Harley Quinn #22

Writers: Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, and Paul Dini

Artists: John Timms and Bret Blevins

Colourist: Alex Sinclair

Publisher: DC Comics

This was boring on two fronts; the main story with Harley and her parents was a complete slog, and the back-up wasn't interesting in the slightest, other than the great art of course.

I've never been a fan of John Timms' art. All his characters have the same facial structure and it can look really ugly at times. The lack of detail also makes it very dull, so nothing truly pops. Bret Blevins' art, however, is fantastic in the back-up story. I say time and time again that it perfectly captures the Animated Series-vibe that they're going for, but I wish I said the same about the story.

It's mostly the fault of the format; a few pages of story every two weeks makes it hard for me to become invested in the story. I see where the narrative is going but it's mostly boring.

As for the main story, it baffled me as to how uninspired it was. Why Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner don't capitalise on the momentum from last issue's cool Red Tool twist is beyond me. I want to see what Devani is planning, and I want to see Red Tool's relationship with Harley grow after last week's revelation that he is from the future. Instead, Palmiotti and Conner choose to focus on the terribly boring Harley Sinn story, and even waste a decent amount of page space with some boring scenes between Spoonsdale and the Mayor's aid.

The only saving grace of this issue was Bret Blevins' back-up art. In all other respects, the issue was dull and boring, presenting storylines that aren't interesting in the slightest while ignoring plot beats ripe for awesome stories that can be a lot of fun.