Harley Quinn Vol. 1: Hot in the City (The New 52)

I've loved Harley since the first time she bounced onto the screen in the Batman animated series. She was a goofy, perky, dangerous little antidote to the unpleasantness of the Joker and some of the Bat's more monstrous foes... a little bit sweet, a little bit sad, and a lot loveable. Sure, you'd probably not want to be in a confined space with her, but she's a step up from being locked in a room with Killer Croc. Also, as the years passed she developed into a character much bigger than her remit as the Joker's put-upon moll. Now she has a new series, and being New 52 content, I was a little cynical. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded.Harley Quinn is out on her own - the Joker has vanished and she's at a loose end. A surprise notification of an inheritence has her upping sticks from Gotham to Coney Island, NYC, where she finds herself the landlady of an apartment building with some colourful tenants, a burlesque jiggle-joint and a famous-murderers waxwork museum. Oh, and a whole heap of inherited debts. So Harley has to get (shock, horror) a real job! Don't think for a minute though that Harley's life will lose its chaotic, violent and downright murderous edge. Not a chance. Harley, her best gal-pal Poison Ivy, and new friends Big Tony, Sy Borgman and Bernie the Beaver (an actual stuffed beaver who only Harley hears talk), will find themselves facing an army of assassins, a gaggle of old-aged terrorists, a rival roller-derby team or two, a busload of lust-crazed convicts, and (perhaps worst of all for Bernie) a pack of starving doggies! Coney Island just got a lot more wild and blood-spattered as everyone's favorite crazy lady takes a nibble on the Big Apple.Now I know New 52 Harley can polarise people a little. Sure, this Harley is a little less damaged and vulnerable, but this Harley is out on her own and forging her own destiny. She has little need for the Joker, and seems just dandy on her own (though for her sins, she's still kinda hung up on the pasty-faced rat). She also cares about people beyond Poison Ivy - she's motivated to care for her new friends, old people, cute widdle fuwwy animals, and most of all YOU the reader. Harley wants you to love her too, and if you think she rules, or she just makes you drool, it's all good with her. She wants to change things, be a hero (albeit a crazy dangerous one) and generally get her life back on some kind of normal(ish) track. She even goes back to being a psychiatrist... and part-time roller derby girl and mommy to an animal shelter's worth of "liberated" pets. In her own demented way she's motivated by a need to make things better for people. In case that worries you, she still hands out her own brand of violence to people that get in her way (and boy are some of these deaths memorable - one guy gets exhaled to death by her blowing into his life support machine). These new adventures are not lacking in lunacy and general Harley-like behaviour. In fact, even to a long-term fan like me they seem more in tune with the original Harley than some of her adventures in Suicide Squad. No bad thing. And the comedy here is gloriously self-referential (when Harley opts to get rid of the "poop problem" her collection of animals creates, she opts for using a giant catapult on the roof... and manages to score a direct hit on the DC Comics HQ).The driving power behind this new set of adventures is the team-up of Amanda Conner and husband Jimmy Palmiotti on the writing side of the book. The art, by Chad Hardin, is jaunty and bouncy and just perfect for Harley Quinn, but the writing here is the real star of the show. It just crackles with wry humour and outright kookiness (and a lot of beaver jokes - thank you Bernie). Conner and Palmiotti *get* Harley and are intent on turning her into a postmodern bad girl with a heart of gold. Sure, she had one before, but away from a lot of the other Batverse characters she really gets a chance to shine and mature into a new kind of character in the current stable of deathly-serious, portentious characters in the DC universe. She's a ray of sunshine, one severely overdue at the moment. Granted, she might not go down so easy with diehard fans of Classic Harley, but in my opinion, this one book on the weight of the writing and the pure off-the-wall enjoyment it provides is a breath of fresh air in DC and perhaps the only thing worth reading in the New 52... trust me when I say you need a little Harley in your life, and this book will give you your prescription. And then some.

This was an absolute cracker of a graphic novel. It was great to see Harley as the lead and follow her in her adventures of going it alone without Batman or The Joker. The artwork is fantastic and works really well with how they wanted the character to be portrayed. One of my favorite parts was the beginning where Harley is trying to pick an artist's style that she likes. This had me reading until 2AM just to finish it, when I finished I didn't want to put it down. All of this entertainment for 65p, you really cannot say no to that!

