GRAPHIC NOVEL
Batman
Harley and Ivy

Authors: Paul Dini and Judd Winick
Artists: Bruce Trimm, Joe Chiodo and Ronnie Del Caemen
Titan Books
RRP: £8.99, US $14.99
ISBN-13: 978 1 84576 575 0
ISBN-10: 1 84576 575 3
Available 26 October 2007


The sexy, madcap super-villain duo of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy plan to take down Batman once and for all in this uproariously funny volume. But first, Harley has to convince Ivy that she has what it takes to be a villain in Gotham City...

Harley and Ivy collects together three comedic tales that see both Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy getting into all sorts of mischief in the name of love, greed... and boredom.

Harley Quinn is a former psychiatrist who fell in love - and teamed up with - the Joker; Pamela Isley is better known as the lethal Poison Ivy. Separately, they're dangerous villainesses - together, they're trouble with a capital T! Now the adventures of the femmes fatales are collected for the first time, as the mismatched pair team up to bust out of jail, take on would-be loggers, and cause chaos on the set of the Harley and Ivy movie! Plus, when Joker betrays Harley again, Ivy decides to cure her of her broken heart - with a little dose of mayhem.

This collection is played entirely for laughs - and the gags come thick and fast, with a nice mix of humour that will ensure that this collection will appeal to the young and more mature reader.

The artwork is also worthy of note. While two of the stories look like they've walked off the pages of a kid's comic book, Love on the Lam is a little more arty - although still cartoony at heart.

My favourite tale in this collection is the title story, Harley and Ivy, which sees the duo taking over the set of a Hollywood blockbuster in order to cream off as much money as possible. This also has an in-joke where an actor playing the Joker is knocked for six. The resulting babble to come out of his mouth ("Yoda...? ...Dagobah System...?") is a nod and a wink to the fact that Mark Hamill played the role of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, as well as providing the voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.

Those wanting a little light relief could do a lot worse than pick up this great little collection.

Pete Boomer

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