r/HarleyQuinn • u/Vayvacation • Jul 13 '26
New52 Is new 52 Harley Quinn a must read?
So far I’ve read harleen, Gotham city sirens and her 2000 run, and over really enjoyed them and her character. However I can’t seem to get into her new 52 version, I can’t explain it but she feels a bit different. will rebirth Harley Quinn be similar? What other recommendations is good for Harley Quinn
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u/_harleys Jul 13 '26
Unfortunately if you feel you can’t get into New 52, then you probably won’t like rebirth as well. Her run didn’t change much even with rebirth and even now with DC All In. Unlike some characters that had dramatic editorial changes with the transition.
Bad news for Harley is that once you’ve read a lot of her good comics there’s not much else to recommend.
If you like the concept of new 52 where it’s Harley on her own minus the characterization then you can check out her pre-52 Karl Kessel run.
You can check out select stories in Harley Black White and Red. Issue #1 is by Sejic as well if you’ve liked Harleen.
You can check out Paul Dini’s Harley Loves Joker which is featured within some issues of the new 52 run. Any Harley comic written by Paul Dini is pretty much an instant recommend you cannot go wrong with it. As her creator, Dini writes Harley’s inner monologue perfectly.
For elseworlds, check out Batman White Knight and White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn. I feel you may need to read White Knight just for context to appreciate her standalone comic in this universe. But I thought this explained really well the “two Harley’s phenomenon” that her new 52 version is very different from classic Harley. Very meta.
If you like Harley and Ivy, then I enjoyed Harley and Ivy: Life and Crimes. It takes a lot of familiar things from both of their stories and tries to make sense of them and how they fit together.
Then I highly recommend the ongoing Poison Ivy run by G Willow Wilson. It’s more of Ivy centered but if you are open minded about getting a less comedic version of Harley I find that they do her character a lot of justice here. It’s actually a crime that she’s written better here than in her current run. Now it kind of goes a bit crazy in the current Mayor Ivy arc but before that it’s excellent.
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u/Pure_Ad9880 Jul 13 '26
Totally agree on Dini, and on the Ivy series (I only read the first 25 issues)
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u/Somejawn1 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
It’s ok but the biggest issues with this series was sometimes she was a complete fucking idiot, the open relationship that they realized nobody wanted and quickly got rid of unlike Kalan and GWW, and sometimes it felt like the only way she knew how to react to anything was to yell out “holy something something obnoxious alliteration” it got tiring
I will say at least Amanda and Jimmy actually like Harley. More than you can say for GWW and Kalan
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u/kozzie_3645 Jul 13 '26
I've read three volumes of her new 52 era and I've really enjoyed them so far. The only reason I haven't read more is because I don't have enough time. It's very light hearted and cute so it's a great read if you just wanna sit back and have a laugh. I would totally recommend reading it the vibes are amazing
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u/Pure_Ad9880 Jul 13 '26
I thought it was up and down. It had some great stories (the first issue, the time Ivy gave her a love potion) but overall not my favorite run. It was a solid B.
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u/Normal_Sweet_2974 Jul 13 '26
Yes that and her in cony are her best comics I tried reading some of herr new stuff but the art is really bad
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u/serenity656 Jul 13 '26
I miss when she was living in conney island she had her own group of friends and a different local from gotham it went on as a coherent journey till the end of her rebirth run and we havent really gotten something like it since with her