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Comic Book Review: Harley Quinn #22, “The Family Circles, Pt.1”
By: Jerry Montgomery
June 24, 2017Harley Quinn #22
“The Family Circles, Pt.1”Written by: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner
Artist: John Timms
A new story arc begins in issue #22 for Harley when new guests arrive unexpectedly early, putting her in less than embarrassing position! That’s right! Mom and Dad make a surprise early visit to Harley in “The Family Circles, Pt.1”! You’re about to find out a lot more about Harley Quinn than you’ve ever known when her parents come to town to see how their little girl is getting along! Its not all the joys of a family reunion though as the backlash of the previous storyline, “Red Meat” is felt on high at police headquarters and an old enemy finally makes contact with Harley.
Since way before this current issue, Harley has been both anticipating
and dreading the arrival of her parents since they announced their intentions of coming to visit. Getting caught off guard by their early arrival, Harley is forced to endure a series of embarrassing introductions as Mom and Dad meet her friends who live in the building. Poison Ivy, Red Tool, Big Tony, Goat Boy and the rest of the gang get a real kick out of messing with Harley with gleeful mischief much to the chagrin of Harley! Once the introductions are over, it’s time for Harley’s parents to get the big tour of the city and where she has her psychiatric practice at the retirement home. There’s a lot of catching up about home and more to come presumably as Mom and Dad head back to their hotel to get ready for dinner later on. Harley too goes back to her apartment to get ready but trouble rears its ugly head as an old, once obsessed enemy shows up at a most inopportune time for her with two bound and ball-gagged captives in tow. It seems like Harley can’t get any downtime from her enemies but she soon learns this enemy wants something more than just a fight.
Meanwhile, it appears the previous “Red Meat” story just won’t go away. It seems the mayor’s reach extends beyond city hall as Police Chief Spoonsdale feels his influence with the help of the city’s sexy attorney, Jean Raymond. Those arrested in connection with the cannibal killings of the city’s homeless have been turned over to other authorities and the Chief warned off any further investigation. It doesn’t seem Spoonsdale will be scared off too easily and may get himself more embroiled in the conspiracy set forth from the mayor and city hall.
In the secondary story, “Harley Loves Joker, Pt. 6”, this Batman: The
Animated Series inspired tale continues with Harley hanging out with the Alice in Wonderland themed Wonderland Gang’s March Hare, Carpenter and Tweedle Dum…or is it Dee? Anyway, it’s hideout, death-trap makeover time as Harley wants to surprise her Puddin’ with some fancy new digs with the help of the Carpenter. The Joker’s infiltration of the Gotham City Police Department begins to pay off as he discovers who’s been robbing from him. A new girl’s in town…the Grison! (It’s a South American weasel.)
The Verdict: Issue #22 is an entertaining and funny read as it details what most of us have come to dread…a visit from Mom and Dad. We get to learn more about Harley’s family, especially her siblings and possibly the source of Harley’s free-spirit…her Mom and Dad! There’s plenty of sexiness, sexual innuendo and cat fighting in nothing but bath towels! There’s even a bit of surprising kinkiness thrown in for good measure! Fans of “Fifty Shades”, unite! Everything you’ve come to love from the Harley Quinn comic is here and more. The writing is as zany and madcap as ever and the artwork is great as well though, I question some of Timm’s use of his stark blacks at times that come across as sideburns, helmets and oilslicks. Overall, this a perfect time to jump onto this title if you haven’t already been reading it.Alt cover for Harley Quinn #22
If you haven’t heard of the Suicide Squad then you’ve probably been living under a rock somewhere. If you know about the Suicide Squad, which I assume you do, then you know Amanda Waller, the ruthless and deadly director of this infamous team of baddies who just want to shave a little time off their prison sentence. Is she a villain herself? Surely, a lot of her methods she uses in the name of national security could be construed as such…political connections, intimidation and deception. For a character to have no superpowers, she can still mix it up with those who do and still come out on top…usually. Which brings me to the latest story arc of Suicide Squad.
Eastern European area and is now housed in a guarded prison by the Annihilation Brigade, a Russian quartet of super powered beings, beneath the Laptev sea. America wants the artifact, thus the Suicide Squad is called into action to retrieve it. During this mission, it’s discovered that this cosmic item, now referred to as, “The Black Vault” was a portal leading to the Negative Zone. A fact further proven when the Kryptonian criminal, General Zod emerges, driven mad from his years spent inside, incinerating Captain Boomerang in the process with his heat vision. Before anyone else can be hurt, Rick Flag manages to get Zod back into the Vault and the meta-human Hack “teleports” the Black Vault and the Suicide Squad back to Belle Reve.
