Amanda Conner is the first female comic artist I ever became a big fan of. Her work on Terra and Power Girl back in 2009 was fresh, quirky and fun and I was obsessed over it. She seems to mostly do covers now (which are amazing) but I really miss her sequential art. Since then I've become a fan of many other female artists like Chynna Clugston, Beck Cloonan, Sara Pichelli, and Fiona Staples. Unlike female characters, I'm not drawn to these artists *because* they are female, but once I am aware of their gender, a certain sensibility (especially when it comes to realistic body representation) becomes apparent. This Amanda Conner designed classic Harley Quinn is very interesting. As far as I know, she only drew classic Harley a couple times (The Our Worlds At War special (2001) and a DC Direct mini-bust design (2011)). Then she launched the character in her new Roller Girl direction by 2014. It all makes me wish Harley would adopt her classic look again for a storyline. Drawn by Amanda of course.
I was afraid her side-eye expression would look odd from certain angles, but it actually looks expressive and fun.
Her articulation is pretty good. It's just a shame that this came out right after the Ant Lucia Bombshell figures which had an insane level of articulation.
Harley comes with a small handgun and a figure stand.
She also comes with Bernie, the taxidermied beaver roadkill that becomes her imaginary friend.
Bernie is rubbery and has a liquidy ball of intestines in her abdomen. Overall I find it pretty gross. Which I think is the intended effect.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here she is with the Spacesuit version (review coming soon).
And with two recent DCC Harleys: Arkham Knight (Ver 2) and the Designer Series Darwyn Cooke figure.
Cheers!
I really love the mischievous expression captured in this sculpt. Obviously Harley is getting tons of merchandise these days, but this figure stands out to me more than the Icons in the classic costume.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started seriously reading comics in the eighties, Cynthia Martin and Colleen Doran were the first female artists that I totally flipped over. I also love all the artists you mentioned today, plus Nicola Scott.
I never really read any of Nicola Scott's work. When she was on Wonder Woman I wasn't really paying attention to the character. I forgot to mention Amy Reeder in my list. Her work on Madame Xanadu, Batwoman, and Rocket Girl has been fantastic. Plus Rumiko Takahashi was actually my first favorite artist. I can't believe I forgot her considering I literally have more than 100 volumes of her work. I'll totally check out Martin and Doran. I'm not familiar with the names, but I just read their wiki entries and I'm intrigued.
DeleteThe icons Harley was very interesting because it represented such a brief moment in the evolution of the character.. ie when she was crazy, but not yet lovable. I wish there were more classic harley figures. My favorite recent one is the Arkham Knight figure.
Martin and Doran were total trailblazers in the eighties. Although comics sadly didn't utilize full color printing very often back then, their actual pencil work stands up against anyone past or present. Jill Thompson was also pretty popular in the eighties, but her work was a bit cartoonish in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI love Amy Reeder! Her Batwoman stint was one of my favorites!
I jjust checked out you review of the 2016 Arkham Knight Harley. The pics lead me to agree with your assessment. I don't know how I ignored that figure. It must have gotten lost to me among all the SS merchandise that was everywhere.