Tamaki has always been great. Here, she triumphs with a strong and insightful script. Likewise, Steve Pugh is doing the best work of his career. This is an amazing book, and it's one that anybody can enjoy and digest easily. Read Full Review

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is a graphic novel of substance, depth of character and remarkable artistic execution, utilizing a grounded approach to Harley to confront socially relevant issues directly with tact and emotion. Go buy this book. Read Full Review

A groundbreaking coming-of-age story that throws Harley Quinn in the middle of current social issues in America. Read Full Review

Breaking Glass recast Harley in the spirit of the original Harlequin. Following it back from camp to theater to the zanni. Harley Quinn, nimble trickster, cryptic wit, agent of chaos, emissary of the dispossessed. This book is as cool as it gets, with great potential to lift up the loyal and smash the skeptics. Harley Quinn forever and ever and ever some more. Read Full Review

I don't know if this is my favorite of the line so far, but I do think it's the most essential read for anyone who hasn't seen themselves represented in DC Comics yet. Read Full Review

Breaking Glass tackles some serious issues in a way that is both thoughtful and real to life. It's funny, beautiful to read, and full of heart. There are no easy answers in the book, or clean solutions to problems, but it does provide readers with both a relatable narrative and a spark of hope to push them forward. Read Full Review

Teenage Harleen Quinzel is supposed to live with her grandmother for a year while he mom is away for work. Of course, things don't go at all according to plan, and Harley ends up with some loveable drag queens, helping her new BFF Ivy and getting into vigilante shenanigans when the sun goes down. Read Full Review

I nearly gave the book five stars, for art alone, but overall it's a probably a very solid four star read. Not for everyone of course, being aimed at the Young Adult market, but always fun to see a fresh take on a character. This Harley I sort of had a sneaking affection for. There's hope for me yet. Read Full Review

I had a bunch of fun reading this new version of Harley's beginnings. I found it really interesting to see Tamaki's take on her life and Steve Pugh bringing it all to life. Being able to see Harley become herself over a short amount of time, really being able to accept herself and help her new family, was very heartwarming. That's not really something people associate with Harley but, after this new story, they will. Little Harleen with hit you with some truths, some lies and some random nuttiness. Read Full Review

Overall, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glassis an interesting take on the character that combines jarring visuals and a bizarre narrative with real-world problems, primarily gentrification. However, the second half of the book could pack a bigger punch. Needless to say though, this should be a must-read for all Harley Quinn fans and fans of YA novels such as Cirque du Freak. Read Full Review

"Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass" is the fun and unexpected reimagining of the Lady of Lunacy that we didn't know we needed. A new world is built around this version of Harley, and I look forward to visiting it again to see what happens next. Read Full Review

This book is a mixed bag for me. The art is gorgeous, for the most part, but the writing feels hodge-podge. Read Full Review

This is probably the best Harley Quinn story ever and this is definitely THE BEST Poison Ivy ever written. Excellent writing, perfect characterization, beautiful, gorgeous art. Definitely check it! This is going to an Eisner winner guys!

You know the thing about all those beauty contests and typical Fox News segments? They're packed with beautiful women, who may look breathtaking at first glance, but the moment they open their mouths, it's clear as day their IQs are smaller than their waist sizes, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are. Seems like a weird way to start a review, but stay with me, because that's exactly how I feel about Tamaki's take on Harley. It sure looks beautiful, Steve Pugh outdid himself in this book, but when you look closer, and actually read it... well, let's say it's as compelling as average beauty contestant's wish to "make, like, the world, totally a better place, y'know". It's bad, and I mean it. Capital "B.A.D", but not without some merits here and there.

The comic follows a young, elseworld Harleen who moved to Gotham for a year, because her mom got a job at a cruising ship. Cool, her age is a good explanation of her childishness, silliness and stupidity, which annoys me beyond belief in her regulr comics since the new-52 failure of a reboot, where she was stripped from any depth, personality and emotional baggage she had when Paul Dini was writng her. She also speaks normally - there's no forced accent gimmick deforming every second word she uses, and I welcome that with open arms. So these two things I definitely liked in this book, teen Harley feels more appropriate than her current canon version.

What I absolutely hate, however, is how obsessed Tamaki is with identity politics. The entire character of (non poisonous) Ivy exists only to talk about sexism, patriarchy and racism, and I shit you not, in one of the scenes she accuses the school’s principal of being racist towards her, because reasons. Have mercy, it’s one thing to include socio-political commentary in a comic (something I defend), and other to push it so hard, it turns a supporting character into an absolute one dimensional parody, because the author wants to virtue signal and moralize on every page. That’s exactly what people mean when they whine about „agendas” and „SJWs” in the industry.
Compare it to my main man Alan Moore, a genuine anarchist, who created Rorschach, a conspiratorial right wing nutjob, and a compelling one at that. Moore, contrary to Tamaki, didn’t use the character to smell his own farts, but to utilize him in a larger context, and portray him in a believable, complex, realistic way. Flawed, human way. Now, look back at this Ivy, who has nothing to offer but politically driven platitudes. You see a difference?

The plot is very weak and insanely predictable for the most part, mostly because Tamaki’s cartoonish, ignorant perception of social issues in our society overshadows themes of class war, corporatism and local communities which needed more exposition and could have been explored in depth. If she focused more on setting up the main plot and giving every character more time to develop, this could have been a completely different book. Just look at how randomly Harley gets her nickname, and her bat, for instance. There’s no foreshadowing to either of them. It happens, because the story demands it to happen. Or the character of Mama, who apparently is very close to Harley, except we hardly see them bonding whatsoever.
There’s so much wasted potential, reminding me of the awful Supergirl: being Super (alo written by Tamaki), which felt pretty similar to this comic, except even worse, since it was so painfully boring.

The only really outstanding thing about this book is the art. As I stated earlier, Steve Pugh did phenomenal job, and I adore his style here. Harley is so expressive, and actualy looks like a teenager. He put so much attention into little details, and making this comic look bautiful, he deserves a standing ovation. Really - that’s one of the best looking DC titles I’ve read this year. Thus, it hurts me even more to see it all being wasted in this poorly written mess of a story.
Just release an artbook with Harley drawings, Steve, I'd recommend it, as long as Mariko Tamaki stays the fuck away from it, with her regressive commentary in place of any decent plot. more

GET WOKE GO BROKE

This point is just for the art.