Some thoughts about Harley Quinn: Year of the Villain #1

Who is going to win the Villain of the Year?

Lex Luthor has assigned Harley to reunite all the criminals in the world and beyond to see who is the worst of all of them but there might be hidden reasons for it.

Another tie-in has arrived and I was not willing to pay much attention to it but considering that Mark Russell was going to write it, my expectation went a bit higher and he didn't really disappoint for the most part.

The story is obviously about Harley directing the whole event and there are a lot of parodies and humour that you could expect from someone from Russell just like with the little bit of social commentary as well. I've criticized Russell sometimes for going too far with his satire concerning extablished characters since at times it ends in blatantly bad characterization but considering that this is a Harley Quinn story that often dwells in satire already, this tone feels fitting.

And there's a lot of fun to be had since Russell portrays many villains in an humourous manner like how the Ventriloquist has an abusive relationship with Scarface (something that Harley admits she relates to), how Flamingo wants to win the award and finally decides to talk and how silly villains who try to justify their terrible acts with a morally grey mentality are.

There are also a lot of references to current events like how Bane is struggling with his new position as basically Gotham City's Mayor, Deathstroke coming back to life and Lex Luthor being a cosmic herald now. However, the best parts are when Russell makes fun of some of them like how Black Manta just can't forget the dead of his father, Flashpoint Batman's obsession with his son and, despite that the Batman who Laughs had to win because people actually voted for him (for God knows why), you just know that Russell doesn't like the guy that much once he mentions that Batman who Laughs' contributions is "... his addtion to Batman".

Mike Norton's art is appropriately semi-cartoony, full of expression and detail, really fitting for the story.

Good read, probably one of the best from this event.