DCU Book Club-Girl Power! Week 53: Special Guest🌟 Sam Humphries! Harley Quinn (2016-) #45-49

[JLWWSM]

Happy New DCU Book Club Year!

Thanks for stopping by for this VERY special edition of DCU Book Club - Girl Power!. Once a month, taking the place of a week of our regular book club, we focus on the wonderful ladies of the DCU. Whether they are heroes or villains, Girl Power! selections are all about them.

“Sometimes love can make people do crazy things. Other times? It drives them completely insane. Such is the case with Harley Quinn, formerly Dr. Harleen Quinzel” - Harley Quinn

This week, we’ll see Harley as we’ve never seen her before: taking on Apokolips and “Lord Death Man”! This run has heart and humor, and explores very relatable themes.

We are honored and grateful to have the author of this week’s selection, DC Daily’s
SAM HUMPHRIES!, join us for Q&A on his book! Read on for details of his appearance!

==================
HOW Q&A WILL WORK
On WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18th from 10:00a.m. to 11:00a.m. Pacific Time / 1:00p.m. to 2:00p.m. Eastern Time,
Mr. Humphries will be here, in THIS THREAD, reading your book club comments and responding to your book club questions.

Post your questions or comments about HARLEY QUINN (2016-) ISSUES 45-49 to Mr. Humphries from Friday, September 13th through Wednesday, September 18th.

Questions will be answered in the order they were posted (earliest posts answered first).

WHAT TO READ
Harley Quinn (2016-) Issues 45-47, Harley Quinn vs. Apokolips
Harley Quinn (2016-) Issues 48-49, Clown for Hire

Link to issue 45:
https://www.dcuniverse.com/comics/book/harley-quinn-2016-45/63a75c0a-f7c9-460c-a71a-3b7b39810e4b

BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Is this your first time reading Harley Quinn (2016-)?

2. What moments made you laugh?

3. What was your favorite Granny Goodness or Petite Tina moment?

4. What was your reaction to the resolution of the “Lord Death Man” story at the end of issue #49?

5. What was the wildest or most surprising Harley moment to you?

There is MUCH to discuss in these issues! We’d love to hear your thoughts and general reactions to the story!

Our spoiler discussion begins NOW and ends at the end of the day on Sunday, September 22nd!

Want to catch up on our previous DCU Book Club (DCUBC) discussions? Type DCUBC in DCU’s search bar.

Questions, Comments, Concerns? Post them below!

MR. HUMPHRIES, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US!

[MattMcDonald]

So cool! Can’t wait!

[JLWWSM]

Hello DCU Fam!

Just in case you were wondering, we posted Week 53 a few days early to provide extra time to read the issues and post questions before Mr. Humphries arrives on Wednesday.

[JLWWSM]

Mr. Humphries,

Welcome to DCU Book Club and thank you for joining us.

Hammer Harleen! Lord Death Man! Petite Tina! Granny Goodness and her major crush This book is an absolute delight! It has so much to relate to: needing a vacation, her relationship with her mother, stress eating, being willing to take almost any job to provide for family and friends, Petite Tina coping with her feelings, and much more.

I could write a book about everything I loved in this book!

1. When and how did you decide you wanted to write for Harley Quinn?

2. What was unique about the process of writing for Harley compared to other characters you have written for?

3. Which scene in Apokolips was the most fun to write?

[harley.333]

1. As a writer on a comedic title, do you feel that you can “get away” with stories which don’t tidy up every little loose end? As opposed to a straight story where readers are like, “how did Batman know the villian was allergic to wasabi? That makes no sense! There’s no way he could have known that! I hate this comic! Arrrgh!”

2. Who’s the most interesting comic creator you’ve ever actually talked with? (I want “Tales from the Bullpen” to be a feature on DC Daily.)

[HubCityQuestion]

Hi Sam! Thank you for joining us here in the community!

