Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass takes on gentrification in its anti-heroine origin story. In this version Harley is a bubbly and outgoing teen that actually has a moral compass. When she is sent to live with her grandmother in Gotham City, she discovers her grandmother has died, but apartment manager Mama, a white, gay man who also manages the local drag queen bar, lets her stay. Harley finds her place among a colorful “mutiny of queens” and makes a new best friend, Ivy Du-Barry also known as Poison Ivy. Harley is introduced to the concept of gentrification and activism as the two form protests against the high school film club, who refuses to include movies directed by women and people of color. Gentrification hits home for Harley when Mama receives news of an impending eviction and crosses paths with the Joker.

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is a fast, fun read. The text pops just like Harley's personality. I liked the juxtaposition between activism and chaos that Harley and Joker are known for in the DC universe. I also enjoyed learning more about Harley's background in flashbacks, shaded in orange. The diverse cast of characters is a huge plus and welcomed. While I appreciated the discussion of the impact of gentrification, it did come across as a bit heavy handed. I also did not care for the Joker and his real identity is a bit anti-climatic. The illustrations by Pugh are fantastic and really make this graphic novel come alive. When characters are truly in their element, their trademark colors are used: a red and black scheme for Harley, shades of green for Ivy, and the Joker’s purple. Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is a nuanced, social conscious graphic novel that will not have a hard time finding an audience.

I found this super interesting, I liked that the Harley killed the Joker instead she doesn't want to fall in love with him like in cannon.

The dialogue in this graphic novel was spot on, Tamaki did a great job at capturing Harley's personality and voice- I even read it in her accent in some parts!
This Harley Quinn was more quirky and fun-loving, though clearly wanted to stick up and defend people close to her.


It was exciting to see who all showed up at Gotham High: Poison Ivy, the Joker, and a more dark and brooding character as well! ;)

Ivy was the confident and courageous friend that worked just great with Harley, she was angrier but also very active and encouraging Harley to take a stand as well.

When Joker showed up, I liked the parts with him and was eagerly turning pages to find out if he would ever take that mask off. This joker was more of a trouble-maker and had a mask over his face, he runs into Harley and they form a kind of alliance if you want to call it that.


Harley was torn in this graphic novel, and I think Tamaki did a great job of showing this in her decisions and expressions. Harley was very much breaking glass in this story! :D

This graphic novel I think is more teen, not middle-grade, but not really adult either. The plot progressed nicely and was narrated by our very own Harley Quinn, which made it all the more funny and unique.
'Cause, of course, Harley explains things in her own kind of way.


There was a huge plot twist in the last several pages that really caught me by surprise. It made it even more interesting of a read, especially everything that happened afterward! There was a lot intertwined in the last few pages, a lot explained, and even more hinted at!
I'm really looking forward to the next installment, so I can find out what happens next!

3.5 stars!!

While not exactly the characters or background stories I am accustomed to with three such iconic characters from the DC canon, if taken on its own merits that is a LOT to love about Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, which opens when a 15-year-old Harleen Quinn is sent to Gotham City by her mother to live. In the big bad city Harleen is befriended by the unlikely Mama, a chubby drag queen who ultimately takes the girl under her wing, Harleen adoring her as a surrogate mom as she also bonds with the other drag queens at Mama's club. It's through these new friends, as well as the meeting of a girl named Ivy at school, that Harley comes to learn about the serious divisions between the rich and the poor in Gotham - the rich fully embodied by the evil, selfish, hideously-rich Kane family (the heir of which, teenager John Kane, also taking great pains to taunt Ivy and Harleen in school), who seem determined to own the city, and to and including their efforts at gentrification that could destroy both Ivy's family and Mama's livelihood in almost a single blow ... until Harleen meets yet another new Gothamite friend in the form of a young man wearing a mask he refuses to take off, who appears to want to topple Gotham's elite even at the fire and brimstone-like destruction of the city itself. A man who just calls himself "Joker". While as far as I can tell these are all basically different takes on each character (Ivy a hardcore activist and champion of human rights, Harleen still "out there" but very toned-down/coming across more like a vigilante hero here than an arch-criminal, and - well, let's not get into The Joker), what makes this graphic novel such an engrossing read is how writer Mariko Tamaki has caught the basic personalities of each character so perfectly, each so readily recognizable that you have no problem following any of them onto these strange, altered paths. All of this is only enhanced by Steve Pugh's art, often so reflective of Harleen's childlike mentality or Joker's frenetic insanity or Ivy as the eye of the storm she creates herself, as the situation warrants (even his use of color is a spot-on at creating mood). I don't know if I can handle a Harley Quinn who almost seems like "the goody guy" in the story, but reading this knowing what and who her character becomes later on poses some fascinating questions about how in the world she gets there. 4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute take on Harley Quinn's story and I really enjoyed the art (the colors were particularly wonderful). I am glad DC is doing a YA take on their characters because it's a fun way to read about them

