Stjepan SejicHarleen

I admit, I'm absolutely blown away by Stjepan Sejic's art since I saw his run in Rat Queens. The art is beautiful and Harleen's fall is a lot more believable from previous attempts. There is a running theme of madness and degrees of madness that permeate the everyday. The inclusion of Harvey Dent and the executioners helped create this unstoppable downward slide. Previous stories centre more on Joker and Batman but Batman is barely on the outskirts, only on stage once or twice. Joker is presented as a romantic monster and it makes you feel as if the narration is unreliable, like we're seeing him through her eyes. A couple of things stick out from the story; the first is the idea that Joker does actually love Harley, but what he considers 'love' is far more abusive and violent - so in his mind, he's not doing anything wrong (to be clear, he really, really is wrong), that's just what 'people in love' do. The second thing is that for the entirety of the book, everyone gets her name wrong, except Commissioner Gordon and Batman. Even Joker shortens it to Quinn. I'm rambling but this book is really good. Brilliant art, great storytelling.

Far and away the most compelling exploration of Dr Harleen Quinzel ever committed to paper. I have enjoyed many other examples of Stjepan Sejic's work. And so I was overjoyed to see that he had turned his hand to an official treatment of Harley Quinn. The thorough delving into the psyche of Harleen is second to none. Rather than dismissing her as some author's do, or playing into her more psychotic of elements Stjepan shows us the slow insidious allure that Harleen feels for her patient as she is slowly pulled further and further along the path to transforming from Dr Harleen Quinzel to the infamous Harley Quinn.Sejic refuses to glamourise the mental illness of Quinzel or indeed of the manipulative efforts of The Joker unlike some other explorations of the character. This insitead shows a compelling and engaging slip of a perfectly rational woman into a killer who is manipulated by a very intelligent and masterful manipulator. The horror of her actions is not totally lost on Dr Quinzel either. She spends great lengths of times examining her actions and despairing for her future. But this isn't sombre and morose in a self-congratulatory way. It doesn't wallow but expands upon the deep psychology that lies behind the story we've seen play out so many times before. I genuinely feel this is perhaps one of the most definitive representations of the early days of the transformation of Dr Harleen Quizel and her complex relationship with the Joker.Also, the artwork is absolutely second to none. It is like looking at an oil painting. Simply sublime.

Unfortunately I'm not at all familiar with Mr Šejić's other work but I just picked this up as a big DC fan hoping for an interesting exploration of Harley Quinn's origins at the very least. The cover art was striking and I knew being part of the DC Black Label series that it would have a maturity and an edge to it that I like. In the wrong hands it could have easily backfired, but Mr Šejić has lovingly crafted the definitive Harley Quinn origin story here.Dark, engrossing and tinged with tragedy, here we see how the well-meaning psychiatrist Dr Harleen Quinzel slowly becomes twisted and eventually entangled in Joker's dark and seductive web. Their toxic relationship could have easily come off as ham-fisted but here it's grounded and intelligently woven. Backed up with some really sharp writing and striking, surreal imagery, you feel you are being pulled in with her into the heart of madness. Without spoiling too much it also features the origin of another of Batman's villains and The Caped Crusader himself makes a brief appearance too.But this is her story, a cautionary tale of the death of empathy in the face of the unrelenting madness and chaos that surrounds her that by the end she hope's she can still turn around but we know how it ends. Here is how it began.

Really enjoyed the story

Top story from the first page to the last also art work 10 out of 10

While it's a backstory most Batman fans will know, this is a good retelling, slightly let down for me by the inclusion of Two-Face. It's like it didn't have the full confidence to run solely on Harley & Joker fumes. The ending also felt rushed, from breakout to full Harley Quinn in next to no pages, also fails to explore the Joker's romantic feelings.

This is a revamped version of the Harley Quinn origin. A bit like the recent Jopker movie, its more realistic and believable.The story is very detailed and well written and the art work is just superb.It details out her early years as a psychiatrist and her early encounters with the Joker. Its a great read and well worth the cost of the book.

I ordered this book after seeing it advertised in my 'based on previous searches' feed. I instantly felt drawn in by the stunning artwork which was quite unlike any I had previously seen. When the book came, it was much larger than I expected and has a 3d style cover. I began reading it that night with great enthusiasm. The pictures are truly stunning and are very detailed. The story itself is one of the best Harley/Joker backstory versions I have read to date and by far the one which is more believable. I read it in about 3 days and I would again. There is nothing I would change about this book. Just hope the author does some more Harley/Joker themed stuff. Highy recommend for any die hard fan of Harley and the Joker.

Una opción que debes tener si o si en tu colección

Sensacional é o adjetivo perfeito pra descrever essa HQ. Tudo em Harleen é sensacional, a arte é belíssima, com enquadramentos diferentes e páginas repletas de criatividade e o roteiro é muito bem feito, contando uma nova origem da nossa anti-heroína favorita, Harley Quinn. Ouso dizer que Stjepan Sejic criou um novo clássico da DC Black Label.Aqui nós começamos a história acompanhando a Dr. Harleen Quinzel em uma pesquisa no Asilo Arkham, ela quer comprovar a hipótese de que os grandes vilões de Gotham passam por situações extremamente estressantes constantemente e isso pode ter desencadeado um diminuição na empatia deles, como acontece com os hormônios. E enquanto ela entrevista os pacientes (Era Venenosa, Sr. Frio, Crocodilo, Mad Hatter, etc) ela se depara com quem seria sua completa ruína: Sr. Jay, popularmente conhecido como Coringa.Harleen mostra como uma relação intensamente tóxica entre eles vai se formando. Tudo já começa partindo do medo que ela sente dele, vai para a curiosidade, passa pela manipulação até chegar ao “amor.” E então Harleen. acaba cruzando a linha e se rendendo completamente à essa relação insana. Indico MUITO!P.S.: na edição comemorativa Harley Quinn Black + White + Red tem um pequeno epílogo de Harleen escrito e desenhado pelo autor que é muito bom!

Love this book so much! Everything about the book is just so beautiful!

Perfecto cumple con todo!

Dieser Comic ist spontan auf die Spitze meiner Lieblingscomicbücherliste geschossen. Vieles wird abgedeckt, alles ist nett verpackt.Gekauft habe ich den Comic in erster Linie wegen dem visuellen Stiel, aber auch die Story konnte mich überzeugen. Sowohl die Idee eine Parallele zwischen Harleen Qunizel und Harvey Dent, als auch eine Parallele zwischen dem Kampf um Gotham's Seele und Harleen's geistige Zurechnungsfähigkeit zu ziehen hat mir gut gefallen. Rein optisch mag dieser Jocker etwas zu glatt rüber kommen, aber ganz ehrlich, der Fokus liegt hier auch nicht wirklich auf ihm. Er ist nur ein kleiner Teil von dem, was uns der Comic über Harleen und ihren Absturz in den Wahnsinn erzählt, weswegen es mir nicht schwer fiel, über das Design hinweg zusehen.