Harley Quinn's star has never been brighter in the DC Universe, and DC is celebrating with a prestigious new digital comic titled Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red. The 14-issue weekly miniseries promises to bring out some of the biggest writing and visual talents in their stables to tell Harley stories using only the three hues in her trademark color scheme. To show they're serious, and lure in established fans hungering for more of Harley's best, the first chapter of Black + White + Red acts as an extra story set in the world of 2019's Harleen, complete with the return of its creator, who's making one last hurrah with the harlequin.
Harleen was a three-issue miniseries that retold Harley Quinn's origin as a romantic thriller doused in psychological horror. Published under DC's Black Label line of mature-readers comics, written and illustrated by Sunstone creator Stjepan Šejić, and lettered by Gabriela Downie, the story put readers in Harley's shoes as she struggled against the cruelty of Gotham and the apathy of Arkham Asylum, only to fall into the snare of an alluring, devastating new lover: the Joker.
Early this June, Šejić revealed to fans on Twitter that he was wishing farewell to DC in order to focus on personal projects. The writer/artist emphasized that his relationship with the Batman company remained positive and that he was "going out with a bang" with a final work for the publisher. That final work is "Harleen: Red", the storyteller's entry in Black + White + Red that offers a look at his incarnation of Quinn after she was committed to the asylum where she once worked. The story uses its color treatment for thematic significance, telling a story of just what the color red means to the romantically-inclined supervillain. Here's the preview:
Šejić is known for having a lighthearted and joyful approach to his comics, and it's evident that he's having fun with this unique format. As Dr. Quinzel finds herself in the role of the patient, the visuals work as hard as the dialogue to tell the story. Harley's scars, suffered in her fall from grace, are brightly visible against her grayscale skin. She sees herself in the therapist, figuratively and literally, as Harley's mirrored face smirks beside her. Because Harley believes that the "color therapy" is pointless, like everything else in her medically committed life, the presumably blue card is colorless to us, along with every other detail in Harley's world. Only her thoughts break the monochrome layout.
As DC announced, future chapters of Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red will include other celebrated industry figures, ranging from co-creator Paul Dini, Tom Seeley and Juan Ferrerya, and Daniel Kibblesmith to artists who are writing for DC for the first time like Mirka Andolfo and Riley Rossmo. Black + White + Red promises readers stories that are creator-driven, fueled by storytelling quality, untethered by continuity, and showcasing entirely distinctive visual styles in ways readers haven't seen them before. "Harleen: Red" is making good on that promise.
DC Comics' Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #1 is available now from digital comics providers.
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