I enjoy Harley Quinn on her own/without the Joker best so I really like that she got her own book. I also liked that they let her design her own costume. The skimpy costume schtick is beyond overdone! She is way too smart in this book for that trope. Also, like how they kept her whacky sense of humor without making her seem childish and annoying.

It was also really cool to see LGBTQA+ characters in the center of a story and not have them be a joke.

The ending seems unfinished but I'm hoping that means that there is a sequel. I want more of this series and I want her to take on the Joker and win.

Absolutely loved it. Harly is my favorite DC anti-hero/villain and I love this portrayal of her. Especially since she doesn't want to fall in love with the joker but kill him. It's amazing. Also appreciated the drag queen characters, they were awesome

Harleen has been living above a cabaret with the drag queen Mama ever since her mother sent her to live in Gotham while working on a cruise. That area of Gotham is part of a wave of gentrification, however, and soon they won't have a place to live. She's angry, and will have to side with her friend Ivy from Gotham High to work for a peaceful solution, or with the Joker, who plans to take down Gotham's corporations one at a time.

This volume is written by Eisner Award and Caldecott Honor-winning author Mariko Tamak, and is in the same vein as <a href="https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2019/05/under-moon-catwoman-tale-by-lauren.html">Lauryn Miracle's "Under The Moon."</a> The art is mostly black and white with flashes of red, in keeping with traditional Harley Quinn colors. The DC character is reimagined here as a young adult for younger readers, so Harley Quinn isn't starting out the gymnastic psychiatrist that had been working with the Joker at Arkham Asylum before he broke her mind. Instead, as the first of the YA branded DC Ink imprint, Harleen Quinzel is a weird high schooler and destroys things not for the joy of chaos, but because she's starting off as an anti-hero. Growing up poor and constantly moving means that she and her mother had always been hovering around the poverty line, and she got a record while trying to right the wrongs she saw. Ivy is also reimagined here as a woke high school activist trying to campaign for equality, awareness of the potential harm done to the planet, as well as the woeful lack of representation in media by women or people of color.

Teenagers often don't feel as though they can do much, especially when you have families like the Keanes, who are rich and own Millenium Developments. They intend to buy up the entire downtown area, so that local grocers, the cabaret, and much of the lower rent areas would be redone in their image of the future. Just to drive home that they're obnoxious, their son is Ivy and Harley's classmate, and blows off their suggestions for the film club, and their followers are only too willing to smash in windows and spray paint the businesses that are trying to hold out against gentrification. In a similar vein, the Joker here is also reimagined and also very willing to vandalize and set things on fire.

Those aware of the tropes will figure out who is who long before the reveal, but it's a great start with a whole new series. The Batman mythos has been redone and reimagined several times, and this isn't the first time it's been done in YA format. Rather than the potentially sillier DC Girls series or some of the other teen comics, this is a potentially darker series. There are bombs, slurs, the F bomb and actual juvenile hall. It's darker in a realistic way, and it'll be fascinating to see how the rest of the series continues. I adore Harley Quinn in the main continuity, and this loopy teenage version is just as much fun to follow.

My biggest hang up with this book is the baggage that comes with the relationship of Harley and the Joker. I was hoping for a title that excluded him from the storyline, but no luck. The book will appeal to female teen fans of Harley Quinn.

For the most part I enjoyed this story. It kept me entertained, I liked the majority of the characters and the color pallet chosen for the panels. I didn't like the extreme deviation from Harley's origin story that is already established through Batman: The Animated Series and the comics. While I think this is a good jumping on point for young readers, I wish they would have stuck to cannon a little bit more.

Everyone knows Harley Quinn is destructive, boisterous, and a bit out of her mind. Mariko Tamaki takes on Harley's origin story to show readers a new side to Harley - an angry, rebellious teen who stands by her friends.

