The Harley Quinn Annual #1 is written by Stephanie Phillips, drawn and inked by Marco Failla, Darko Lafuente, and Jon Sommariva, colored by Miquel Rodriguez Lopez, and lettered by AndWorld Design. This issue takes place after Harley Quinn #6, and the events in this issue will continue in Harley Quinn #7. Harley Quinn Annual #1 largely follows Kevin (Harley’s friend and reformed Joker henchman), and Solomon Grundy as they visit various Gotham villains trying to figure out where Keepsake, aka Eli Kaufmann, has taken Harley after kidnapping her. 

The Harley Quinn Annual #1 features cameo appearances from many iconic Batman villains, including but not limited to the Penguin, the Riddler, Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and Mr. Freeze. They’re all connected because Keepsake has briefly and unsuccessfully acted as a minion for all of them. Unsuccessfully. Mysteriously, he kept getting fired. Except it’s not a mystery; he stole from them all and got a little too interested in taking over their roles for himself. 

And the way that Harley ties into this is through the Joker. When Keepsake was working for the Joker, he desperately wanted to be the focus of attention. But obviously, Harley was more important. But with the Joker out of the way, there’s a bit of a power vacuum in Gotham, one that Keepsake hopes to take advantage of to run the city himself. Keepsake hopes to convince Harley to work for him to run the city. But Harley’s done her time working for shitty men, and she’s not going back to it. She’s decided to become a better person and a hero. Heroes don’t try to take over the city. 

Harley’s grown so much over just six issues (seven including this one). In the Harley Quinn Annual #1, Phillips builds Harley’s character development via Harley’s actions and Kevin, and Solomon Grundy’s, opinions of her. Kevin and Solomon Grundy are so desperate to find Harley that they’re going from villain to villain, trying to find out what they know about Keepsake. They’re putting their own lives on the line for her. That’s huge. Harley’s been considered irredeemable. Treated like she’s inevitably landing back in Arkham, so she’s trying to give others, like Kevin, a chance to turn their lives around. And she’s proven to Kevin that she does care about him, having broken into Hugo Strange’s lab to rescue him. 

Meanwhile, Harley has so many people telling her what’s going to happen to her or what she should do. Hugo Strange believes she’s still a villain. Keepsake thinks she should give up on the hero act and work with him as a villain. He tells her that she’s “meant to be a villain,” making it seem like she has no choice. But Harley can assert herself to Keepsake and remind him that no one gets to tell her who she’s meant to be, who she’s going to be. She’s come a long way from the first installments where she worried that she couldn’t be a hero. Harley is finding her confidence and becoming her own person, not defined by who she was, but who she is. 

While it’s not necessarily an essential part of the story, Harley rocks a stunning suit look to her dinner with Keepsake. It’s an indispensable part of the story because she looks gorgeous and badass. Not only that, but the outfit keeps the Harley Quinn aesthetic in mind while giving readers something entirely new. It’s also interesting to see Failla, Lafuente, and Sommariva’s takes on classic Batman villains. There’s something about the way they draw the Penguin that’s deeply unsettling. Rodriguez Lopez’s colors are bright and vibrant, and there’s a great use of contrast. 

Not only is the Harley Quinn Annual #1 is a must-read to keep up with the ongoing storyline, but it’s also a very enjoyable story to read. 

GRADE: A