Comic Review: Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey #1

Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey

DC Comics

Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti

Artist: Amanda Conner

Movie/comics synergy is a trend I’m frequently put off by. However, occasionally the launch of a movie featuring more obscure favorites of mine leads to the launch of a new book that might not exist otherwise. So, having recently seen and loved the Birds of Prey in the movies, I was more than ready for their return to comics from a team I adore. Unfortunately, this issue didn’t do much for me.

Part of this is due to my own expectations. Given the standalone nature of all (most of?) the Black Label books, I expected the same to be true for this one. As it turns out, this seems to be a direct continuation of the Palmiotti/Connor Harley Quinn book. This isn’t an inherent problem, as I’m sure that the book is very strong, but it does present a barrier for newcomers. Not in terms of story and characters necessarily, but in terms of investment.

The majority of this book is spent on Harley and a cast of characters I can only assume came from the ongoing, and it’s very tough to care about them. It’s all very zany and funny, at least on paper, but to drop the reader in the midst of it all with no context leaves it feeling empty. Additionally, it makes the extensive dialogue feel tiresome. It had me asking myself after just a few pages, “Where are the Birds of Prey?”. The answer is that they’re in the last few pages. Some of them, anyway, as Dinah doesn’t appear even once in this longer-than-average issue. 

This contributes to another issue I have with this book. It’s longer than your standard 20-page comic, and it feels like it. There’s so much dialogue with very little to break it up until the very end. By page six-ish, I began to wish something would just happen. What I realized by the half-way point wasn’t that nothing was happening, but that I just didn’t like what was happening. It’s fine, it’s well written, but it’s necessary that the reader has a previously established connection to this version of these characters. Without that, 70% of the issue is a slog. 

Which is not to say it’s poorly done. This is a book by two spectacular creators, both of whom have an incredible range of talent. If you’re a fan of that Harley Quinn run, I assume this book is a gift. Even in a vacuum, it has some great individual scenes. Specifically, the opening with Superman is genuinely funny and is a great tone-setter for the rest of the issue. However, more than all of that, the art is outstanding. 

Amanda Conner is and has always been, one of the best and most underrated artists working today. She doesn’t do interiors all that consistently anymore, but it makes those times when she does so special. Her storytelling and acting are top-notch. Her style is so full of life and energy and the composition of her pages is masterful. This is one of the best looking issues I’ve read in a while. Just flipping through the pages and looking at the art alone made the book worth the purchase. 

Harley Quinn and The Birds of Prey #1 disappoints me. The talent is there, the characters are there, but I just feel nothing reading it. If you’re a fan of the previous Harley Quinn book by the same creators then I’m certain there’s a lot to love here, but unfortunately, I’m not one of those people. If you’re someone like me and looking for a fresh start, you won’t get it here. The incredible talent of Amanda Conner does, however, still make the book worth the purchase despite it all. The characters in the title alone should make me come back to give issue two a shot, but I’m honestly not sure that I will.