Harley Quinn: More than Just “The Joker’s Girlfriend”

Dr. Harleen Quinzel, also known as Harley Quinn, only has one sentence in the DC Universe encyclopedia – she’s the Joker’s girlfriend.  While true, Harley Quinn is much more, spawning her own comic book series and being a villain in her own right.

On September 11, 1992, Joker’s Favor aired, and audiences all caught their first glimpse of everyone’s favorite henchwench, Harley Quinn.  She was to only be a one shot character, but somehow was brought back just a few months later in Almost Got ‘im.  Soon, the Joker wasn’t seen without at least a passing reference to his girlfriend.  Harley had also been seen without the Joker by her side.  January 18, 1993 saw the first Harley/Ivy team up with Harley and Ivy, and in 1994 Harley started to see the limelight on her own.  She teamed up with Batman and Robin in Harlequinade, and later that year had a Joker-free episode in Harley’s Holiday.

In 1993, Harley’s fan following found her being introduced into the world of comic books, with Batman Adventures #12, Girls Night Out.  February 1994 saw Harley’s origin story, Mad Love, released.  In this tale, we learn how it is that a former Arkham psychologist could fall in love with one of the most dangerous villains of Gotham City, but this comic revealed more than just that.  Harley, in her own right, is just as dangerous as any other of Batman’s Rogue Gallery, if not more so.  Her Achilles’ heel is that she loves too much.

Harley Quinn continued to appear in comics and the cartoon series, and was even in a few episodes of the Superman cartoon series.  She was even introduced into the mainstream in the comic series in 1999.  The year 2000 was a big year for Harley, as she was introduced into her own comic series, Harley Quinn.  In this series, Harley has had enough of the Joker and she dumps him, officially.  Harley is a free agent, and goes through the adventures of her comic series on her own.  The comic series was dark, dramatic, and above all else, funny, and even had crossovers into the Superman universe.  It introduced Bizarro Harley, the only Bizarro to date that makes sense – a commentary on how nonsensical Harley herself is.  Bizarro Harley was also cold, calculating, and mean, things that Harley is not, no matter how dangerous she is.  The series lasted for 38 issues.  Harley made numerous other comic appearances in 2000.

Gotham Girls, a flash animated webseries, also debuted in 2000.  Harley Quinn was one of the main characters of the series, as was Batgirl, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy.  A few years later, Harley Quinn was also a main player in the TV series Birds of Prey.

Over the years, Harley has appeared in every DCU cannon show, including Static Shock, Justice League, and Batman Beyond, has had her origin retold in at least 3 comics and in an episode of The Batman, and has even been in the video game Arkham Asylum.  Except for The Batman, she is always voiced by Arleen Sorkin.  Harley Quinn also continues to appear in the comics.  The only medium Harley Quinn has yet to be portrayed in is movies, and many fans vocalize a want for the former Arkham psychiatrist to appear on the big screen.

Needless to say, it is completely unfair to say that Harley Quinn is just “the Joker’s girlfriend”.  After all, she did come the closer to defeating Batman than her Puddin’ ever did.

Sources:

Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. “Mad Love”, February 1994.

Harley Quinn’s character page, IMDB.

Harley’s Appearances, Harley’s Haven.

Writing Sample: Chit Chat for Facebook

Chit Chat for Facebook might be a solution to two common problems we have in communicating with our friends online. Nobody really e-mails anymore, with exceptions for business, birthday e-cards, party e-vites, and forwards of the funny or spammy variety. People like instant response. This is why they use instant messengers, but unfortunately not everyone can decide on the same one. Half our friends prefer one IM client over the other, yet we're the accommadating ones who have every single one. It's just a hassle.

However, almost everybody has a Facebook. This has made Facebook chat a great way for communicating with our friends. They're all in the same place, and we don't have to guess which IM client they'll be using. Sadly, we are stuck in that we must be logged into Facebook in a browser and be paying attention to it when we might have other things we need to do online, like forwarding a funny cat picture or playing online videogames.

Chit Chat for Facebook combines the conveniences of Facebook chat with those of an IM client. Chit Chat for Facebook is an IM client that works over Facebook chat. You don't even need to be logged into the site to use it. Just log into the client! The program alerts you when you get a new message, so you're free to watch the funny videos your cousin sent you. You can save logs of your conversations, just like with other instant messengers. You can alter your font to be bold or underlined, and you can even use emoticons.

However, Chit Chat for Facebook does much more than turn Facebook chat into an IM client. You can use this client to write on your friends' walls, update your status, and even send private messages to your friends without having to log into Facebook. More and more people sign up for Facebook everyday, making Facebook chat an invaluable communication tool. Chit Chat for Facebook just adds practicality and convenience. No longer will we have to worry about which instant messengers our friends use, nor will we be confined to a browser to use Facebook chat.

