Harley Quinn #3 (Comics Review)

After a bit of a mixed start with its first three issues (the very first issue was a #0 issue), it looks like this series just might be getting back on track. I am a pretty big fan of Harley from the Batman: The Animated Series days and while the Harley that Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner are writing is nowhere near the same Harley, whether in terms of characterisation or visual design, she is distinctly reminiscent of the totally goofball and oddball behaviour of that first appearance that catapulted her into the big leagues of DC’s characters. Its actually been quite fun to see how Jimmy and Amanda have been tackling her and despite a somewhat mediocre issue last month, my enthusiasm for this title is still fairly high.

The new issue is a Valentine’s issue. This is odd considering that we had Valentine’s a week back. I don’t see why this issue wasn’t released last week, two days before Valentine’s, to kind of fit that whole atmosphere and mood better. But still, it is probably for the best. I doubt that anyone celebrates Valentine’s by getting all violent and taking out a bunch of mass murderers and assassins who are coming after her. Yeah, definitely not. But that’s totally Harley! Kind of.

Advent Review #7: Painkiller Jane #2 (Comics Review)

There are a lot of new series that I’ve started on this year, to varying degrees of entertainment, and I have to say that a very small handful of those have been as good as Jimmy Palmiotti’s Painkiller Jane, a series featuring a former cop named Jane Vasco who was created by Jimmy himself back in the 90s and has even been adapted for television. I read the first issue of the new series last month and I was quite impressed with it. It was an unrestrained bag of fun and entertainment, and my expectations from the second issue were high in that respect.

And the second issue does deliver, as it turns out. There are a lot of things that happened in the first issue, which featured a ton of action all throughout, and while the second issue is a bit light on that front, it is by no means any less impactful. Jimmy explores both Jane and Saudi heiress Sabina here and its a narrative touch that I really liked. There’s a lot of chemistry between the two of them and its great to see that addressed.

Painkiller Jane #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti (Comics Review)

I remember watching the Kristanna Loken-starrer Painkiller Jane back in my college days and thinking, this is pretty good. I followed the show almost religiously for all of its first season, the only season it got before it ended. It was a superhero show that wasn’t typically superhero-ish. An everyday character with some not-so-everyday powers just doing what is right and bringing criminals to justice. I loved it back then.

And a few weeks ago, Jimmy Palmiotti announced that he was going to be writing a new mini-series of comics based on the character. That was when I found out that he had created this character in the first place, way back in the 90s with Joe Quesada. And I got all excited for this first issue, which launched this last Wednesday. Its been a long wait for this to hit the stands, but I think its been pretty well worth it because I enjoyed the first issue, and I’m definitely on board for more.