Brigade but before doing so, surgically implants a small kryptonite bomb into his brain. A maniacal Zod makes light work of them before cracking open the containment suit of Annihilation Brigade member, Tunguska, who was essentially a walking nuclear explosion, and sending him into meltdown. Once returned to Belle Reve, Zod is threatened with the kryptonite brain bomb by Waller to continue his compliance. Naturally, you can imagine Zod’s reaction to this and in a fit of rage, performs a little self brain surgery, burning away part of the front his skull to remove the bomb. Now that’s hardcore! He then destroys all defensive measures designed to incapacitate him in Belle Reve, prompting Amanda Waller to truly be afraid for the first time. It is discovered that the Black Vault is more than just a portal to the Negative Zone…it is an actual piece of the Negative Zone where an army of evil Kryptonians await Zod to free them to conquer the Earth. It’s then up to the Suicide Squad to save the planet from certain doom. It seems hopeless even with the help of the Annihilation Brigade’s hammer-headed Cosmonut with the arrival of the Cyborg Superman and the Eradicator.
In issue #19 of Suicide Squad picks up from last issue. Rick Flag lay severely wounded, Harley checks out and the rest of the team is occupied with wraiths from the Negative Zone, criminals from long ago, now turned into ghosts. If one enraged Kryptonian is bad enough to defeat, the Cyborg Superman and the Eradicator have come to recruit Zod into the Superman Revenge Squad, crossing over from the “Revenge” story arc currently running in Action Comics. With the current mental state of Zod (With part of his brain exposed and all!), he may not be the most agreeable when it comes to joining another team! It would seem Amanda Waller has finally miscalculated her ability to control a villain with Superman level power. Who wasn’t asking, “How long can this last?” To defeat Zod and prevent him from releasing his army of criminal Kryptonians, its going to take some help from some unlikely allies and when desperate times call for desperate measures, it’s understood that everybody may not make it home alive when the mission is over.
It’s always tough being the new person at work or the new kid at school. No one wants to be the odd man out. We all want to be accepted…to fit in. It’s no different for the two new members of the Justice League, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz. Imagine joining the likes of such legendary heroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg. Who wouldn’t be intimidated? On top of any self 
doubts or anxiety about whether they belong there, they’ve also got the added stress of being the newest Green Lanterns. They’ve got some very big shoes to fill and issue 22 gives them the chance to prove they’ve got what it takes to be Green Lanterns and members of the Justice League.
The Verdict: If you are a fan of team titles, then you won’t want to miss this issue. 
You get a little bit of each major character true to their form but this one features the newest additions to the Justice League and Green Lanterns Corp as well. The artwork by Philippe Brionne is pretty good and the writing by Shea Fontana is good as well but typical of your team books, that being not enough pages to give all members an equal part in the story and rounding out most as supporting cast. This appears to be a one shot story, so if you’re looking for something for pure entertainment value that doesn’t require any intense thought, this one will fit the bill and if you’ve become attached to the new Lanterns, its win-win!
be used by a new gang in town with the intent of starting a war and taking it for themselves. If you missed the 1st issue, I’m sure you’re assuming that Santa Priscus is where I’m talking about but you’d be wrong. I’m talking about Gotham City. It starts to get a little confusing here since, when Bane was last seen, he was hell bent on destroying it himself, so I don’t really see why it’s his city. For this story however, Bane considers himself Gotham’s “protector”, so he sets out to investigate the incoming ship filled with guns and who’s the boss. Once aboard though and after much ass kicking, Bane falls into a trap, sprung by the man behind it all, simply known as Damocles.
you’d see…ever. Bane and…Bruce Wayne? You heard me right, Bane and Batman. It seems Batman was also investigating Damocles and like Bane, was captured. So, by the time Bane is thrown into Damocles’ “prison”, Bruce Wayne has already been there. After a less than tense moment, the two agree to work together until they’re able to escape and take down Damocles and his organization, which they have come to learn, borders on being a cult. After that, they will go back to trying to kill one another. The big question is, is Damocles the top guy here or is there someone else who sits higher up on the food chain? Can these two work together towards a common goal, especially when the methods of fighting crime of each are so different? Or will old wounds surface? It looks like the search for answers is just beginning.
then you’ll enjoy this issue and the series. This issue has a definite “throwback” feel of the 1990’s style of writing and even the artwork by Nolan and his depiction of Bane, all the way down to his hairy arms…something that’s been missing in his current Batman appearances. There’s not much in the way of character development or sophistication in the storyline, so don’t expect to learn anything new about Bane or what his current motivations are. As for continuity, there doesn’t seem to be any, especially in light of the conclusion of the “I Am Bane” story arc, as Bane lay defeated by the Batman. With a $3.99 cover price, you’ve probably got to be a fan of this famed writer/artist duo or the nostalgia this issue invokes to appreciate it. The story is pretty straightforward with not many plot twists and artist Graham Nolan proves he still has it going on. For me, a team up of Bane and Batman seems unlikely in light of their history. It seems almost as unlikely as a Batman/Joker team up…wait a minute, did somebody just mention The Brave and the Bold?
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