Harley Quinn - The Best Thing in Comics Right Now?

Everyone loves Harley Quinn.  Even people who don't really love comics all that much.

We all know the basic story - Harley Quinn showed up on Batman: The Animated Series as the Joker's girlfriend/sidekick and she became so popular that she eventually wound up in the regular DC Comics Batman books, and then had her own title too.  It was eventually cancelled, and when the New 52 started Harley found herself in the Suicide Squad.  And then, almost out of nowhere last fall were ads for a new Harley series.  You could quickly tell from the ads that this new monthly comic was going to be something different.  And something special.

...oh, and something successful too.  Since the first issue (#0) launched last November, Harley Quinn has consistently been a Top 20 selling comic book.  It also regularly sells more copies than Superman.  Holy Puddin' Pops Batman!

So, why is Harley so great?  Or, more importantly, why is she so popular right now?  Harley has always appealed to young men.  Is it because we see her as Mr. J's babe?  The kind of girl that can get bossed around and keep coming back for more loving?  Wow, do we actually like her for that reason?  Or are we compelled to watch her story unfold, hoping that she'll finally be able to have happiness without the Clown Prince of Crime?  The Joker hasn't even shown up in the pages of Harley's newest series yet.  We all know it's coming.  It has to happen at some point, right?  And we're all waiting with anticipation for it, just to see what happens.  I mean, ANYTHING can happen in this new Harley series.

Girls love Miss Quinn too.  If you need proof of that, there's a new line of Harley Quinn inspired clothing coming out this fall.  Yep, that's right.  Harley Quinn has gone from Saturday morning cartoon sidekick to full-fledged pop culture icon.  Have you been to a convention lately?  There are Harleys everywhere.  A girl can certainly get a boy's attention by dressing up like Harley Quinn, but there has to be more to it than that?  Quinn represents rebellion, anarchy, chaos, and insanity - but can snap her fingers and be the girl next door too.  Does that sound like today's modern woman to you?

Harley Quinn might very well be our favorite new york doll, but is it too much too soon?
(...anybody pick up on the Dolls reference there?  C'mon, I'm really proud of it...)

Harley Quinn #0 was a gamble, allowing the creators to think outside the box and write outside of the four walls.  It paid off big time, setting the stage for the new series to be as crazy as it wanted to be.  In the last month or so, Harley has been featured in Secret Origins #4 (gaining a cover spot ahead of Robin and Green Arrow), had a Special Edition Director's Cut of issue #0 that let us read the enjoyable ramblings of writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, and starred in a One-Shot book about her roaming around the San Diego Comic-Con.  All of this on top of her team-up with Poison Ivy in her own book.  DC has also been reprinting some classic Harley stories in collected editions to capitalize on her insane popularity.

So the question has to come up, is DC going to over-saturate their market with Harley Quinn and ultimately ruin her popularity?  Or is DC getting the most out of Harley's popularity before it slows down again?

What I do like about her extra-curricular activities is how they are all written by Conner/Palmiotti.  This keeps the narrative flowing well, even when the artwork doesn't match up from story to story.  If we're going to get a dozen Harley stories all at once, at least they're coming from the same place.  So we know they're quality and we're getting our money's worth.

I truly believe Harley Quinn is the most enjoyable comic on the market right now. If you aren't reading it, you should add it to your pull list right away.

- ryan