Pick of the Brown Bag
June 30, 2020
by
Ray Tate
How dare you.
I am not letting you take these words as your own, you Turner Diaries humping Nazis.
Fuck you.
And while we're at it fuck your attempts
to claim Hawaiian shirts. I don't wear them myself, but your perversion of innocent pop culture is unacceptable.
You know what you can have? White dunce caps. They fit.
And with that out of my system, welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag. For this issue, I review Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey, Book Two: Electric Boogaloo. No, no, it's not subtitled Electric Boogaloo. I'm just following my long tradition of referring to sequels with the delightful phrase Electric Boogaloo.
Oh and fuck you, Nazis.
Okay, now that that's out of my system. Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti present the second issue of the first credible Black Label series. Although you should have bought Harley Quinn Book One, you needn't have read it, in order to understand the current issue. In fact, each book so far stands on its own.
The story began with Harley Quinn seeking revenge and justice against the Defeo Mortgage Company. She did this through over the top violence. If you're not interested to see what transpired as the trigger, Palmiotti and Conner summarize on the first page, and no more.
Book Two actually begins thusly. Harley Quinn is in Gotham City ostensibly looking for payback against the Defeo Mortgage Company. GCPD's Renee Montoya quickly detains and apprehends Harley. The newest incarnation of the Birds of Prey sit in on the conversation as interested parties.
Harley recently reacquainted herself with the Birds on the train ride to Gotham City. They appear to be here just to satisfy their curiosity, which is a fine rationale for any detective. Palmiotti and Conner pepper the dialogue with double-entendres and Harley insanity, and honestly, I didn't find it all that funny. Humor's subjective. Cassandra Cain's voiceless reactions? Hilarious.
I harbored a long loathing for Cassandra Cain. Not just as an unnecessary Batgirl substitute, but also as anti-feminist and a symbol of creative laziness. I won't get into a long tirade about how DC kept giving just anybody a Batgirl costume rather than heal the bona fide version.
I'll just say that introducing a female character as an illiterate mute sends the wrong message. Dressing her up from head to toe in a black costume that makes her resemble a Batman-styled dildo is equally depressing.
I've stated that Cassandra Cain is a handy substitute for any character any editor doesn't allow in another book. Say you wanted Catwoman to team up with Batman? No. Can't have that. Just get some White Out then for the dialogue and some India ink to cover the figure. Scribble some ears. Boom Cassandra Cain.
Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti make Cassandra Cain my favorite character in the book.
Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti make Cassandra Cain my favorite character in the book.
Although Black Label books aren't supposed to be part of continuity, the creative team nevertheless explain some plot details using continuity, DC's broad gamut and their own. One of the things they cover is Batgirl. Old Blue Eyes is Back.
Thank you, Alex Sinclair. Not only do you give me colors that pop like candy, but the proper blue-eyed Barbara Gordon.
Batgirl only makes a cameo appearance, but it's an important cameo. Palmiotti and Conner use this one cameo to demonstrate that this is Babs Gordon back as Batgirl, or never crippled in the first place in the Harleyverse.
They find a funny and realistic means to knock her out of the action. They also demonstrate that Babs approves of Cassie. She lends Cassie a Batgirl costume. The action furthermore displays Babs' confidence in her alter-ego as Batgirl. She doesn't feel threatened by Cassie.
Conner's art for Cassie turns this appalling character around. She's mute, but it's no longer just some hack writer's trick trying to circumvent the creation of dialogue. The body language and her expressions characterize Cassie Cain. Babs' amusing "Chatty Cassie" is as well a nice touch that bolsters both of the players in the scene. You also can tell that Cassie's intelligent by the look in her eyes, the way she behaves and literate, given her reading the amusing signings on Babs' cast and her use of a phone. Why couldn't DC have introduced this character? Not as a Batgirl substitute, mind you.
When Cassie chooses a uniform, Conner goes above and beyond the leather fetishist's wet dream--funny given this is a Black Label book. She designs something attractive and practical to signify Batgirl without contributing to the outright theft of the persona that DC abetted.
Sanctioned by Gotham PD, Cassie and the Birds of Prey with Renee Montoya follow Harley's lead to the Joker. The battle exhibits knowledge of Joker tactics, a surprising amount of police effectiveness, a smooth working relationship with the capes and cowls, a helicopter tailing in which the women pilot and a great Black Canary moment.