This graphic novel uses a unique, light hearted approach to give insight into an otherwise dark character.This is not the dark, evil Harley Quinn of Suicide Squad and is potentially aimed at a more casual audience than some of the other batman universe spin offs. She is portrayed here as a witty, kind hearted soul that is still an absolutely brutal killer.The artwork is bold and eye catching, bright without being garish. The storylines move along at a good pace and there is enough here to keep the reader engaged without ever seeming too heavy going.It's a very good example of an alternative character arc that does not rely on the reader having read the entire new 52 backlog. The book isn't necessarily a must read, more a complimentary piece to fans of the character but that's no bad thing.This could be a good entry level book to new comic readers, and, at the price it's going for on kindle it's worth a go.I'll be reading book two.

I absolutely love Harley Quinn and these comics put her in a whole new light. She's modern, independent, fashionable and sassy. She's still an absolute goof-ball getting herself into tonnes of trouble with a crazy violent streak I will love and this is way worth reading! The art is fantastic, the story line is clever and well written and if your not already a massive Harley Quinn fan, you soon will be.

Took a bit of a gamble with something a bit different and I tell you what, Harley is great fun. Cheesy obvious laughs and a fun story from beginning to end.Great artwork throughout, but the first issue has some brilliant 1page comic parodies that really sets the whole thing up.Liking what I've read so far from the new 52...

As a collector of graphic novels and comics, I purchased this for part myself and part my university research and am not disappointed!A great read, fantastic art styles and brings the inspiration ten fold.

Wicked comic, makes you want to get the next one, and its they Harley and Ivey stuff is great to read

Harley Quinn is one of my favourite DC characters and I was excited to see how her New 52 Reboot would be handled. I have been reading the Suicide Squad books and enjoying the way they were treating he so there was a lot of anticipation for me about this.Firstly I think that this is a good book and a faithful take on the character, I am not 100% into the art yet (although the 0 edition was brilliant with its mash up of styles) but I think I could get there as it is crisp and colourful, just not what I was exactly expecting due to previous efforts.Overall any fans of Miss Quinn should definitely pick up this book and enjoy the madness, it is good to have a female led comic that is self aware enough to address the fact that some comics are terribly sexist and unrealistic in their portrayal of women, whilst at the same time making beaver jokes and having skimpy outfits, also having Poison Ivy as another strong problem solving women without getting silly about the relationship between the two is quite refreshing.

aqui entramos no mundo da arlequina protagonizando suas proprias historias. o elemento loucura esta bem presente nao so na propria arlequina como tambem nas pessoas que a cercam. a historia nao traz nenhum heroi importante como antagonista, inclusive acredito que o batman nem seja mencionado, mas sim a arlequina fazendo parecer que o mundo ficou louco. os desenhos sao bons, com cores com tonalidades que nao fogem muito das do seu uniforme e cabelos, o roteiro e interessante tambem e acaba sendo uma boa leitura para quem gosta da personagem. mesmo para quem nao goste muito o livro nao deixa de ser divertido. vale a pena.

Comic en parfait état, très bien emballé, rien à redire c'est parfait!

Harley is absolutely hilarious in these little series, seriously, you really gotta buy it. You get some Harley and Ivy action, too which is a plus! Love Harley's little fam-damily. Even if they're criminals and psychopathic monsters they still got that sense of teamwork and family loyalty!! <3

Deberían enviarlos con mas protección, y pedirle a la gente de aduanas que hagan bien su trabajo y no maltraten los paquetes.

Very funny, actually got some physical laughs out of me instead of the general amusement comedy comics normally get from me. It has humor of multiple types that cater to a widespread range of comedy tastes.If you like the wacky and the bizarre, the silly and the sexy, dark humor and light humor, I fully recommend the purchase of this book.And if just the contents of the humor and story arent enough to convince you, maybe the art will. While it does have a main artist throughout the series, nearly every, if not every comic, has a guest artist in some sort of dream sequence or other such nonsensical event. It is an enviroment where the artists are all allowed to just go crazy with their art, drawing what they want how they want, with Harley quinn breaking the fourth wall about the art in an amusing way on multiple occasions. There is also a noticable lack of artist shortcuts, such as tracing, copy and pasted objects or limbs, and minimal repeated frames.I give the art a 5/5I give the comedy a 4.5/5I give the story a 4/5100% a definite buy for any collection, worth every penny.