Quirky Cat
Written on Sep 3, 2017
There are two main plots for this volume, Harley’s vacation, and another, more serious one. First the silly one! The girls (Ivy and Harley) decide to take a well-deserved vacation in the Bahamas. Unfortunately for them, they’re surprised by the fact that they will be staying in a nudist colony. Lots of jokes (of the ball variety) ensue.
For me the most meaningful part of the trip was the heart to heart that Harley and Ivy have. From what I’m understanding, Harley’s asking Ivy to move in is basically asking her to make their relationship more serious? Unless I’m misunderstanding something. This fact would help explain why Icy saying no (kindly, but also not for the first time) probably hurt Harley more than she was willing to let on. I appreciate that they were given some time to put their relationship (whatever they may consider it to be) in the open and talk things out.
The second plot revolves around the Joker. Because it’s a Harley comic, we all knew that eventually it would come back around to that (and the title of the volume kinda gives it away in this case). That being said, I may be in the minority here, but I actually really liked this Joker plotline. Which is hilarious because (spoiler warning!) it isn’t actually the Joker.
Taking a minute to step back and think about it – I can totally see him doing something as elaborate and crazy as this. If there was any chance he could get under Harley’s skin, you bet he wouldn’t pass it up. Especially after what was said and done the last time they were face to face. The Joker is not a stable man, and doesn’t think like we do. So for him this whole scheme probably felt perfectly natural and brilliantly planned out.
I think I actually liked the Joker plot more because it was a fake-out, in a manner of speaking. We got all this build-up for another Joker appearance, only to have it shown that he doesn’t need to physically be there to hurt Harley. Take a minute to think about that. In his mind, by getting to Harley like he did, he won. If that isn’t a perfect example of the Joker’s though process, I don’t know what is.
I can’t wait to read volume three (Red Meat). I’ll be curious to see how Harley and the group recover from what she did (and they saw her do). I’m hoping we get to see some more gradual hair growth as well – I know it seems like a minor thing, but I prefer it to *poof* hair’s back! Regardless of the hair situation, I’m curious to see what happens next.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks