Writers: Tini Howard and Hannah Rose May
Art: Logan Faerber and Leomacs
Colors: Triona Farrell and Jason Wordie
Letters: Steve Wands and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: December 26th, 2023
Lady Quark, Queen of Earth-48 (and winner of the Annie Lennox look-alike contest for 40 years running) has lost control of her Brother Eye robots. Now, in Harley Quinn #35, they’ve become self-aware and have made their own plans on how to bring order to the Multiverse! Their first plan of action is taking Lady Quark and Harley out of action permanently. Better think up something quick, Harley, the multiverse is at stake! Plus, Harley’s best bud Kevin returns and we get a peek into Lux Kirby, Multiversal Detective’s past!
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The Story
Merry Christmas everyone! Speaking of Christmas, you know that one uncle, aunt, friend or neighbor that always shows up at Christmas parties, is way too obnoxious and stays way too long, usually after everyone else has left? Well, this current Harley Quinn storyline that started 7 issues ago is the equivalent of that person. The story began on a great note, bringing in Lady Quark and Earth-48 and setting up Harley as a multiversal focal point of sorts, a singular person who could ignite a new Crisis. But as the storyline has progressed, there have been so many diversions and so much drifting away from the main plot that, much like that obnoxious party guest, it has overstayed its welcome.
Harley Quinn #35 thankfully seems to be kicking off the final act of this saga, revealing the main threat of the story and bringing back a beloved character, Harley’s pal Kevin, who has been absent from the series for a long time. Harley’s students can’t catch a break! They’re sucked into the villains’ machinations again this issue and put in danger, along with Kevin, who Harley abandoned when he turned her into the police. The bulk of the issue shows the Brother Eye robots solidifying their schemes, using an “Omac Virus” to convert humans into Brother Eyes. The whole thing seems very Borg-like, and at one point one of the Brother Eyes even says “You’re resistance is fascinating”, a play on the “Resistance is Futile” line that the Borgs in “Star Trek” loved to toss out.
I was hoping there was more to this latest multiversal crisis than just a bunch of rogue bots, but this could be interesting if we learn more about the Omac Virus and the structure of the Brother Eyes. They could end up being a formidable presence in the DC Universe.
As for Harley, there’s a nice diversion from the main plot as she and Lux Kirby talk about Lux’s past and we get some nice bits of information on Lux. And that’s the best part of the issue. Most of the book felt like padding to me, as the past couple of issues have. I assume this story’s going to stretch out to 12 issues, a full year, and it doesn’t have enough substance for that. Like a guy walking into a Porsche dealership with 20 bucks in his pocket, there are limits to how much you can stretch something out. Still, it’s nice to see Kevin back again, and it’s always great seeing Lady Quark in action, fighting back-to-back with Harley against the Brother Eyes in one explosive scene. A backup story is also included, an imaginary story where Harley and Killer Croc are on an Indiana Jones style hunt for an artifact on an island of dinosaurs. It’s a fun little story to conclude the issue.
The Art
Logan Faerber’s art on Harley Quinn #35, though not quite up to Sweeney Boo’s artwork, still does a good job mixing the playful and the dramatic. The art brings out Harley’s manic personality in the scene with Lux Kirby and in the scenes with the Brother Eyes, they look both bizarre and menacing. Leomacs’ art on the backup story was reminiscent of Mark Schultz’s classic work on the Xenozoic Tales book, rendering an amazing variety of dinosaurs in the course of the short story and giving the story a timeless look and feel.
Final Thoughts
Harley Quinn #35 continues Harley’s multiverse story, finally revealing the true threat behind the storyline and bringing back Kevin. Much of the issue unfortunately feels padded and I’m hoping we’re entering the final act of the story. I love seeing Harley traipsing across the multiverse, but this story is running on fumes at this point.