Published by DC Comics, Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour #1 is written by Tee Franklin with artwork by Max Sarin. Sarin also provides the cover art.
The issue is available now to DC Universe Infinite subscribers and comes to digital retailers on September 1st and print at your local comic shop on September 14th.
Synopsis
Picking up directly from the cliffhanger ending of Harley Quinn: The Animated Series, Harley and Ivy are on the run after narrowly escaping Ivy’s ill-fated wedding to Kite Man. But who is chasing them, and where will this Thelma-andLouise journey end? It all starts here!
Reivew
I’ve been feeling some serious Harley Quinn withdrawals whilst the animated series has been on hiatus. In fact I have managed to rewatch the show in its entirety twice since season 2 ended. So when I discovered that DC were planning a tie-in comic I jumped at the chance to review it asap.
For those worried that The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour won’t translate the series to comics, it does. Writer Tee Franklin has been able to tap in to the voices of the characters and bring them to the page. Harley and Ivy’s dialogue in the book easily sounds like what we would expect Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell to say in the show. It was safe to say I heard both of their voices whilst reading it.
What Franklin does very cleverly in this issue is not just pick up directly from the end of season 2. She slowly transitions from that final scene in “The Runaway Bridesmaid” through to her own original story. It’s not simply a nod to Sarah Peters episode it’s an epilogue wrapped up in the prologue to something brand new.
Fans of the show have often been concerned the upcoming third season will separate Harley and Ivy – yes there’s a Harlivy reference in the book! If this is anything to go by then what we can expect is the perfect pitch for these two women in love. Their feelings for each other are straightforward but their situation is not. Seeing Ivy struggle with the consequences of her wedding day was an unexpected delight but, as with everything else in this book, perfectly reflective of the series penchant for underpinning crazy action with human heart.
I’m not sure what involvement executive producers Justin Halper, Patrick Schumacker and Dean Lorey had with the comic but their work is effortlessly honoured by both Franklin and artist Max Sarin.
Sarin’s artwork is both wonderfully reflective of the series but also beautifully unique. They have done such an amazing job of bringing the TV series on to the comic book page. Characters facial expressions are revelatory for a comic book. Much like the show itself Harley and Ivy run the gamut of emotions in these 20+ ages and Sarin has made both feel like real people.
The story itself allows for plenty of supporting characters to appear including Tawny and Jim Gordon. Others appear in memories or in photos in the various locations but most of the cast of the show are there and they all look great!
The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour #1 ends as the perfect jumping off point for this Thelma-and-Louise journey through the DC Universe. I cannot wait to see where they go next.
Verdict
By recreating the style and tone of the show, the first issue of The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour is the perfect stop-gap for fans of Harley Quinn: The Animated Series.
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