Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • The Night Gwen Stacy Died

      Christopher M. Jones
      August 29, 2014
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • 3.5

      Team-Up Review: In 'Secret Wars #8' the Marvel Abyss Stares Back

      Christopher M. Jones
      December 16, 2015
      Big Two, Marvel Comics, Team-Up Review
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Singles Going Steady for the Week of 8/21/2019 - Blindsided by Dismemberment

      Christopher M. Jones
      August 27, 2019
      Dark Horse, Image, Reviews, Singles Going Steady
    Recent
    • 4.0

      Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past

      Stephen Cook
      March 3, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 3.5

      Don't Be Afraid of the Dark ADVANCE Review

      Christopher M. Jones
      August 25, 2011
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • 2.3

      Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

      Daniel Gehen
      February 16, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Star Wars Knight: John Jackson Miller

      Christopher M. Jones
      January 26, 2008
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade: The Original Ghost Rider vol. 1

      Christopher M. Jones
      September 4, 2015
      Classic Comics Cavalcade
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Kickstarter Spotlight: Help Rebuild Collectors Kingdom

      Christopher M. Jones
      February 26, 2015
      Kickstarter Spotlight, News
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: 'Renegade: Martin Luther: the Graphic Biography'

      Christopher M. Jones
      October 27, 2017
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past
  • Collecting Profile: Blue Beetle
  • Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia
  • Collecting Profile: Kraven the Hunter
  • Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good
  • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Big Two

Comic Book G-Forces: Harley Quinn is a Fire in a Hall of Mirrors in “Mad Love”

Christopher M. Jones
July 27, 2016
Big Two, Columns, Comic Book G-Forces, DC Comics, Reviews
Cover by Bruce Timm

Cover by Bruce Timm

When people describe a modern work of media as being “noirish,” most of the time what they’re actually thinking of is neo-noir—the tremulous, bloodstained worlds of films like Chinatown, Miller’s Crossing and more modern films like Drive. But noir in its original incarnation wasn’t quite as bleak as it’s remembered nor as gruesome as the legacy its progeny would leave: whether it came from the machine gun wit of Double Indemnity or the open batshittery of early Sam Fuller films like The Naked Kiss or Shock Corridor, early noir had room for levity and playfulness in a way that frequently distinguished it from the films and novels the genre ended up inspiring.

In this sense, Mad Love by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm can be thought of as noir by the original definition of the world: existing in a world of stark violence and moral turpitude, there is nonetheless a joy and spritely ease of storytelling here that’s rarely been repeated in a Batman comic in the two-plus decades since this story was first published. It’s little wonder it’s so fondly remembered by fans and widely regarded as one of the best Batman comics ever made, even if there are some unexplored avenues that make one wonder what could have been upon a closer reading.

Like many of us, I first experienced Mad Love not in comic form but as an episode of the Batman cartoon from the 1990s. It was striking to me how, even having not seen the episode since I was a little boy, I remembered so many of the story’s beats, down to specific lines of dialogue and facial expressions. Much of that is due to the art of Bruce Timm, whose approach here I can best liken to Jules Dassin by way of Tex Avery. There’s a boldness to his work that can make iconic moments out of words and gestures. His layouts are simple and economical, yet he conveys an incredible amount of information. The Joker practically booms off the page every time he appears, and Harley Quinn is the perfect marriage of brazen seductress and stunted naïf; glinting and swaying one moment, howling and cowering the next, the rapidity with which her body language changes, and the ease with which this change is conveyed, is fascinating.

And indeed, it’s Harley who (quite literally) steals the show in Mad Love. Though not her first appearance, the comic functions as her origin story and Paul Dini works it as a compelling dramatic vehicle for her character. There’s an ongoing debate in comics fandom, likely never to be resolved, about whether Harley Quinn is a feminist powerhouse or a stereotypical battered spouse who normalizes abusive relationships. Mad Love ducks this question entirely by showing that she is in a sense both, and more: from an ambitious, cutthroat professional to a simpering romantic sidekick to a bold criminal mastermind in her own right and back to a psychologically tortured victim, the arc that Harley follows in this story is schizophrenic and noncommittal, forcing the reader to acknowledge that all of these parts of her are concurrent and yet none are definite or final. Perhaps next to the story of Mr. Freeze or Heath Ledger’s turn as the Joker in The Dark Knight, Mad Love is the most varied and dynamic study of a supervillain in Batman’s media history—and, by extension, in all of superhero lore.

mad love 1

Yet even here, it feels like there are elements of Harley’s character that don’t feel imbued with the significance one would think they’d have. The journey Harley takes from an unscrupulous doctor willing to step on anyone for fame and prestige to a battered wife figure who is literally dependent on her mate’s approval for survival is easily explained by Freudian comic logic: The Joker is a vortex of Self, a hundred million personalities that coalesce into a dark nothing that subsumes anyone who comes too close. In that regard, it makes sense that Harley would sacrifice her being unto him once she became romantically invested.

But upon reading it again, I found myself disappointed that the untainted Harley, the schemer and saboteur, doesn’t make much of an appearance again in this story. True, she conducts a masterful performance which lures Batman into her trap, and Batman herself even compliments the ingenuity of her scheme. But her great idea is a simple repurposing of something the Joker left on the cutting room floor: even in her finest hour, she is subservient to the machinations of others. We only ever get to see Harley in the context of her superiors during Mad Love; her potential, her true self, remains a tragic mystery.

mad love 2

Yet the more I write about it and the more I think about it, the more I believe this adds another wrinkle to Mad Love that makes the story richer rather than cheapens it. When you strip away our lovers, our enemies, our schemes and dreams, who are we really? Harley is written as a distinct and layered character, but we’re left with the impression that her luckless situation could become the fate of any one of us were we to live without caution or prudence, only firm belief and naked desire. Mad Love is a fire in a hall of mirrors that paints a compelling cartoon portrait of an unspooled but incredibly determined psyche, and likely boasts more layers and greater empathy than a comparable slew of “mature” superhero comics to come after it. As kinetic psychological pulp comes, it doesn’t get much better than this, whether the setting is shabby 1940s New York or a kooky, uncorked Gotham ready to blow at a moment’s notice.

BatmanDC ComicsHarley QuinnMad Love

Share On:
Tweet
The Drawing Lesson: A Graphic Novel That Teaches You How to Draw
Snapshot: Stumptown (vol. 3) #10

About The Author

<a href="https://comicsbulletin.com/byline/christopher-m-jones/" rel="tag">Christopher M. Jones</a>
Christopher M. Jones

Christopher M. Jones is a comic book writer, pop culture essayist, and recovering addict and alcoholic living in Austin, TX. He currently writes for Loser City and has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators for his minicomic Written in the Bones (illustrated by Carey Pietsch). Write to him at chrismichaeljones@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter.

Related Posts

  • Collecting Profile: 6 most expensive comic books

    nguyen ly
    February 13, 2021
  • Collecting Profile: Penguin

    nguyen ly
    October 17, 2020

Support Us!

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Friends of the Site

  • SOLRAD
  • Your Chicken Enemy
  • Psycho Drive-In
  • Women Write About Comics
  • The Beat
  • Loser City
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders