Review: Old Lady Harley #5 (of 5)

You know that sort of dread that you get when you approach something that is outside your wheelhouse that you might not have any particular interest in? I can’t say that I wasn’t going into this title with that feeling settled neatly into the pit of my stomach. It’s not so much because I hate Frank Tieri’s writing for anything, I’m actually a long time fan of his, it’s just that aside from Old Man Logan, I really hate the premise of these kinds of works. Not because there isn’t the ability to write good content but because honestly I feel like a lot of it is just after thoughts.

That being said, this little diddy, with art by Inaki Miranda and colors by Eva de La Cruz, letters by Dave Sharp, and some layout choices from Tom Derenick was…surprisingly interesting to read. Not so much because I think that the idea of writing Harley as a grandmom still rocking her suit and a set of abs like nobody’s business as if she’s not in what looks like her 70’s was a stellar idea.. I think that, for me, was a really misstep as far as the choices for appearances. I’ve never seen a grandmother look that in shape in my life and it brings a sense of disconnect from the premise itself, in my own humble opinion. I understand that artists still have to visually appeal to the mass consumer, though.

With that aside, I can actively and honestly say that I actually didn’t mind this title. Granted a lot of it was kind of that same sort of after thought character building for me, but it wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be when I heard about the title coming out. In fact, the reveal for one of the characters’ origins I thought was a good solid place for growth between two of the people at the forefront of this title. I even liked that it explained this character’s appearance as far as costume choice etc.

While it wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea, I will say that I was able to easily and quite quickly get through the adventures of Harley and her little band of team mates comprised of Catwoman, Red Tool, and with appearances with some long time allies like Killer Croc. For me, if you’re a Harley Quinn fan who wants to see her written with more chances to be human and really understand the depths of her disappointing and abusive relationship with Joker, this little 3 out of 5 star title might just be up your alley.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Frank Tieri (A) Inaki Miranda (CA) Amanda Conner