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is part of DC Ink's first publishing's of graphic novels for teens. DC Ink and DC Zoom (a publishing imprint for younger readers) are DC's efforts into releasing stories that enable young readers to be exposed to and fall in love with DC's most prominent heroes. Although, Harley Quinn is an interesting choice for a hero. She's more of an anarchist or vigilante in this teen debut to her origin story. An origin story completely different than the original but otherwise an interesting modern spin on her story.

Harley comes to a new town where she's semi-fostered by a karaoke cabaret drag queen owner named Mama. In this new city she makes all sorts of friends who just get her. Mostly drag queens. Harley or Harleen (her real name) is still her wild child, goofy self. She gravitates to none other than Poison Ivy. Well just Ivy this time. She's an activist for promoting women filmmaker's in her school's local film club where the boy's in the club refuse to watch anything made by a woman. She's also trying to keep her local garden from being taken away what with big business trying to buy up homes and creating the city their way. I loved that Ivy and Harley's friendship was so prominent in the storyline because Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are such an iconic duo. They seem like such opposites but together they are a force to be reckoned with.

The majority of the plot was based upon a big corporation wanting to buy up the neighborhood and the neighborhood fighting back. And then comes in Harley, who from flashbacks and storytelling you can see an anger with a sense of justice in her actions. And lots and lots of destruction. Steve Pugh who illustrated Breaking Glass did a remarkable job depicting all the characters and story. He deserves all the praise and big round of applause too for bringing Harley to life across the pages of this graphic novel. Mariko Tamaki kept up with his illustrations by creating a timeline of events and rich storytelling to create a very different, but very dark and fun origin story for Ms. Quinn.

The only thing I found negative was the Joker. I do understand where the author was going with his association with Harley since you know he's usually depicted as abusive. However, I didn't like who he was revealed to be. Overall, Breaking Glass has me hyped to read more of these DC Ink and DC Zoom releases. I'm hoping to be as mesmerized with the art and storytelling Tamaki and Pugh were able to bring to Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass.

Harley Quinn is by far my favorite DC character.
While her back story here is portrayed in a way to be more appealing to the YA audience, I found it intriguing and satisfying to see how they tied her personality with Poison Eve's..

It was such a great read and I hope we get to see more of her!

Part of the soon-to-be-defunct DC Ink imprint, this contemporary graphic novel tells the story of 15-year-old Harleen Quinzel, a recent Gotham arrival who is taken in by a drag club owner named Mama and her squadron of queens, befriends a plant-loving political activist named Ivy, and is beguiled by a mysterious anarchist calling himself the Joker. When gentrification comes to Harleen's neighborhood and threatens her loved one's livelihoods, it's up to this lovable, quirky teen to save the community she now calls home. Full of a lively cast of new and familiar characters, Tamaki's wholly unique story paired with illustrator Steve Pugh's bewitching artwork will have you itching for a sequel to this brand-new Harley Quinn origin story.

Harley Quinn is a tough character to adapt for teens because she is so adult in nature. This is a flaw of the character and not the author. I can't see myself recommending this for teens although I think they will want it so we should have it on the shelf.

First off, let me just say these DC Ink books are typically YA Elseworlds books and that's what we have here. This is the best one of the bunch yet. Probably because this was actually written by a comic book writer who actually knows something about the nature of the character involved and not just a YA novelist.

Harley is sent to Gotham to live with her Grandmother while her mom works on a cruise ship. When she gets there, she finds out her Grandmother has passed away but the super decides to let her stay in her Grandmother's apartment as long as she goes to school. The super is a sweet middle aged drag queen and Harley ends up hanging out with all his buddies at their performances. It's actually a lot of fun. Versions of Poison Ivy and the Joker appear as the story progresses, but the main focus is that the Kane family is buying up all the real estate in the neighborhood and forcing everyone out. The story is well written, dealing with issues of social justice. Harley doesn't always make the right choices, but she is a strong, independent character who isn't swayed by others. The only thing I didn't care for was the ending. It feels unfinished. I'm sure there are plans for a sequel but that probably won't be for a long time given the length of this. I would have preferred a more definitive stopping point.

Steve Pugh produces some of the best art of his career. He handled everything except the lettering. I love his choice of muted monochromatic colors. It gives the book a color penciled that I adored.

