"The Batman Adventures: Mad Love" Review!

It's been a LONG time since I've been this excited about sharing a comic with the world. Of course I'm always excited about reading, reviewing, and rating a comic, but this is the first time in a while that I've wanted to take said comic and literally shove it under everyone I meet's nose! "The Batman Adventures: Mad Love" hooked me INSTANTLY. The reason? Because there's so much more going on to the story than just what you read. Even what you are told directly is very insightful. I think the aspect of the comic that really makes it for me is relate-ability and the psychology of the while situation with Harley Quinn.

I won't lie, I've been so emotionally attached to a guy that it's literally hurt to not be good enough. I think that the reason I love this comic so much is that I can relate to Harley Quinn so extremely well. "Why would you be ok with relating to a crazy person, Ashleigh?" Well...I'll tell you. In my eyes, Harley DOES come off as nuts, but she's IN LOVE. Sometimes the pain of obsession drives people to do crazy things. Though these things are crazy, I know personally that they are with the sweetest and best intentions.

This comic is so interesting because the reader gets to see the transition of Harleen Quinzel (a pretty, intelligent, success-oriented medical school graduate) to Harley Quinn (Um....not Harleen). It all begins with her internship at Arkham Asylum. She enters the office to find a rose with a note from Joker. A brief encounter with him, and she's gone. He gets his claws in her and it's not long before she's begging to have one-on-one sessions with him. She falls in love with him and is very upset when he escapes. Batman brings him back, bloody and bruised, and Harley loses it. In freshly-bought costume, Harley beats the door of Joker's hospital room down and kidnaps him. She's taken a turn for the dark side. All because of the Joker...

When Joker's obsession (killing Batman in the most comedic way possible) comes between Harley and her love, he decides that off Batman herself. She's crazy about the Joker. She pours over his every plan and plot. She looks at all the designs and sketches. She LISTENS to him. He wants to kill Batman using the Death of a Hundred Smiles, but decides it doesn't work because Piranhas frown. Harley wracks her brain and comes up with a simple solution: hanging Batman upside down so that the Piranha's frown looks like a smile.

She tricks Batman into meeting her, drugs him, and he awakes to being hung upside down over the tank. He talks Harley into calling the Joker (after convincing her that the Joker has been manipulating her). Instead of being extremely proud of the fact that Harley has single-handedly caught Batman, he's outraged that Harley would meddle in his purpose in live. The Joker knocks Harley out of the window and she falls stories and stories to the hard concrete. Batman and the Joker battle it out, and the Joker falls into a smokestack. The news reports that it would be extremely hard for him to survive. In the end, Harley is admitted to the asylum that she once entered as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed intern. She's realizing that the Joker was using her and that she needs to heal mentally. She turns to look at the table, and, once again, there's a single rose with a note from the Joker. Her expression changes from one of extreme misery to undeniable happiness. I feel extremely bad for Harley. Here she is, thinking that she's getting over the Joker and BAM! He does something that makes her think that there's a shot. That he'll love her. That they have a future. It's sad knowing that he's doing this very knowingly with the intention of dragging her back into her previous state. It shows how irrational, cruel, obsessive, and manipulative people can be.

THAT'S what I love about the comic. It shows every side of dark human nature. 

On to the ratings!

Creativity of Writing: 5/5 As a Psychology minor, I absolutely love the psychological aspects of this comic. I feel like I know exactly what's going on in Harley's head, but at the same time, I don't get how someone can be that irrational. It also blows me away that a man can be so cruel to a girl with a good heart. I'm not saying chicks can't do it too! What I'm saying is that in this case, it's heart-wrenching to watch! I wonder what's going on in the Joker's head/heart the whole time I'm reading. I also wonder how he can have no morals or guilt about the whole situation. I mean really?!? You SHOVE Harley out of the window and then send her a Rose with a note that says "Get better." SERIOUSLY?!?!? HARLEY! Come ON, honey! You can do better! The relationship between Harley and the Joker is displayed SO clearly. You feel like you know everything between and about the two just by reading the comic. It's displayed so clearly, in fact, that you forget about Batman! In fact, the only reason that Batman is there is the show that Harley is OBSESSED with the Joker! She wants to eliminate anything that could possibly come between her and her "puddin'". I need to stop gushing about this. It's getting old, I know. So onto the art!

Creativity of Art: 5/5 I love the art. It's bright. It's animated. The fight scenes are epic and the movement is very defined. The color palate is somewhat limited, but you feel like you're getting a lot more out of it visually than you should be. There's enough details and shadow without it going over the top (because, after all, it's paired with bright colors). I like looking at the panels. It's definitely not a comic that you just want to read and not SEE. 

Overall Casual Read Rating: 5/5 This will be in my collection FOREVER. I'm not even kidding. I love it. I'll probably end up writing a paper on it some day. It's captured my mind and made me think. It's taken ahold of my heart and forced pain into it when I think about Harley. Poor girl. It's made me ponder the human mind and morals. It's made me think about relationships and love. It's thrown me for a loop. When a comic sticks with you, THAT'S when you know it's successful on multiple numbers of levels. 

Note to the Creator(s): I want this signed. I want to sit and talk for hours about this comic. I want to pick your brains until your brains can't be picked anymore. I'm serious. If I ever have the chance, WATCH OUT! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for giving the world such a masterpiece.