Old Lady Harley
Author: Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda
Publisher: DC Comics
Publishing Date: 2019
Pgs: 152
Dewey: 741.5973 HAR
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
After liberating New York City from her now-feral Gang of Harleys, poor Harley wants nothing more than to slip back into retirement in her coastal (and heavily guarded) paradise. But the Laughing Boys Gang has another idea--they'll follow her to the ends of the Earth, to drag her back to their leader!

In a dark and twisted future--is there any other kind?--the onetime Mistress of Mayhem thinks she's wrapped up her final adventure. But when a rampaging gang called the Laughing Boys have other ideas. She'll have to dust off the old baseball bat and take one last swing at a certain ex-boyfriend.

There's just one problem: Harley and everyone else think The Joker is dead. Isn’t he?

Old Lady Harley's quest to find the truth about Mistah J's return will take her from the Arkham Retirement Home to the 51st state of Atlantis and back. And from President Power Girl to the Bane Twins to Gotham City's tyrannical ruler, the Batman (?!?!), everyone wants in on the action. Can the Crone Princess defeat these dystopian forces and still make it in time for the early-bird special?

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Genre:
DC Comics
Superhero
Graphic Novel
Trade Paperback
Post-Apocalypse
Anti-Hero

Why this book:
The Old Man/Old Lady paradigm and Harley. How could I resist?
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Cover and Interior Art:
The art is very well done here. I like this style.

The Feel:
Harley feels like Harley here.

Favorite Concept:
The Brainiac 5. Kirby Kink. Malibu Stormy Daniels. Great concepts. This story, these types of stories when they really go for it are littered with great concepts.

Tropes:
Old Man Logan-ing the DC Universe is well done here. Tidbits everywhere.

The Sigh:
Mad Max, fake Deadpool...Red Tool...sigh, and the sexual rage of Goat Boys. And jokes about Staten Island. Not sure about this.

Missed Opportunity:
I wish Joker Jr had been the Dee Dee Twins.

Another nice twist would have been if the Dee Dee Twins were Harley and Dick’s children.
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Pacing:
Well paced.

Last Page Sound:
Of course, that bastard is really still alive.Or at least an AI clone of him.

Conclusions I’ve Drawn:
I liked it. If there is more Old Lady Harley, I'll read it.

Things I’d Like to See:
Would love to see more Old Lady Harley.

Author Assessment:
I will be looking into more Tieri stuff.

Editorial Assessment:
Well done.
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Old Lady Harley collects Harley Quinn no. 42 and issues 1-5 of the spin-off limited series, Old Lady Harley, written by Frank Tieri with art by Inaki Miranda, Mauricet, and Tom Derenick, colors by Eva de la Cruz and Paul Mounts, and letters by Dave Sharpe. Tieri was part of the creative team for DC’s New 52/Rebirth/Universe line of Harley Quinn along with Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, so this serves as something of a coda before Sam Humphries took over the title with issue 43. Like Marvel’s Old Man Logan storyline, this story began as a one-off, self-contained story just as Old Man Logan first appeared in Fantastic Four no. 558 before getting a longer storyline in Wolverine nos. 66-72. With the fourth-wall breaking, pop culture-referencing Harley Quinn series, Tieri includes references to Mad Max: Fury Road and Dustin from Stranger Things as well as humorous takes on regular DC characters, including Four-Face, General Cold, the Bane Twins, and more. The plot incorporates various tropes of post-apocalyptic stories from ecological wreckage to collapsed cities to consumerism run amok. Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom have conquered Mexico, rebranded it Lexico, and run it as benevolent dictators while Power Girl is President of the United States. Adding zombies for good measure, a zombified Wayne Gretzky is Prime Minister of Canada, now a nation full of zombies. In keeping with post-apocalyptic fiction, Tieri uses a road trip to structure the series, with Quinn meeting various other characters in this future timeline since she believes the Joker has either returned from the dead or his reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. Together, they must find out what’s going on and avoid all the threats the future holds. The story has plenty of humor for Harley Quinn fans and acts as a nice coda to Tieri, Conner, and Palmiotti’s tenure on the series. ( )