Amazing illustrations and a cool storyline. Though I did find it a little bland. Overall though, enjoyable. Can’t wait to see what’s next in the DC Icons comic series

Harley Quinn : Breaking Glass was a fun read and I liked the ending but the beginning took me a very long time to get through. BUT I still love my girls Harley and Ivy!

I loved the art in this and since I read an ARC most of it is in black and white but I can't wait to buy it and see how pretty it all comes together with colors included.

Out of all the DC character comics coming out recently I wouldn't say it's my favorite but don't get me wrong I did enjoy it. I'm hoping it has a continuation because of the way it ended.

If you're looking for a fun quick read and you love Harley Quinn then you should definitely give this a shot!

This review is part of a longer post covering the first four DC INK graphic novels.
That post goes live on 9/12/19 here: www.loveinpanels.com/comics/DC-INK-Series
***
Harley's book is a bit of a rollercoaster, just like Harley. Harleen's mother leaves to work on a cruise ship for a year and sends her to live with her grandmother. Only her grandmother already passed away and there's only a middle-aged gay man there to take her in. Harley's new family is comprised entirely of drag queens and I honestly loved them all. The first (only?) friend she makes is Ivy, a Black teen activist. (Ivy is the best character in the book, fight me.) Ivy teaches Harley about gentrification and the mega corporation that's buying their neighborhood and pushing everyone out. They even manage to get all of the buildings condemned, a move that leaves the residents and business owners no choice but to leave. Ivy's family organizes protests, but Harley, who has always been a scrapper, decides to take more violent action. She winds up meeting The Joker along the way, but I can't tell you more without spoiling the book.

Breaking Glass is a weird book, in the same ways that Harley Quinn is a bundle of contradictions. She's innocent but violent, empathetic but obtuse. She doesn't quite grasp what Mama (the man who takes her in) means when he says he's "an old fairy," and she doesn't understand why Ivy gets mad when she doesn't defend Ivy during a meeting with the racist school Principal. She does learn, but she's so busy jumping to conclusions and running ten steps ahead that she often misses what's directly in front of her face. Very true to character.

Breaking Glass is full of action panels and colored with red and green, a clashing combination that fits the overall chaos of the plot. Fans of Harley Quinn will likely be captivated, but some readers will find her meandering thoughts and speech muddle the plot.
***

Suzanne received a copy of Breaking Glass for review.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Harley Quinn has always intrigued me and after hearing the author talk about it more at the ALA Annual conference, I knew I had to read it. So when I saw this graphic novel up for grabs on Netgalley I had to check it out. I was not disappointed.

Harley Quinn is such a complex character with a simple outlook, which really comes across here. She's in high school, living with drag queens, friends with Ivy, and looking for entertainment. She is such a fun character. Then there is Ivy who is politically-minded, a social justice warrior fighting for equality and honestly the best person ever. I really liked how Ivy was portrayed and couldn't help but wonder if she'd one day be Poison Ivy, because I would totally get it. The Joker does make an appearance and what a take-- not one I've seen before and I kind of liked it. Bruce Wayne also makes an appearance... Between knowing the two are there it made me wonder if things could have been different for Harley if... well, I don't want to spoil things, but it truly comes back to the theme of the book.

This is a timely novel, bringing up gentrification and the rich crushing the not so well off. It is beautifully written and the artwork is lovely. I would love to read more, but I think this is a standalone and it does work as a standalone.
I hope many people give this one a try and see how amazing it is!

'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass' by Mariko Tamaki with art by Steve Pugh is part of the DC Ink line of reimagined graphic novels for young adults. This is the best of the series so far in content and scope.

Harleen Quinn's mother sends her off to her grandmother's house to live when she gets a new job. Harleen has $5 in her pocket and discovers that her grandmother has been deceased for quite a few months. She is taken in by Queen, a large cross-dresser. Harleen starts school and makes friends with Ivy, a girl who likes plants. Harleen finds out that a program of gentrification is happening in the neighborhood and her friends' lives may be forced to change.

I really loved this story and art. The character feels like the one I know. There are some other characters in different forms in this. I loved this version of Harley more than others I've read. The art by Steve Pugh is so good. I kept just looking at the way he composed pages.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Ink and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Loved it! I am a huge Harley Quinn fan. The art was great. A very fast read! Highly recommend.

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review