I thought I would share some pieces of work of mine that came out last week.
Firstly a review of Stjepan Šejić's DC Black title Harleen. This was a surprise for me. I mention in the review that I knew of Šejić's work but I had not read his comics before. I also have been uncomfortable with the development of the Harley Quinn character.
What impressed me was how Šejić fashioned the problematic elements of this character, a woman whose abuse has been played for laughs by some creators in her appearances in comics and onscreen. Harleen instead challenges a simple reading of the character with a genuinely introspective script and representation of "Harley's" inner mental life from Šejić.
I really enjoyed this book. I sincerely believe Šejić's channeled an aspect of the Batman comic that the industry has been running scared from since the days of Fredric Wertham.
Last week I also featured with Kumar Sivasubramanian and Dana Nielsen on the Deconstructing Comics podcast. This turned into quite a lengthy discussion of Jacen Burrows and Alan Moore's comic series for Avatar – Providence. Partly this was done to the comic's deep read evocation of H.P. Lovecraft fictional writing and his real world influence on pop culture.
Cover for the trade paperback edition of Stjepan Šejić's Harleen.