Batman: White Knight presents Harley Quinn #1
DC Comics
Written by: Katana Collins and Sean Murphy
Art by: Matteo Scalera
Colors by: Dave Stewart
Letters by: Andworld Design
“It takes a really special diamond to shine in the darkness” might be the best line featured in any comic book this year. Fitting a line like that comes from Katana Collins, whose background is in prose.
While Sean Murphy wrote the story with her, there’s still pressure on her as the scriptwriter for Batman: White Knight presents Harley Quinn #1. Not only is she dealing with the DC fan favorite, but she’s also in charge of the first Batman: White Knight universe spin-off series.
Collins unquestionably rose to the occasion.
She still manages to do justice to the beloved character who’s dealt with some different experiences in Murphy’s universe while quickly adding layers to her — both when examining her present situation and her past. And as much as a good portion of Harley’s life requires her to stay at home to take care of her and Jack Napier’s kids, this is far from a slow-moving story.
Now, it was inevitable that we’d see other members of the White Knight universe in this story. Murphy incorporated quite a few of Gotham’s best characters in his main line, and we saw a few of them pop up in Batman: White Knight presents Harley Quinn #1. From the looks of it, Harley’s No. 2 in this story is going to be a character who deserved more face time in the main White Knight storyline. Suffice it to say this character’s frequent interactions with Harley was a nice surprise.
Matteo Scalera and Dave Stewart also had some pressure coming into this, too. As great as Murphy’s writing has been for White Knight, his art is just as important — especially when it comes to tone-setting. Their artwork definitely provides a different vibe, but this still feels like it’s happening in the same world. It’s different enough to feel like it’s another character’s story within Murphy’s universe.
Batman: White Knight presents Harley Quinn #1 is a promising start to a series that has a lot to live up too.