Harleen (comic)
Harleen (comic)
Harleen is an American comic book written and illustrated by Stjepan Šejić and published by DC Comics' Black Label print on September 25, 2019. [3]
Plot
Harleen focuses on the origin story of the popular DC Comics character, Harley Quinn, and her doomed fate as a hopeful psychiatrist when she first meets the Joker.
The series is divided into three books.
The first book introduces Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a young psychiatrist who believes she has found a revolutionary cure to the outbreak of madness and insanity surrounding Gotham City. She then transfers to work at Arkham Asylum to prove her theory. The second book concentrates on Dr. Quinzel's relationship with Joker, and the third book focuses on Harley's friendship with Poison Ivy. Writer/illustrator Stjepan Šejić addressed the plot, commenting,[9]
“Harleen is a story of a flawed person who meant well, a doctor who fell in love with her patient.
It is a story of her road to hell — paved with good intentions — and a smile that cost her her soul.
More than anything it is a tale about good people falling.
Falling in love, falling from grace, and falling apart.”
Discussing the themes in the origin story, Stjepan Šejić said,[8]
"When you start reading it, and for a while, it’s gonna seem like 'Oh, maybe, she may actually save him.' We believe that she believes that she can save him, that she can help him, that she alone can restore his humanity.
But the problem is that as readers we’re also going to be privy to other information through the story.
And we will see the darker side of it all.
At the end of it all, the story of Harley and Joker is essentially a story of Beauty and the Beast."
Stjepan Sejic
Stjepan Šejić is a Croatian comic book writer and artist that has worked on comics for a variety of publishers, including self published comics on DeviantART. Sejic has contributed to DC Comics, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, and many more.
When asked about Harleen and the complexity of the character, Sejic replied,[8]
"It’s that clear, almost body horror concept of somebody who’s able to understand that what they’re doing is wrong—that’s irrevocably evil—but they keep making excuses because they have an addictive nature.
Make no mistake: the relationship that Harley has with the Joker is codependent and it’s addictive.
There’s sanity in her, she understands, she has the knowledge in her mind, she still has that psychiatrist mentality, except somebody else is at the wheel, you know?
She can comprehend it.
There’s this terrifying nature to that, you know, doing horrible things in your life.
You know what it is, but you keep finding new ways and new excuses to justify yourself to yourself.
That’s scary, that’s powerful stuff."
Publication
The story of Harleen is told in a total of three books with the first being published in late September of 2019.[19]
| Book | Publication Date | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 25, 2019 | 64 |
| 2 | October 30, 2019 | 64 |
| 3 | December 18, 2019 | 64 |
Reception
"Harleen deserves credit for attempting something new and ground-breaking with the character of Harleen Quinzel while building on what came before.
How well it succeeds in the end remains to be seen, but this first chapter is the best thing to come out of DC’s Black Label line to date, with strong writing and amazing artwork.
It is a must read for every fan of Harley Quinn."
Book 2 of Harleen's three part story has also received great reviews, with critics giving it an impressive 9.0 out of 10 and 8.6 out of 10 by fans.
One critic review reads,[22]
"Harleen #2 was everything a reader could want.
It’s a love letter to the fans of both Joker and Harley Quinn.
It was suspenseful and moving, the artwork was so gorgeous, and the writing next level.
I enjoyed this issue immensely and give it full marks.
This is 10 out of 10 easily, in any aspect.
Kudos to this team, thank you for the amazing read, truly."