In this review of Harley Quinn #54…Harley is missing? We all need to go look for her. Wait…she’s just on an unplanned, cross-country road trip with her new arch-nemeses? Yeah, that tracks.
Harley Quinn #54 main cover by Yanick Paquette (DC Comics)
HARLEY QUINN #54
Written by ELLIOTT KALAN
Art by CARLOS OLIVARES
Main Cover: YANICK PAQUETTE
Variant Covers: DAVID NAKAYAMA, GABRIELE DELL’OTTO, MAHMUD ASRAR, MANNY CARBONILLA
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 9/24/25
This review contains spoilers
Harley Quinn #54 starts in the Throatcutter Hill neighborhood of Gotham City, as Harley’s friends and neighbors post flyers for missing their friend, and local protector. Cut to real estate mogul (and Harley’s frenemy crush) Althea Klang, who has not yet received a reply to her proposed date with Harley, and is now being slowly driven mad as she screams “Where are you Harley Quinn?”
Elsewhere, Harley Quinn is curled up on a bed in a strange room wondering the same thing. Harley realizes that she’s moving, so she must be in a vehicle. A quick inspection finds a hidden cache of weapons. Now armed, Harley bursts through the bedroom door to find the Gunbunnies in the front cabin of a RV driven by Gunbunny, with Mayfly riding shotgun, (well, actually semi-auto pistol).
Mayfly gets the drop on Harley, and Gunbunny explains that they got the drop on her earlier and are now taking her out west where a client is offering top dollar to add her to his private collection (ew). With the helpful distraction of a disruptively large pothole, Harley clobbers Mayfly and mayhem ensues. Gunbunny and Mayfly take turns trying to kill Harley as the now runaway RV barrels down a crowded freeway, wrecking everything in its path.
The RV crosses into Coast City, home of Hal Jordan (and only destroyed by aliens once) and crashes.
At a tenant meeting in Throatcutter Hill, Althea Klang contends with frustrated residents as a mysterious figure calling himself the “Deconspirator” speaks up, challenging the concept of social conformity. The man is persuasive enough to sway Althea’s bodyguard Ravager, but not her partner Amygdala and The Deconspirator leaves as the entire room descends into chaos.
Harley wakes up in the Coast City zoo, and escapes from the trigger-happy Gunbuddies (with help from a large Tapir). It turns out that the zoo was on the Fire & Ice tour, and the two heroes manage to take down the Gunbuddies and Harley without too much trouble.
Harley Quinn #54 ends in the firelit parlor of the Gunbuddies client and “super-hunter” Brock Blomquist (AKA Gunbunny’s dad), who receives word of the incident in Coast City, and decides to track down Harley to add her head to the collection of masked people and monsters mounted on his wall.
Analysis
Harley Quinn #54 is chock full of silliness, action and bizarre characters that tend to inhabit Harley’s world. The Gunbuddies are free-wheeling, gun-toting mercenaries (and possibly nepo-babies), the residents of Throatcutter Hill are either strange on their own or are somehow corrupted by Harley’s presence. Althea Klang also succumbs to Harley’s bewitching charms. Strange attractors, possibly, as the Deconspirator barely stands out in the tenant meeting that descends into something reminiscent of the town halls from the classic “Parks & Recreation” sitcom.
Writer Elliot Kalan continues his successful charm offensive on this title with another hilarious, offbeat, but well-structured story, populated by an assortment of odd characters who continually fire off volleys of one-liners at each other or even themselves. Harley’s self-reflection and doubt makes her more relatable, as her acceptance of the intrusive aspect of her brain she calls “Quinntellect” allows her to continue growing as a person.
The Gunbuddies continue to function inept foils for Harley, routinely causing small headaches, but not much else, as Harley, (as flighty as she appears) is quite adept at defending herself (while also befriending a Malayan Tapir). Introducing the sister act of Fire & Ice into Harley’s world just adds to the chaotic fun, (Harley can be serious and empathetic when she needs to be, but most of the time she just wants to enjoy herself).
Althea Klang’s slow descent into madness after being ghosted by Harley while scrolling through the Gunbuddies social media feed (featuring the pair propping up an unconscious Harley at several US landmarks) is interrupted by the stranger (emphasis on “strange”) calling himself the Deconspirator, whose anti-conformity speech at Althea’s tenant meeting sends the residents into a full-on brawl. Is this fellow a metahuman, or just a skilled and manipulative orator?
Carlos Olivares’ art style captures the heightened reality, and off-center strangeness of Harley Quinn: the exaggerated facial expressions and body language, sketchy linework that draws the eye, while even supporting characters are given a distinctive look. Olivares’ composition and camera angles add to the frenetic pacing (even when characters are standing still).
Final Thoughts
Harley Quinn #54 is a wildly entertaining romp outside the confines of Throatcutter Hill. Plenty of action and absurdist humor, plus a dash of the macabre (that trophy wall).
