Harley Quinn: Year of the Villian (2019-) #1

DC comics

Writer: Mark Russell

Artist: Mike Norton

We’re coming up on the end of 2019 and naturally, that means it’s not only Christmas time but also awards season. This year that includes the DC comics supervillains as Harley Quinn hosts the annual villain awards. That leads to some questions though. Is the book any good? Who’ll win villain of the year? Most importantly, why is Flamingo on the cover? Does anyone even remember this guy? Let’s have a look inside and see.

A good sense of humour is important for writing a special like this. You need to be able to utilize the characters in a way that’ll appeal to their fans while still keeping it funny since a serious take on a story like this would likely get a negative reception. You need to do this while also making the book accessible for new and casual fans. A lot of writers struggle with this, especially when they’re dealing with as many characters as this book features. Thankfully Mark Russell does a good job presenting most of the supervillains here. Their dialogue is solid and most of the jokes are pretty decent with one or two exceptions.

My only real criticism is the inclusion of Flashpoint Batman as a villain. I thought a casual fan might not even realise that he’s a villain given his major appearances in Flashpoint and The button. Still, if you know the character then you’ll likely get a chuckle from his part. Overall the book is a solid little parody of awards shows.

Mike Norton does a good job of the art. The cover art on the book is handled by Amanda Conner. She doesn’t handle the internals which may be disappointing to Conner fans. Personally, I’ve always preferred it when the cover artist also handles the internals. The cover is one of the big things that sells people on a comic and it should reflect what’s inside. Still, Norton does a good job imitating her style and I think readers will be happy with it. The art has that cartoonish vibe that’s just perfect for a comedic issue like this.

Overall this is a fun issue that pokes fun at how ridiculous awards shows can be. If you want a good laugh and a one and done story then you should enjoy it. Russell did a great job writing a simple yet smart story to tie the jokes together and Norton did a great job on the art. I’d recommend it to any experienced, casual or new fans looking for a good comic.