Welcome to Ink Spots, a quirky little corner of DC.com devoted entirely to all of our favorite Young Adult comics and fiction. In this new Book Breakdown, DC’s newest YA novel creeps Kelly Knox out and then makes her swoon happily just a few pages later. (That’s a good thing.)
SPOILER ALERT: Minor spoilers for Harley Quinn: Redemption follow.
Everything in Harley Quinn: Reckoning and Harley Quinn: Ravenous has led to this.
Rachael Allen’s YA Harley Quinn trilogy has reached its explosive end! The creepiness factor in this concluding chapter gets dialed up to 11 when the Dollmaker makes his presence known in Gotham City. He’s been kidnapping wayward girls to use as unwilling subjects in horrifying experiments, and Harley’s personal mission to rescue them hasn’t made much progress—until now. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to find the girls and save them from the Dollmaker’s clutches. But what if it costs her everything?
A mad scientist running ghastly experiments. A serial killer on the loose. And the bisexual chaos monsters intent on stopping them both. This is Harley Quinn: Redemption!
Cover Crackdown:
Kevin Wada returns for the final cover in this book trilogy, and it’s nothing short of mesmerizing.
Harley is looking more Harley Quinn than ever, adorned in eye-popping pastels and sporting three different geometric patterns in one outfit. The color palette and fringed-sleeve jacket are visual callbacks to Margot Robbie’s iconic look in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). In true Harley fashion, the chaos all works together beautifully. Can you tell I love everything about this cover?
Image from Harley Quinn #13 (Art by Derrick Chew)
Tell Me a Story:
It’s summer break for Harley and she’s determined to make the most of it. There’s a little room for fun—she’s Harley Quinn, after all—but the science-minded college student is focused on solving two huge problems. One, how can she kiss her girlfriend without Ivy’s poison lips killing her? And two, how can she save all the girls the Dollmaker has kidnapped to be his personal playthings?
Harley will need all the help she can get to do both. From the former members of the Reckoning to some familiar DC faces, it’s all hands on deck as Harley Quinn takes on the most formidable villain she’s confronted yet.
Image from Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder #4 (Art by Zoe Thorogood)
Dialog Discussion:
Whenever Harley Quinn and the Dollmaker have a chat, every sentence feels like it has the potential to cause a catastrophe. Harley must weigh each word carefully to keep the missing girls safe—as safe as they can be, anyway—while getting the information she needs to stage a rescue. The Dollmaker is a scientific genius, but also sociopathic and arrogant. Harley must use her own brilliance and shrewd insight to outwit him. Their interactions are both chilling and captivating, with the fates of both Harley and the missing girls hinging on every conversation.
Image from Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #10 (Art by Dani)
By the Numbers:
Pages: 361
Missing girls: 16
Items on Harlivy’s summer bucket list: 7
Exceedingly creepy super-villains: 2
King Sharks I want to shark hug: 1
Shoutout to the most wholesome version of King Shark yet! He enjoys eating Thai food, making artisanal lattes and practicing yoga. Please be my friend.
Image from Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour #1 (Art by Zoe Lacchei)
Voted Most Likely:
If Harley and Ivy were graduating seniors in high school, they would win Cutest Couple, no contest! They can take on just about any challenge as long as they’re together. “Science is our love language,” Harley thinks. Their shared interest isn’t used for villainy or greed. Instead, Harley and Ivy are putting their considerable intelligence and scientific knowledge to use in pursuit of the purest of goals. (Smooches.)
Image from the Harley Quinn animated series
One Perfect Page:
For all the unsettling scenes in this story—how many times can I call the Dollmaker “creepy” in one Book Breakdown?—they’re balanced out beautifully with tender moments between Harley and Ivy. There’s none better than page 196, a perfect page, where one very important item is crossed from their summer bucket list.
Harley and Ivy share a first kiss so dazzling it’s described as literal fireworks. They overcame so many obstacles to get here, including bad guys, a quick dip in a vat of chemicals, and countless failed attempts to make Harley immune to Ivy’s poison. This moment is a burst of sunshine and explosion of color amid the darkness of Gotham City, much like Harley and Ivy themselves.
Harley Quinn: Redemption is the end of an unforgettable trilogy. The three YA novels effortlessly work together to create one incredible origin story for Harley Quinn—one that’s completely her own. She decides who she wants to be and how she’s going to make that happen without a Joker or even a Batman in sight. She’s Harley Freakin’ Quinn, and this is her story.
Harley Quinn: Redemption by Rachael Allen is now available in bookstores and libraries in print and as an e-book.
Kelly Knox swoons over Superman and obsesses over every story told about the first meeting of the World’s Finest. When she’s not reading comics, she’s waiting impatiently for the next books by Tracy Deonn and Kalynn Bayron. Find her on Twitter at @kelly_knox.
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NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Kelly Knox and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
