Superhero rock bands have become a thing in recent years with books like Spider-Gwen and Black Canary, and Harley Quinn has embraced the trend with its most recent storyline casting Harley and friends as a punk group to catch a band of criminals. Harley is much more dangerous than the leads in those other two books, though, and this preview of next week’s Harley Quinn #6 reveals the danger of heckling GG Harlin during her set.
Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner have made this title one of DC’s best sellers by telling zany, high-energy stories that prioritize action and comedy (with a healthy dollop of sex), and the comic hasn’t lost any of its wacky charm with DC Rebirth. It helps that not much has changed with the new volume. Chad Hardin and John Timms are still sharing art duties, and the addition of Bret Blevins on layouts during the first arc made the visuals even more expressive and engaging. Timms’ art in these preview pages captures the intensity of a punk concert, and that energy is amplified by Alex Sinclair’s vibrant coloring. (Next week’s issue also features flashback art by the great Jill Thompson, who just had a new graphic novel, Wonder Woman: The True Amazon, hit stands last month.)
Letterer Dave Sharpe’s tool-shaped word balloons for the Deadpool-inspired Red Tool continue to be one of this book’s silliest visual elements, and Sharpe plays a key role in creating the loud, lively concert atmosphere with his evocative sound effects and jagged lettering for Harley’s underwhelming singing. By the end of this preview, the musical performance has turned into a bloody horror show, but that’s exactly what GG Harlin And The Skull Bags need to get the audience fired up.