I wasn't sure about this at first. I have not read any other 'Batman: White Knight' titles, and the premise sounded off to me: Harley Quinn has kids with the sort-of-redeemable-but-still-abusive-and-now-deceased Joker, and she is sort-of-close-friends with Bruce Wayne, who is now in a penitentiary. Still, I am a fan of Harley, and I have read almost unanimous paise for it, so I gave it a chance.
While my concerns were somewhat met - Harley is dependent on the men in her life, and it's not just Joker/Jack Napier and Batman, and her relationship with women, such as Poison Ivy, is practically nonexistent (except when it comes to Commissioner Renee Montoya, though that is being generous) - I found I enjoyed 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn' regardless.The art is good; nay, sublime for its intended purpose, with its nice shades and distinguished colour palettes and pastels. The physical and facial expressions are wonderful and convey the characters' emotions exquisitely.
I won't give the mystery/crime noir plot away, but I will say that Harley, as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, is perhaps the most serious and grounded I've ever seen her here. She's close to Stjepan Šejić's 'Harleen', but without the tragic ending to insanity. She's smart and an excellent detective - clearly being set up as a successor to Batman - but her sense of humour remains, and it surfaces every now and then. She's cynical, deadpan and no-nonsense after her time as Joker's lover/helper/carer/supporting buffer/enabler/
abuse victim/sidekick. In this version, she'd met, dated and loved him before he went fully "mad" and was incarcerated in Arkham, you see.
Harleen isn't perfect - she treats her two hyenas as more her kids than her actual toddlers, twins Jackie and Bryce (no prizes for guessing who they're named after), who at first it seems she tolerates at best. Plus her self-destructive path isn't as over as she'd hoped, and it contains gritty issues. This is okay. This is great, for she is still healing from her trauma. She's trying to be better. She'll realise she can trust and love others again, and help them out with their own issues.
She's a survivor, and this doesn't change that fact that she's a med grad and a trained psychiatrist.
Huh.
Well, despite my reservations, and how much I wish that Harley had been given more independence, even towards the ending, 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn' is an enjoyable, thrilling and dramatic ride, and a unique and interesting take on Harley Quinn. There are some genuinely sleek, clever and twisty moments to be found. It also loves Harley's hyenas; they are very prominent in the comic, nearly as much stars as Harls herself.
Not my favourite Harley Quinn comic, but a keeper, a doll, nonetheless.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Harleen isn't perfect - she treats her two hyenas as more her kids than her actual toddlers, twins Jackie and Bryce (no prizes for guessing who they're named after), who at first it seems she tolerates at best. Plus her self-destructive path isn't as over as she'd hoped, and it contains gritty issues. This is okay. This is great, for she is still healing from her trauma. She's trying to be better. She'll realise she can trust and love others again, and help them out with their own issues.
She's a survivor, and this doesn't change that fact that she's a med grad and a trained psychiatrist.
She'll learn to embrace all sides of herself. Combine them. Never compartmentalise, never suppress. These versions and personalities that make up Harley Quinn include single mother, doctor, woman, and her chaotic and free nature.
The only explicit LBGTQ content in 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn' is the relationship between Poison Ivy and her roommate Neo Joker (a female Joker copycat...okay, whatever), though we only see them together in a few panels, and it's not really explicit. Individually both characters are utilised minimally and barely appear in the comic, which is disappointing. Renee Montoya and Leslie Thompkins make more of an impression than they do. There is no shortage of female characters, at least. On the other hand, as far as we (I?) know, Harley is totally heterosexual in this alternative continuity - the DC Black Label's Murphyverse series - and she isn't the only male dependent woman in this story. I assume Renee is still gay, at any rate.
But onto positives: 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn' contains elements from and nods to 'Batman: The Animated Series', such as featuring Simon Trent, aka the Gray Ghost, who is not a one-bit cameo but plays an important and recurring part, and there's the overall dark, noirish atmosphere and storytelling. I've always really liked Leslie Thompkins; Bruce's surrogate parent and elderly doctor and confidante, she is an underappreciated character in the Batman mythos, and she needs to be featured in more things. Harvey Bullock, in the tiny amount he appears, is oddly nicer than usual. Jason Todd also has a part here, surprisingly, though that one is merely a cameo (the tied up and bloodied Robin on the trade cover turns out to be a minor detail in the actual comic). The Mad Hatter's cameo is even smaller, and he doesn't do anything.
The only explicit LBGTQ content in 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn' is the relationship between Poison Ivy and her roommate Neo Joker (a female Joker copycat...okay, whatever), though we only see them together in a few panels, and it's not really explicit. Individually both characters are utilised minimally and barely appear in the comic, which is disappointing. Renee Montoya and Leslie Thompkins make more of an impression than they do. There is no shortage of female characters, at least. On the other hand, as far as we (I?) know, Harley is totally heterosexual in this alternative continuity - the DC Black Label's Murphyverse series - and she isn't the only male dependent woman in this story. I assume Renee is still gay, at any rate.
But onto positives: 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn' contains elements from and nods to 'Batman: The Animated Series', such as featuring Simon Trent, aka the Gray Ghost, who is not a one-bit cameo but plays an important and recurring part, and there's the overall dark, noirish atmosphere and storytelling. I've always really liked Leslie Thompkins; Bruce's surrogate parent and elderly doctor and confidante, she is an underappreciated character in the Batman mythos, and she needs to be featured in more things. Harvey Bullock, in the tiny amount he appears, is oddly nicer than usual. Jason Todd also has a part here, surprisingly, though that one is merely a cameo (the tied up and bloodied Robin on the trade cover turns out to be a minor detail in the actual comic). The Mad Hatter's cameo is even smaller, and he doesn't do anything.
The mental health representation could have been better, and more sensitive, as well. Although not every character suffers, or is tragic, because of it.
Huh.
Well, despite my reservations, and how much I wish that Harley had been given more independence, even towards the ending, 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn' is an enjoyable, thrilling and dramatic ride, and a unique and interesting take on Harley Quinn. There are some genuinely sleek, clever and twisty moments to be found. It also loves Harley's hyenas; they are very prominent in the comic, nearly as much stars as Harls herself.
Not my favourite Harley Quinn comic, but a keeper, a doll, nonetheless.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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