In this review of Harley Quinn #61, the mystery behind Harley’s current “identity crisis” is revealed, Batquinn goes all in on the grim and gritty Gotham guardian gimmick, and has Althea Klang suddenly become the voice of reason?
Harley Quinn #61 main cover by Brandt & Stein (DC Comics)
HARLEY QUINN #61
Written by ELLIOTT KALAN
Art by CARLOS OLIVARES
Main Cover: BRANDT&STEIN
Variant Covers: DAVID NAKAYAMA, GUILLEM MARCH, BAILIE ROSENLUND, MARCIAL TOLEDANO VARGAS
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 4/22/26
This review contains spoilers
Harley Quinn #61 begins with Colonel Blimp ruminating over his recent humiliating loss to Harley Quinn as his blimp hovers over the local landfill. The would-be supervillain’s interest is piqued by a news report about Harley Quinn parading around Throatcutter Hill in a knock off Bat costume. Cut to Harley’s landlord’s apartment where Batquinn and Harleen have a sit down while scarfing down Mrs. Grimaldi’s lasagna.
Mrs. G takes the entire situation in stride as she deduces that Batquinn is a manifestation of Harley’s darker, violent side while Harleen is revealed to be Harley’s “Quinntellect” given human form after the disastrous swearing in ceremony for (Mayor-elect) Poison Ivy triggered a surplus of Alpha energy in Harley’s system and split them apart (you have to read DC K.O. for more details). Mrs. G asks what happened to Harley’s fun side, to which Batquinn stalks off, exclaiming that humor has no place anymore.
Mrs. G ask Harleen how she will merge with Batquinn to get Harley back, but Harleen isn’t interested. Cut to Batquinn’s droning inner monologue as she finds the perfect brooding perch (coincidentally on Althea Klang’s penthouse deck. An ambivalent Althea approaches Batquinn but quickly realizes this is not the Harley she fell for. This assessment is confirmed when Colonel Blimp comes calling and unloads his semi-auto rifle in their general direction (and Batquinn doesn’t bother trying to protect Althea).
Things are not going well for Harley at the moment… (DC Comics)
Colonel Blimp switches up weapons more than once during the fray, but he is unable to get a bead on Batquinn who takes him down in a decidedly more brutal fashion than Harley ever would.
Harley Quinn #61 ends in the aftermath of the fracas, with a confused but determined Batquinn pondering her sleeping arrangements, while Colonel Blimp gets some medical help and Althea retains the Monochromatic Man to hunt down Batquinn for her own good.
Analysis
Harley Quinn #61 pulls a surprise misdirect that not only suits Harley as a character, but also draws from recent DC events, in this case the King Omega event. It makes sense (as much as anything in this book does) that the shift in status quo for both Harley and Ivy could get emotionally messy, giving her Quinntellect bodily autonomy. Writer Elliot Kalan goes all in on Batquinn’s grim and gritty monologuing, with some of the inner thoughts becoming unintentionally humorous (probably much to Batquinn’s dismay).
Harley needs to pull herself together (literally) either because there is a risk to the split aspects staying apart or some other issue. Harleen gets a cliff’s notes backstory in Harley Quinn #61, but more insight would be helpful. Batquinn’s inner monologue is rife with dark avenger tropes, but amid that swirl of grim and gritty, she is trying her level best to maintain the facade. Is there still an aspect of Harley shaping her efforts from within her splintered psyche?
Whether Mrs. Grimaldi is correct and that the fun side of Harley might be out in Throatcutter Hill is intriguing (and possibly integral) since most of Harley’s friends and lovers prefer that aspect to the others (or more likely the amalgam of all three). Mrs. Grimaldi works as a reader proxy to ask questions about the spilt, and she gets some good lines too.
Althea Klang looks like the lesser of two evils (although she has a history of recruiting violent villains to expedite business matters). Batquinn even silently notes that Althea isn’t teasing her about the Bat costume. However, despite good manners, Batquinn is singularly obsessed with vengeance, mostly for herself, rather than as a protector of the innocent. It’s almost like Batquinn is fractured within her own fractured psyche.
Artist Carlos Olivares never disappoints, providing more hilarious, action packed and dynamic artwork whether sitting around a kitchen table, stalking the city or partaking in a rooftop battle. Colonel Blimp is relentless (and a terrible shot), but his scenes are funny, energetic and tragic. Olivares provides emotional depth in facial expressions and body language that evokes the inner turmoil of each of the five prominent characters in Harley Quinn #61.
Final Thoughts
Harley Quinn #61 explores the ramifications of wish fulfillment and offers up the series’ typical absurdist humor while not shying away from the darker aspects of this predicament. The eye-catching artwork continues to impress.
