Harley Quinn #12

I loved this issue as the readers will. If this is the issue of Harley Quinn that you pick up as a first, you won't be disappointed. Read Full Review

Riveting from start to finish, Harley Quinn #12 provides a read that no fan of either the titular character or the Joker can afford to miss. Read Full Review

Harley Quinn #12 may largely be one big action scene, but it's a good one. Throw in an emotional flashback and some questions raised about The Joker's motivations, and this is a pivotal issue for the series. The Joker vs. Red Tool for the love and affection of Harley Quinn–who ya got? Read Full Review

These are the kind of subtle and multilayered calculations that elevate Harley Quinn beyond shallow wish fulfillment and power fantasies to a critical re-evaluation of how the medium as a whole treats womens stories. Read Full Review

Overall this was a solid issue and a return to what I fell in love with about the Rebirth Harley. It was a strong read as a stand alone issue and a nice bridge to for what is to come. Read Full Review

The only issue with including The Joker in a series like this, is that he has the ability to completely take over and steal the spotlight.Harley Quinn #12 sets up something of an over-arching plot at the beginning of the issue, and then all the madness surrounding The Joker takes over the issue and we don't see anything else of it. We'll see this carry over to the next issue, but it felt like a little too much to try and squeeze in when the Clown Prince of Crime was making his appearance. It's still a good read though, even if it is absolutely mental. Read Full Review

Harley finally tells the Joker what-for! And it's surprisingly gory. The issue lacks in story, but it's got some pretty good character moments and the usual peppering of gags that make it worthwhile. And hey, art by John Timms and Chad Hardin! Could be worse. Read Full Review

This is another tight, consistent issue of Harley Quinn by an accomplished team. Although it certainly seems things will come to their climax in the next issue, I'm left feeling that I prefer my Harley without any joker at all. She's outgrown him and perhaps outgrown the after party pf their relationship as well. Read Full Review

Rather than really sink their teeth into another emotional showdown between the Joker and Harley Quinn, this entire issue is just people beating on the Joker for cheap gags without any repercussions. I was hoping for more " and could still get it " but for now this was a filler issue in a storyline that deserves the best this creative team can weave. Read Full Review

On a technical level, I give this book a 8.5/10. The art is mostly fabulous as usual and we get a full arc of Harley discovering she's been scooped by Red Tool to smash in the Joker's face, intervening on said smashing, and taking over in her own vicious way. Does that make for a good comic book, though? And is it in keeping with the Harley Quinn character as she's been written so far? To the second question, I think the answer is yes: Harley has been rather goody-goody on occasion, but she has also proved vindictive and downright mean. But to the first question, I have to say no and I give it a 4/10. I'm not interested in a comic that revels in this kind of mean-spiritedness. The Joker is indefensible; he's horrific and deserves judgment. But seeing Harley dole it out does not endear me to her character–it kind of makes me hate her. Read Full Review

By all rights, the return of the Joker to these pages should be cause for excitement. DC has kept the villain on a short leash for so long. But reading this arc, it's difficult to walk feeling anything other than confusion or bewilderment. Read Full Review

Rick Jonez

Jan 22, 2017

I am leary how much permanent status quo change they can do with The Joker but thinks still looked grim for him at the end. Ironically, Harley was The Bad and Joker The Good, in contradiction to the title page. The vampire subplot was pretty much ugly - distraction from the main interaction that everyone probably wanted 20 pages of. The 3 pages of Joker's 'dream life' felt a bit of a gratuitours spacewaste as it could have been done in 1 page. On the plus side, Red Tool continues to grow on me and that Joker/Bathydrant variant cover is hilarious.