DC Finest: Harley Quinn: The Ballad of Harley Quinn

by Karl Kesel, Terry Dodson (Illustrator), Brandon Badeaux (Illustrator)

Every disaster is a love song when Harley Quinn’s involved. DC Harley The Ballad of Harley Quinn traces Harley’s journey from Joker’s wayward henchgirl to chaotic, complicated leading lady—through friendships,  romances, near-death experiences, and a whole lot of questionable life choices.

The comprehensive collection of Harley Quinn’s merry misadventures kicks into high gear as legendary talents Karl Kesel and Terry and Rachel Dodson take over the Clown Princess of Crime’s first solo series.

After a too-close call with the GCPD, Harley and gal pal Poison Ivy try to lay low in Metropolis, but their best-laid plans draw unwanted attention from a whole gaggle of do-gooders—and Bizarro as well! But the fun doesn’t stop there, as Kesel and the Dodsons are joined by a cadre of other high-caliber collaborators—including Judd Winick, Joe Chiodo, Paul D. Storrie, and Jennifer Graves—for even more long-form fun with the Maid of Mischief and her ever-expanding social circle!

Collects Harley Quinn #9-25, Harley Our Worlds at War, Harley and Love on the Lam, and Gotham Girls #1-5.

Genres: Dc Comics, Graphic Novels

616 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2026

About the author

Karl Kesel (Victor, New York) is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics. He is a member of Periscope Studio. In 2017, he started Panic Button Press with Tom Grummett to publish the creator-owned graphic novel Section Zero.

Reviews

[S.E. Martens]

This is such a FUN collection of comics! DC Finest: Harley Quinn: the Ballad of Harley Quinn focuses on her solo-series from 2000, with issues No. 9 - No. 25 (originally published in 2001-2003) as well as the Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War oneshot and the five-issue mini-series Gotham Girls from 2003.

The Harley Quinn issues are funny, upbeat, and action-packed with tons of guest stars from around the DC Universe. We start off with Harley, having freshly broken up with the Joker, running her own gang "the Quintets" in Gotham. When she gets the "brilliant" idea to cosplay as the original Batgirl she draws the ire of Nightwing, Robin (Tim Drake), Batgirl (Cassandra Cane), and the original Batgirl herself, Barbara Gordon (now Oracle.)

Deciding that maybe having the entire Bat Family pissed off at her might not be the most conducive to her dishonest living, Harley leaves Gotham for Metropolis with her "gal pal" Poison Ivy. (It would be a few years before DC acknowledged that they're lovers. But the way they say "gal pal" here starts to come off as a euphemism anyway.)

I loved seeing Harley and Ivy in Metropolis! What a fun change-up to the status quo and character dynamics. I had an absolute blast seeing Harley take a job at the Daily Planet as "Holly Chance" and interact with Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Bizzaro, before finally crossing paths with Superman!

Unfortunately, Harley's adventures in the City of Tomorrow end when she is killed in a jetpack malfunction! My poor girl! And she goes to Hell (seriously.) The "Harley Quinn escapes Hell" storyline is interesting. Really pokes fun at how death is a "revolving door" in comic book universes, but there is also some dark stuff here.

We close out the collection with a 5-issue miniseries set in the world of "Batman: the Animated Series" and starring Harley alongside Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Renee Montoya, and Batgirl. It was a cute story, though I find that the rich atmosphere of BtAS doesn't really translate to the comic books. Still, it's not a bad way to round out the collection.

This is a really fun collection of stories for this character. It's worth it for the Harley-in-Metropolis arc alone, but the rest is also pretty solid. Oh, and throw in a couple Buffy the Vampire Slayer references for good measure!