breaks into the house of the dog's new family.
 
    You'd think the cops would be called, end of story. But the little girl whose the dog's new owner is a hellion and dad thinks it's a good idea to have Harley stick around for a while. Now, this is where things get interesting. See, it's easy to forget that Harley is a trained psychologist and it's even easier to forget that Harley's capable of moments of lucidity. But Quinn actually manages to get to the bottom of the family dynamic through therapeutic techniques and actually does some good.

    There're two shorter stories in this special. The first has Harley seeking Santa's help when she becomes infected with a humbug. Then Harley finds a gray hair and goes out to stop Father Time before the ball falls on New Year's Eve.  Both stories were funny. However, the level of sexual innuendo jumps three-fold, with Harley finding herself in some awkward positions with Santa and a bed-ridden old man. Also, there's two stunning holidays pin-ups by Billy Tucci included.

     The special was pretty good, but it did get a little risque. If DC would publish a second volume next year, I'd buy it. But, I hope that the level of humor would jump up from being aimed at middle-schoolers to at least drunken frat guys. If it's any indication, I assume that this is what the regular series is like. So, I'll probably wait to find this series at my library or in a dollar bin.

    This special hit stands 3 days ago and can be ordered online. It's a fun romp, but definitely for teens and adults only. If you want the all-ages Harley, I recommend the 'Batman Adventures Holiday Special' from 1995.  It can be found for around $4-10 on eBay and various comic book retailers online.

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.