Harley Quinn #6 // Review
Harley Quinn #6 is written by Stephanie Phillips, drawn and inked by Laura Braga, colored by Arif Prianto, and lettered by AndWorld Design. Taking place during the exposition of the Fear State event, Harley Quinn #6 brings in Scarecrow as an additional threat to Harley and her heroic attempts.
Harley Quinn is in Alleytown, where she’s tracked the source of the drugs Hugo Strange is giving to the Joker’s former henchmen. Things hit the fan when she’s cornered by the Magistrate’s soldiers, but she’s rescued by Catwoman. Only to have to defend her reasons for being in Alleytown in the first place. Catwoman isn’t happy to see her.
But the two manage to strike a deal and decide to hunt down whoever is supplying Hugo Strange with drugs. Meanwhile, Strange is having his own set of issues, being confronted by Scarecrow about fear toxin being stolen from him. And then there’s Keepsake whose hanging around, being a bit of a pest.
I enjoyed the way Phillips wrote Harley’s dialogue about cats and how you have to earn their trust as a parallel to her relationship with Catwoman. It’s cheesy but in a heartwarming way. It shows that Harley is trying her best to be better and to improve her interpersonal relationships. And with all of the mentions of Poison Ivy, hopefully, she’ll show up sometime soon so the two can work on their relationship as well. Phillips writing Harley and Ivy interactions would be a real treat.
Harley Quinn #6 is Braga’s first issue as the artist, and it’s a very strong start. Braga brings a new style to the story and the characters, and they look fantastic. For example, Scarecrow looks incredibly creepy. He probably doesn’t even need to use his fear toxin to make most of his victims scared. And Catwoman and Harley Quinn look beautiful but deadly.
Not only do the characters look great, but the action sequences are a perfect blend of dynamic action poses and flow. Both Catwoman and Harley Quinn have rather acrobatic fighting styles, but Braga manages to give them both unique actions on the page.
Alleytown is a gloomy place, and Prianto shows that through the color choices of many of the backgrounds. But despite it being a gloomy setting, nothing is too dark or muddy. Instead, Prianto uses enough vivid colors to keep with the energetic feel of Harley’s scenes without making Alleytown look too vibrant. It’s a balancing act, and Prianto nailed it. Harley Quinn #6 has fantastic colors.
While it looks like Catwoman and Harley Quinn are parting ways, for now, they seem to have left things on decent terms, so maybe a future team-up is possible. They’re a great crime-fighting duo to follow as their similar natures as antiheroes combine with their wildly different personalities.
Unlike in previous issues, as of Harley Quinn #6, it no longer seems like Hugo Strange is pulling all of the strings. Rather, Scarecrow has become a threat, potentially to Strange as well, And what of the mysterious Keepsake? It’s unclear where his loyalties lie or what he wants from Strange. This issue set up a lot of plot points, and it will be interesting to see how they all come together.
