Spoilers to Harley Quinn: The Animated Series
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series is a show that I absolutely adore and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of the third season. The series gave me a lot of moments I’ve been wanting to see for a while on-screen, namely, the development of Harley and Ivy’s relationship.
On top of being fueled with enough queer girl serotonin to last for two seasons of television, we got to see Harley leave the abusive relationship she had with the Joker, explore all of the ups and downs of leaving that kind of relationship, and watch her figure out how to become her own person. She was flawed as hell (as to be expected with Harleen Quinzel), so much so that it took a minute for Ivy to want to give her heart to her.
In the end, there was no denying that these two were hopelessly in love with each other. That, however, doesn’t mean that everything’s getting tied in a neat little bow, which is why I absolutely love Tee Franklin’s comic run of Harley Quinn so far.
Synopsis
Picking up directly from the cliffhanger ending of Harley Quinn: The Animated Series, Harley and Ivy are on the run after narrowly escaping Ivy’s ill-fated wedding to Kite Man. But who is chasing them, and where will this Thelma-and-Louise journey end? It all starts here!
Why you need to take the Eat Bang! Kill tour
Franklin is a writer that I’ve been a fan of for a while now. Bingo Love continues to be one of my go-to queer romance stories so I was thrilled to see that she was writing for Harley Quinn. That, and I’m a fan of Black women winning. A Black, queer, autistic, disabled woman is writing one of my favorite DC characters. The joy I feel in seeing her thrive is indescribable.
Franklin and artist Max Sarin (one of the artists for Giant Days) along with colorist Marissa Louise and letterer Taylor Esposito have created a story so vibrant that I can hear the characters as I read their dialogue. I swear that Kaley Cuoco (Harley) and Lake Bell (Ivy) are saying these words in my mind as I read, complete with poor Christopher Meloni (Commissioner Gordon) having bad day atop of bad day.
It truly feels like an episode from the animated series, right down to the way the characters move and act in each panel. There are lines of dialogue that made me laugh out loud, moments that made my inner HarlIvy fangirl cheer, and parts where I whispered, “Oh f*ck, Kite Man, that’s right…”
What I like best about Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour #1 is that it feels like a very real, honest depiction of what a relationship like Harley and Ivy’s would look like once they’ve actually started dating. Picking up right where season 2 of the animated series ended, Harley and Ivy are literally in the thick of the mess they’ve created. Honestly, the comic starts the way I’d hoped a continuation of their animated series story would go. These are not two characters who get to happily ever after easily and there are a LOT of loose ends that need to be addressed. Ivy was supposed to be getting married to Kite Man and the wedding turned into an all-out brawl between the GCPD and the villains at the wedding.
So now we have a story where, yes, our girls are together, but it’s gonna be a complicated journey for them.
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour #1 is a wonderful blend of fun, humor, and emotional moments that are surely going to escalate as these two spend more time together. Issue #1 is available to subscribers of DCUI right now, otherwise, it’ll be available in stores on September 14. Issue #2 will be in stores on October 12 but available to DCUI subscribers digitally on September 7.
(Image: Max Sarin/DC Comics)
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