Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #2 is published by DC Comics and written by Frank Tieri. Art is by Logan Faerber and letters by Ferran Delgado. Main cover art (left) is by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti.
Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #2 is available now in print and on digital where all good comic books are sold.
Synopsis
Harley’s come face-to-face with the most unexpected ally—herself! But just who is this strange Quinn copy, and what the heck is she doing on this strange alternate Earth devoid of heroes and overrun by Starro’d versions of all of Harley’s best friends? (Here’s a hint: it has something to do with Harley screwing up the DCU.)
Review
I am admittedly a huge fan of the venerable Ms. Quinzel, but between her solo-title, animated series tie-in and now this Multiversity title I was afraid over-saturation was nearing. At least in comics. What I should have realised was that with Frank Tieri behind the keyboard the aptly titled Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU would be in good hands.
New series always have an uphill struggle to justify their existence to the reader. With last month’s debut, Tieri was able to lay interesting foundations to build upon. Issue #1 struck a fine balance between seeing Harley in her natural environment before thrusting her into what is arguably one of her most high-concept storylines to-date.
As is often the case, titles built around Harley rely heavily on her inherent, unpredictable comedy. Tieri used that unpredictability to snare Harley in to what was presumably a trap for her left by one of her many victims. Her inquisitive nature obviously got the better of her and she entered the Time Machine which would see her arrive in a timeline with no Justice League and under the rule of Starro.
Inevitably it becomes time to explain what’s going on. That is often the job of the second issue in a new series. To pick up all the excitement of issue #1 and provide enough context to secure narrative thrust without losing the interest of the reader. It’s not easy. Tieri is, thankfully, able to avoid the pitfall of over-explaining everything and leaves us enough intrigue to push the series forward.
That’s not to say issue #2 is devoid of action. There’s plenty of that going on around the two-Harleys. But crucially what Tieri does is use the action to punctuate all of the important stuff he needs us to know before the series can continue. Shouldering most of that narrative burden is the Harley of this new Earth. She has to explain to her her own story and the story of how Starro came to conquer her Earth. Luckily her mysterious benefactor has given her enough information about the Multiverse for her to fill us in, in true Harley-fashion, on what has gone wrong.
Of course all of Tieri’s brilliant writing is elevated further by Logan Faerber’s unique style of art. It feels so fitting that a story of this magnitude would have a visual style which feels pulled from Harley’s own mind. It’s unpredictable, often garishly coloured and is so busy it could drive the reader to distraction. But it’s supposed to be that way. It’s not only a story about Harley Quinn but it’s also a story told by Harley herself. To be told in a straight up, mainstream comic book style would be doing the story a disservice.
Verdict
Multiversity has a lot of ground to cover this month. After setting up a complex mystery, Tieri needs to drop some heavy exposition to bring the reader up to speed. Luckily he does so in typical bonkers Harley style. Engaging, high stakes and melodramatic, Harley Screws Up the DCU is everything a Harley fan could ask for.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
