Old Lady Harley #1
DC Comics
Written by Frank Tieri
Drawn by Inaki Miranda
Letters by Dave Sharpe
Puns and references are plentiful in this first issue of a new world for the Clown Princess of Crime. Fighting off talking Krakens and an army of Joker gang members are just a few of the weird and wacky events that Harley Quinn and her partner Red Tool encounter on their way to Batman’s hometown of Gotham City, but all is not what it seems upon their arrival.
While it has an interesting premise, Old Lady Harley is a total mess that is so distracted with making puns and references, it almost completely forgets that it’s supposed to be telling an actual story. Now I’m not saying that this is supposed to be the next Old Man Logan or The Dark Knight Returns, but it needs to do something besides crack jokes if it wants to make a mark like those stories did. There are pieces scattered throughout the story that is evident that a stronger plot lies beneath, but it fails to break through due to Frank Tieri’s obsession with trying to sound meta in a way that fails to bring the laughs it so desperately wants.
Inaki Miranda’s art was cartoony and fun which easily brought the tone of the story full circle. Character and creature designs were quite different and showed a unique aspect of a wackier DC Universe. With lines and strong action scenes helped solidify that the art going here is perfect for this type of book.
With gorgeous and fitting art, all Old Lady Harley needs now is a stronger plot to help raise it above some of the other stories going on right now.