Harley Quinn x Elvira #2

I read the first issue about a year ago. Thinking it was a one-shot, I was disappointed that this Halloween themed issue was set to continue into an  All Hallow's Eve 6-parter that would conclude sometime the following spring. So I have been sitting on this series for quite a while, waiting for this year's Halloween season to complete.

Quick recap: Elvira's weekly late night horror film festival has been unceremoniously cancelled. Irate with the news, Harley Quinn goes to complain about it to station management, only to blow up a big wig's mansion. On the run, Harley offers to let the Mistress of the Dark stay with her and her Gang of Harley's at their Coney Island compound. To seal the deal, Harley offers to pay Elvira to stay and plan the ultimate Halloween bash on the roof of the Harleys' base of operations. The fee: $5000 a week. The problem: Harley is about as broke as a investor after the tech bubble burst in early 2000.

Now on to the events of this issue...

Harley gives Elvira the tour of her new home. Inneundos aplenty. Harley reveals her Halloween bash plans to the Gang of Harleys. With very little money from their mercenary business trickling in, Harley agrees to a big score. They'll take out an evil contractor who has been destroying the competition literally. Elvira in the smallest waitress dress legally allowed in a Teen+ comic, will be the distraction as Harley and her team will infiltrate the construction company and unleash her version of insane justice. 

This was one of those issues that basically gets the players on the board. But nobody really makes a move yet. A new player is added to the mix but what they're ultimate role will be is still left murky. 

As much as I would love a comic book that focused on the day-to-day grind Clark Kent and the staff of the Daily Planet go through to report the news, I don't think I could stand a series that was just like this issue, covering the monotony of mercenary life. As much as I love Harley Quinn, I don't think I could stand long visits to her home. She's not very clean or organized and she seems okay with that.

I also didn't like how Elvira is treating Harley. Yes, I know that Elvira is known for being condescending to others, especially prudes and slimy guys who think they've got a chance of bedding her. But Harley, even in her twisted mind sort of way, is legitimately trying to be friends with Elvira. It's Harley's most fatal flaw: blindly seeing everyone as a potential BFF. Poor kid must have a billion scares along her spine from being stabbed in the back so much. 

An okay issue that made my heart more sad than glad. As much as I love the comic book characters that are the outsiders, from working with teens who feel alone, I'm starting to wish that those characters with mental illness weren't looked as damaged goods. Sure, their skewed perspective is funny and with my mental illness, I take solace in their adventures. But they've got value as much as anyone does and you'd think other super heroes and oddball characters like Elvira would acknowledge that. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys

   Being good now is hard work. It also doesn't pay very well. So Harley Quinn starts up the Gang of Harleys. It's their job to take on those messy, low paying jobs when Harley is busy doing other stuff. But when Harley is abducted by a deranged fan, the Gang of Harleys will have to become a team fast or they might be known forever more as the Gang of Dead Harleys!
    
 Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harley's was a crazy romp into the world of the Joker's Ex-Girlfriend. Frank Tieri and Jimmy Palmiotti do a great job making this story as nutty as possible. But this storyline seems awfully familiar to one recently developed by the House of Ideas. So I must ask which came first: The Gang of Harleys or Deadpool's Mercs for Money? It's so weird how DC and Marvel publish similar story-lines so darn close to each other. And let's be honest here folks, you know that a Gang of Harleys/Mercs for Money team-up that is just begging to be written!
     
      The Gang of Harleys is one of the most diverse groups in comic book history. There's a black Harley on the team as there also are a Jewish one, a Hispanic, an Asian, and an Indian member. There's even a homosexual male named Harvey Quinn in the group. Plus assisting the team is a dwarf and a handi-capable person! So why didn't this 2016 miniseries get any praise for it's all-encompassing line-up? You couldn't scroll down Facebook without a Marvel series getting props for it's diverse line-up of books! Why doesn't the Gang of Harleys get some much deserved love for this?

     I'm also surprised that this book didn't achieve some notoriety for it's true villain- a Donald Trump-style businessman. This Donald 'clone' is the real reason for Harley Quinn kidnapping. Again, there were so many stories about comics that mocked Donald Trump over the past year and a half. Yet, when his persona comes into play in this story, I was completely surprised! (Yes- great job for the folks at DC for keeping the spoilers under wraps but I really hate the DC doesn't get it's fair share of reporting on pop culture media sites!)
       
The artwork by Mauricet is very good and I just love the Amanda Conner covers. But why didn't Conner do the art for the whole book? It was sorely missing here! No offense to Mauricet, it's just that when you see Conner's beautiful work gracing the cover, you expect to see a book full of Amanda Conner artwork!

    Worth Consuming!

     Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.