More information on Chit Chat for Facebook can be found at chitchat.org.uk, and can be downloaded at chitchat.org.uk/download/.

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Chit Chat for Facebook and have not been paid for this review.

Toy Story 3 is Probably the Best Movie Ever

And if it’s not, it’s darn close.

I was 12 when Toy Story came out.  I’m much older than 12 now.  However, I was dedicated to the series.  I loved the first movie, the second one was one of the first ones I saw in theatres… I’ve been impatiently waiting for the third one for forever.

It did not let me down.  I don’t know what I expected in a Toy Story 3 movie, but this was much better.  Toy Story is the only franchise I know of that got progressively better with each movie.  I’ve never cried so much at a movie, either.  Mostly because I don’t cry at movies, but as soon as I saw Andy all grown up, the water works started and just when I got them to stop, something in the movie would make me cry again.  It was brilliant.

And for the evil movie critic who said this movie was more about product placement than whimsy – this is the first Toy Story movie that didn’t make me want to buy a toy.  I wanted a Buzz Lightyear after the first movie, but it was 1995 so it didn’t happen.  I wanted Tour Guide Barbie after the second movie (yes, when I was 17, shut up).  I got it.  This movie really doesn’t make me want a new toy as much as it makes me remember how much fun I had with mine.

Plus, as one child reviewer in the seat behind me pointed out, “This movie is sad.”  There’s enough going on in the movie for kids to notice things besides the toys.

I would see it again like a thousand more times if I didn’t have a budget of shoestring and bubblegum.

Dashingly Deadly Dexter

I have certain visceral pleasures that I can only maintain when they’re imaginary.  I can’t watch them on screen or I get squeamish.  Because of this, I can’t watch the TV show Dexter.  Not without hiding behind my fingers at least three times an episode.  However, it’s a show that everyone seems to think I’ll enjoy, so my compromise was to read the books on which Dexter was based.  So far I have read Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter.

I love these books.  They’re smart, witty, and take the old “detective solves a murder” story and turns it on it’s heels.  I’m already going to put the third one on hold at the library.  For those who aren’t aware, Dexter is a sociopathic serial killer who only kills bad guys and is easy to love.  The first season of the Showtime series was based on the first book, but the series goes in different directions with the second book/second season.  I’ve only seen the pilot of Dexter, so I can’t definitively say which I like better.  But I love the books.  Dexter has a code and only murders bad guys, and he likes kids.  How bad can he be?  In the first book, Dexter has to hunt a serial killer who murders hookers very similarly to how Dexter kills his own victims.  In the second book, Dexter has to hunt a twisted individual chops people’s body parts off in a sadistic game of hangman.  Along the way, he makes sure that murderers – especially the kind that hurts kids – will never murder anyone else again.

Of course, a part of me doesn’t know if the originality of these books are refreshing or disturbing.  The author envisions this stuff, writes it down, and doesn’t seem to be suffering from the mental images he conjures up.    Of course, if it came down to reading the same tired plotlines again and again, or having the pleasure of being able to read Dexter, I choose Dexter.

Pardon My Dust

Right now I’m still working on getting this blog just the way I want it.  In the meanwhile, you can follow me on Twitter or be my fan on Facebook.

Hello!

May as well introduce myself.  I do have a nifty about me page.  I guess everything you need to know is there, but I guess there’s stuff you want to know.  Hm…

Favorite TV Show: The Simpsons.  I know it’s older than dirt, and I remember when it was still on the Tracey Ullman Show (I didn’t like it much then!), but I think it’s a great show with core family values.  Odd family values, but they’ve always got each other’s backs.  Plus, it has longevity.  Every other show that I’ve deemed favorite in the past, with one sole exception, never lasted very long.

Favorite Movie:  Don’t have one.  I have many movies I like.  But, if I had to pick some, Ghostbusters is my favorite franchise, The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney movie, Beetlejuice inspires my imagination, and Casper is one my favorite characters.  This is only a small sampling that does no justice to my taste in films.

Favorite music: I like pretty much everything, but some favorite artists I have are Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Ludo, Metallica, Eminem, etc, etc.  Just like with movies, I could go on all day with music.

Favorite book:  I’m not even going to get started.  The list is much too long.

Favorite comic book character: Harley Quinn.  I also am partial to Spiderman, Wolverine, and Batman.  I don’t like Superman, though.

Favorite color: red

And I think that’s plenty for now.  Feel free to introduce yourself in the comments!