Harley Quinn fans hated the loss of her personal title back in 2020, but soon after its cancellations, DC told us she would return once more in early 2021. During her title’s absence, Harley played key roles in Joker War, Future State, and Infinite Frontier. She appears to be walking the better path and helping the Bat-family protect Gotham. Now, Harley Quinn 1 is back on shelves, ready to continue her story, but is this the restart we wanted?

The Restart – Cover2Cover

The Alt cover for Harley 1 looks pretty good. It shows Harley’s new image and features Joker, Punchline, and Batman in the background. Her face looks too kid-like but other than that it’s a solid cover. That is the only positive thing I can say about the artwork in this issue. I looked forward to Harley’s title coming back since the day they canceled it. I truly hate to say – I positively hate the artwork in this title.

From the A cover to the pages within, the artwork makes this title look childish and cartoony. They might be trying to find something new, but why when the artwork in the other Gotham titles looks amazing as is. Looking at the artwork makes me think this is meant for a younger audience, which would be fine for a different title, but the story being told in her final issues and her appearances in the Bat-titles, told an incredible story of redemption. The artwork alone almost drives me away from this title.

The Restart – What About the Story?

The sub-par artwork will drive readers away. That now places incredible pressure on the storytellers to give readers something worth sticking with. Does the Story redeem this title in any way? Yes. Actually, it does.

This story picks uptight were of all the threads left off in the previous story arcs. At long last Harley returns to Gotham, and she wants to fight with the good guys. She knows she wronged people, and now she hopes to make amends. Unfortunately, her first steps at apologizing with Killer Croc don’t go according to plan. Things mess up and she accomplishes nothing.

But it happened deep in the sewer, and no one was around. No one will know, right? Wrong. Batman knows pretty much everything that happens in his town. We then get a taste for what most of us want – the Harley/Batman team-up. Their polar opposite personalities make them one of the best buddy cop team-ups since the 80s.

The Restart – Final Thoughts

I hate having to say how much I hate the artwork in this issue, but the story at least promises to keep the good storylines going. It still felt like ‘Harley’ which isn’t always the easiest to do, but in all honesty, I think the story could also have been told a bit better. It lacked the emotion and heart it used to have, but we shall see where the story goes. The title is worth keeping track of for the story at least. Harley Quinn now champions Gotham, and she won’t be going anywhere any time soon.

What do you think of Harley’s new title? Head over to DC Fanatics on Facebook and tell us if this was the reboot you wanted.