Conner and Palmiotti perform another coup. Once again, there's this aspect of stand-alone quality in Harley Quinn. If you hadn't read about Harley's previous encounter with the Defeo Corporation, you may just very well believe that the entirety of Book Two is Harley's vengeance upon the Joker, delivered through the sword of Birds of Prey. This presumption works out beautifully for an entertaining reading experience. Even if this is one component of Harley's planning.
The Palmiotti and Conner Joker is a substantial criminal. The post-Crisis Joker is largely one-note; which of Batman's cast will he cripple and/or kill next. Who had Sara Essen in the Dead Pool? Scott Snyder and Tom King re-energized the Joker for the New 52. Conner and Palmiotti though produce a decidedly unique Joker.
Palmiotti's and Conner's Joker is sane and evil. You can tell by the way he intelligently observes situations. He also doesn't seem to understand why so many people follow him into hell. He is quite willing to take advantage however.
By the way, Harley Sinn's slight boobage reveal is about as explicit as the book gets. So, those looking for anything in the vein of the piss-poor strangle-fuck sequence in Batman Damned will be disappointed. That wasn't explicit either. So if you've got some kink on your mind. Put it out.
Harley Sinn derives from Conner's and Palmiotti's regular Harley Quinn series. She's an ideal psychopathic foil for the Joker who displays his sadism, his sexism and overall crudeness. Harley Sinn is the henchwench you expect a killer to have. Harley Quinn was always just too nice to be part of the Joker's lethal schemes. In fact, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm put together Mad Love to explain how the Joker essentially brainwashed Arkham Asylum's Dr. Harleen Quinzel. They presented Harley as the Joker's mentally and physically abused victim.
With that in mind, Conner seldom illustrates the Joker as playful. Conner depicts the Joker with a difference. He's creepy instead of comical. She adds this motif in the art that identifies with body horror, emphasizing that the Joker's visage is a result of a chemical bath.
It makes him more unsettling. She also displays the hate in his eyes. The Conner and Palmiotti Joker isn't out for laughs. He's out for himself, to kill the world and leave a smile on every face. That is only implicit in the artwork, not the writing. While a lot of writers in the past accented the Joker's spree and serial killings, Palmiotti and Conner make the Joker as well a larcenous villain. Indeed, the Joker began his criminal career as a murderous blackmailer.
The Joker's wealth is key to this story. It creates a surprising opportunity to reintroduce another Palmiotti/Conner creation that I'll not spoil here. Suffice to say that you really should have expected her appearance.
Conner and Palmiotti write the Joker more like a criminal overlord set in a science fiction world. We get to see his practical use of firearms. He's a known quantity in Gotham City. So all the first responders know of his love of for bombs. Palmiotti and Conner also make modified use of his 1950s penchant for robots. I've never been a fan of villains. Some I'm happy to see. Batroc for example. I found the Joker to be tiresome in the post-Crisis. The New 52's talent made the Joker fascinating again, and this version of the Joker is remarkable in so many ways. Conner and Palmiotti somehow make the Joker threatening without relying on mass murder. They make him even dangerous in a sound defeat.
Book Two read as a whole is a massive blowback against the Joker, set up by Harley Quinn, yet this visceral battle against the Birds of Prey is a means to an end. Her total obliteration of the Joker's threat relies on a super-powered heist, and even this is part of a complex counterattack against the corrupt Defeo Mortgage Company.
Yes, absolutely correct. They're blue, Baby. Blue.
Thank you, Alex Sinclair. Not only do you give me colors that pop like candy, but the proper blue-eyed Barbara Gordon.
Batgirl only makes a cameo appearance, but it's an important cameo. Palmiotti and Conner use this one cameo to demonstrate that this is Babs Gordon back as Batgirl, or never crippled in the first place in the Harleyverse.
They find a funny and realistic means to knock her out of the action. They also demonstrate that Babs approves of Cassie. She lends Cassie a Batgirl costume. The action furthermore displays Babs' confidence in her alter-ego as Batgirl. She doesn't feel threatened by Cassie.
