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A review by justabean_reads
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Basically a highschool AU wherein Harley moves to Gotham as a teen, ends up falling in with a bunch of drag queens, and trying to save her neighbourhood from the violent advancement the Kane Corporation's gentrification projects. Poison Ivy is the daughter of a couple of community organisers and is trying to save a garden project. The Joker is the worst person in the world. Batman... exists (and fortunately isn't in it very much, though I have questions about his one scene vis a vis the message of the story).
The book is narrated by Harley to an unseen audience, in a teen-rated version of her cock-eyed sarcasm, iconoclasm and sense of unfairness. She felt very young and still working on what she believed and how she fit into the world, with Ivy pulling her one way, and the Joker the other. Her Harlequin costume develops out of a mix of punk, drag and dollarstore, as does her direct action (ie baseball bat and gasoline) approach to problems. It's one of my favourite versions of Harley.
The art is gorgeous, especially the colours (also by Steve Pugh). Most pages tend towards monochrome, not quite grey scale, but very subtly tinted, and explode into colour at key moments, in flashbacks, as the characters come into themselves. Everyone has their own palette, with the Joker acids, Ivy lush greens and browns, and Harley starting to figure out her own. It's just an overall good-looking book.
The book is narrated by Harley to an unseen audience, in a teen-rated version of her cock-eyed sarcasm, iconoclasm and sense of unfairness. She felt very young and still working on what she believed and how she fit into the world, with Ivy pulling her one way, and the Joker the other. Her Harlequin costume develops out of a mix of punk, drag and dollarstore, as does her direct action (ie baseball bat and gasoline) approach to problems. It's one of my favourite versions of Harley.
The art is gorgeous, especially the colours (also by Steve Pugh). Most pages tend towards monochrome, not quite grey scale, but very subtly tinted, and explode into colour at key moments, in flashbacks, as the characters come into themselves. Everyone has their own palette, with the Joker acids, Ivy lush greens and browns, and Harley starting to figure out her own. It's just an overall good-looking book.