Love In All The Right Places — Reviewing ‘Harley & Ivy: Life & Crimes’ #1

Ah, love. It’s a fickle thing that can be grown and nurtured into something grander than the usually separated parts. Two (or more) halves make a whole sort of thing and all that jazz.

At long last DC Comics is ready to peel back the curtain to give a definitive story for how one of it’s enduring loves began. That’s right, Harley & Ivy: Life & Crimes #1 regales us all with the tale of the title character’s love that grew from a seed to something greater. It’s an engaging first tale from Erica Henderson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

It starts with a question, “How did you two get together?” After that, well, this series becomes something far more.

I love that Henderson plays with a lot of different aspects of relationships in just this one issue. Harley and Ivy have different thoughts about when they first met. Their meet cute was more of a meet fight. The toxic Joker & Harley relationship plays a role, and Harley works herself through that toxicity in her own way.

Elements are light and fun both in the story and with Henderson’s more whimsical art style. That is until they become something a bit harder, still balanced well with the art style, and step beyond what superhero comics deal with at times. There is no shying away from the pure toxic nature of what Joker does to Harley, unlike the opposite that was sort of fabricated over the decades.

There is an inherent rougher texture to how Henderson brings things to life, mixed with such a unique eye for paneling that makes the overall issue flow differently. She brings a lot of the gutter into play as borders but to also really focus the eyes on important moments.

The emotional energy and action are slick, quick, and tangible to every degree- shifting in and out of perspective to allow the reader to truly breathe in the moment and be there front and center rather than just distance observation. Adding to this is how she approaches the colors, utilizing a lot of more natural and middle level palette choices to set the tone and allowing the flashier vibrant beats to come to the forefront.

Otsmane-Elhaou is no stranger to this relationship, providing the lettering for the ongoing Poison Ivy series where Harley appears at times. It also helps that he’s one of the best letterers around. He really finds ways to give every word the true power they deserve with visual flair that goes beyond the perceived norms. Colorful elements alongside innovative choices in how to display it all, utilizing the white space and more as well.

I just love it when bubbles and font shift greatly. Not only does it really allow the volume and tone of the speaker to become clear, but it’s just fun. Something really visually appealing that stands out from just a lot of standard text. Not that I have an issue with standard font, because not all comics need or could work with the really out there things. It’s gotta be kept for just the right books, and Otsmane-Elhaou knows just when to deploy it.

Harley And Ivy: Life And Crimes #1 is now available from DC Comics.