Conner's art for Cassie turns this appalling character around. She's mute, but it's no longer just some hack writer's trick trying to circumvent the creation of dialogue. The body language and her expressions characterize Cassie Cain. Babs' amusing "Chatty Cassie" is as well a nice touch that bolsters both of the players in the scene. You also can tell that Cassie's intelligent by the look in her eyes, the way she behaves and literate, given her reading the amusing signings on Babs' cast and her use of a phone. Why couldn't DC have introduced this character? Not as a Batgirl substitute, mind you.
When Cassie chooses a uniform, Conner goes above and beyond the leather fetishist's wet dream--funny given this is a Black Label book. She designs something attractive and practical to signify Batgirl without contributing to the outright theft of the persona that DC abetted.
Sanctioned by Gotham PD, Cassie and the Birds of Prey with Renee Montoya follow Harley's lead to the Joker. The battle exhibits knowledge of Joker tactics, a surprising amount of police effectiveness, a smooth working relationship with the capes and cowls, a helicopter tailing in which the women pilot and a great Black Canary moment.
Conner and Palmiotti perform another coup. Once again, there's this aspect of stand-alone quality in Harley Quinn. If you hadn't read about Harley's previous encounter with the Defeo Corporation, you may just very well believe that the entirety of Book Two is Harley's vengeance upon the Joker, delivered through the sword of Birds of Prey. This presumption works out beautifully for an entertaining reading experience. Even if this is one component of Harley's planning.
The Palmiotti and Conner Joker is a substantial criminal. The post-Crisis Joker is largely one-note; which of Batman's cast will he cripple and/or kill next. Who had Sara Essen in the Dead Pool? Scott Snyder and Tom King re-energized the Joker for the New 52. Conner and Palmiotti though produce a decidedly unique Joker.
Palmiotti's and Conner's Joker is sane and evil. You can tell by the way he intelligently observes situations. He also doesn't seem to understand why so many people follow him into hell. He is quite willing to take advantage however.
By the way, Harley Sinn's slight boobage reveal is about as explicit as the book gets. So, those looking for anything in the vein of the piss-poor strangle-fuck sequence in Batman Damned will be disappointed. That wasn't explicit either. So if you've got some kink on your mind. Put it out.
Harley Sinn derives from Conner's and Palmiotti's regular Harley Quinn series. She's an ideal psychopathic foil for the Joker who displays his sadism, his sexism and overall crudeness. Harley Sinn is the henchwench you expect a killer to have. Harley Quinn was always just too nice to be part of the Joker's lethal schemes. In fact, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm put together Mad Love to explain how the Joker essentially brainwashed Arkham Asylum's Dr. Harleen Quinzel. They presented Harley as the Joker's mentally and physically abused victim.
With that in mind, Conner seldom illustrates the Joker as playful. Conner depicts the Joker with a difference. He's creepy instead of comical. She adds this motif in the art that identifies with body horror, emphasizing that the Joker's visage is a result of a chemical bath.
It makes him more unsettling. She also displays the hate in his eyes. The Conner and Palmiotti Joker isn't out for laughs. He's out for himself, to kill the world and leave a smile on every face. That is only implicit in the artwork, not the writing. While a lot of writers in the past accented the Joker's spree and serial killings, Palmiotti and Conner make the Joker as well a larcenous villain. Indeed, the Joker began his criminal career as a murderous blackmailer.
The Joker's wealth is key to this story. It creates a surprising opportunity to reintroduce another Palmiotti/Conner creation that I'll not spoil here. Suffice to say that you really should have expected her appearance.
Conner and Palmiotti write the Joker more like a criminal overlord set in a science fiction world. We get to see his practical use of firearms. He's a known quantity in Gotham City. So all the first responders know of his love of for bombs. Palmiotti and Conner also make modified use of his 1950s penchant for robots. I've never been a fan of villains. Some I'm happy to see. Batroc for example. I found the Joker to be tiresome in the post-Crisis. The New 52's talent made the Joker fascinating again, and this version of the Joker is remarkable in so many ways. Conner and Palmiotti somehow make the Joker threatening without relying on mass murder. They make him even dangerous in a sound defeat.
Book Two read as a whole is a massive blowback against the Joker, set up by Harley Quinn, yet this visceral battle against the Birds of Prey is a means to an end. Her total obliteration of the Joker's threat relies on a super-powered heist, and even this is part of a complex counterattack against the corrupt Defeo Mortgage Company.
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