Review: Harley Quinn Vol. 5- Vote Harley
Quick Summary
Pros: The main storyline is tense and interesting, in a way that is more dramatic than usual. The transition into the next volume builds excitement for the future. There are multiple wholesome character moments and funny jokes. Most of the artwork looks great.
Cons: Some portions of the book fail to live up to their own hype.
Overall: This is one of the better volumes in this series. It starts out with an explosive opening story arc, containing some of the most dramatic moments of the series. Then, it concludes a memorable run on Harley Quinn in a way that gets readers ready for what is next. All of this comes with the characteristic charm, humor, and pleasing visuals that the series is known for. Anyone who has enjoyed this series should make sure to read this collection.
Story
The final volume in Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti’s extensive run on Harley Quinn manages to maintain the same level of quality that has been present throughout their Rebirth run. Harley Quinn Vol. 5: Vote Harley starts with one of the comic’s best storylines. Harley’s fight with the mayor leads to tense and exciting situations that feel more dramatic than ever. Then, the volume cools down as it prepares the transition into the next chapter of Harley’s life, which is already showing promise. Plus, all of these adventures are accompanied by charming character moments and some great comedy. The only problem is that some aspects of the story feel a bit disappointing. Overall though, this is a solid volume and a great end to what has been one of the most significant eras in Harley Quinn’s history.
(spoilers start here)
Vote Harley starts by reigniting Harley’s fight with the mayor. She decides to run against him for his position, but he kidnaps her boyfriend to get her to drop out of the race. After he kills her boyfriend, she responds by finally killing the mayor and his people.
Everything about this conflict help makes it one of the most tense and interesting plotlines in this series. Harley’s history with the mayor’s office gives this fight some backstory and weight, as readers are well aware of how bad a guy this is. Then, he actually goes on to kill one of her friends. In a series where Harley’s friends are typically saved at the very last minute, something like this feels completely unexpected and amps up the drama even further. Finally, as Harley storms his compound and takes out him and his men, the villains get their just desserts in a satisfying conclusion to the arc.
From here, the volume spends some time on an epilogue to that arc before moving Harley to Florida for a vacation. This portion of the book is mostly focused on moving away from the crisis that just occurred to the next phase in Harley’s life. It works well as a setup for the next volume and left me interested in seeing what direction the series will take after the departure of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti.
While all of this is going on, there are also a ton of great character moments taking place. Seeing Harley masquerade as a homeless person in order to overhear real peoples’ concerns was a great representation of the wholesome yet unorthodox way she does business. Then, seeing her give an emotional farewell to her patients and seeing her have a real conversation with Harley Sinn felt like a return to her roots as a psychologist. Vote Harley also finds time for comedic character moments as well, with one joke, about Harley prank calling Red Tool, that ended up being one of my favorites of the entire series.
The problems in Vote Harley are pretty minor and mostly come from portions of the book that fail to live up to their own hype. Despite the election being a big piece of this volume’s narrative and title, the results come and go almost without much fanfare. In addition, as the final volume in Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti’s long run on the series, I was expecting a more climactic end. Instead, the final chapter feels less significant than Harley’s birthday from the last volume. These are not major problems but are small disappointments in a book that could have been really great without them.
(spoilers end here)
Art
The artwork in Vote Harley is mostly positive, with a few small exceptions. A couple of different artists provide visuals in this comic’s opening chapters but all of them manage to capture the spirit of this series. The art in these chapters is as bright and dynamic as one would hope and does a great job in bringing Harley’s political campaign to life. The highpoints in the art continue to come from John Timms, who’s work here looks just as good as it looked many years prior, when Timms first started working on the series. Unfortunately, the quality of the visuals take a noticeable turn for the worse in Harley Quinn #33 but, luckily, improve before that chapter even closes. Overall, the visuals here maintain the quality one would expect from this series.
Continuity
Harley Quinn Vol. 5: Vote Harley continues the story from Harley Quinn Vol. 4: Surprise, Surprise (Review).
The story here continues in Harley Quinn Vol. 6: Angry Bird.