I have an extremely nerdy question about canonicity. Since Amanda and Jimmy started this series in 2014, it’s been something of an anomaly in the DC Universe. Events of the series are rarely (if ever) referred to in other comics, and while Harley enjoys a life of freedom and misadventure in Coney Island, she’s also been in incarcerated in Belle Reve with the Suicide Squad for that entire time as well.

So, my question is this. Are the events of the Harley Quinn series actually happening in conjunction with the rest of the DC Universe? Are they set in their own sub-universe (like, say, the LEGO movies) where Harley may occasionally acknowledge events in other series, but not vice versa? Has this entire comic from start to finish been a string of Harley’s own fantasies as she whiles her time away in prison? Or if it IS set on “Prime Earth,” as it were, WHEN does it take place in conjunction with other titles?

I’ve gotten some evasive jokes in response to this question in the past, but really would appreciate a serious answer.

[HubCityQuestion]

(But if the only answer you can give me is “Lighten up, dude, it’s just a comic book,” I understand. That too is an answer.)

[msgtv]

Very cool of Mr. Humphries to come hang out here. Read HQ 52 and was going to start HQ Rebirth from the beginning, but gotta jump in on this.

[Batwing52]

Mr. Humphries —

How does your approach to writing Harley Quinn differ from that of your other work, such as Green Lanterns and Uncanny X-Force? How hard is humor to write in a comic? Easy? Difficult? Anyway, love your stuff, keep up the good work!

[msgtv]

Mr. Humphries. Fantastic work on Harley. This series relies on physical comedy, and Harley’s posture and facial expressions to carry its humor and emotions. How detailed are your scripts for this? When you see the artwork, does your dialogue change based on how the artists have depicted Harley’s actions and expressions?

[CassTheStreet]

Thanks for agreeing to answer our questions about this collection of comics! I have a few questions, so here goes:

How did you get your own personal break into comics?

If we wanted to read other works from you, what titles from any company you have worked for would you suggest?

For the Hammer Harleen arc, were you at all influenced by the previous hammer given to Harley in Countdown?

What made you interested in bringing the character of Tina in as a supporting character? What do you think she adds to the cast that wasn’t represented in the title previously?

Final question, Was all of the sisters of Tina a reference to RuPaul’s Drag Race?

and finally, I had the opportunity to read your title “Blackbird” for review awhile back and since I may never get the opportunity to tell you otherwise, it was a phenomenal book. It had such great world-building and the mythos being revealed were truly masterful. Also the main character had an extreme likability that I was surprised by at every turn. Thank you for writing such a great book that I added to my own personal collection to be able to read over and over again!

[Jay_Kay]

One thing I noticed (that hasn’t been mentioned already) that I found interesting was the lettering. Palmiotti/Conner played around with this a little bit with characters like Red Tool, but this seems to top it. Instead of just words sitting in bubbles it’s like some bits of dialogue burst through the bubble and become it, in different colors and such. What was the thought process with it, and what do you think it brings to the story and art of the book?

Also, Darkseid is…what?

[DanTheManOne1]

I enjoyed these issues. While technically not right after Conner and Palmiotti it was pretty close after their long run on Harley, and that is some big shoes to fill. But I think Humphreys has done a great job so far as these issues. (and likely after but haven’t read those yet). I am a bit sorry a lot of Harley’s rich supporting cast has not been featured since he took over, but I can imagine that is a lot of supporting characters, and sure it is better for all involved including the readers to not try to be bound by so many supporting characters he may not feel he could do justice, or simply have anything for. Got to give his own voice or what was the point right?

As for the Book club questions…

1. Is this your first time reading Harley Quinn (2016-)? Yes, I was never a huge fan of Harley Quinn during Batman TAS. I was older so don’t have the nostalgic connection to her that a lot of slightly younger fans have. But I gave this series, and the one before it a try when I joined DCU, largely because of the more limited options of what to read back in the early days, and became a fan of the character and the book through them. I now look forward to DCU dropping a new issue of the 2016 series which I get to read for the first time.

2. What moments made you laugh? A lot of them, these books were a blast. Loved Petite Tina in the garbage bin (dark but funny, what Harley does best), cracked up at the fight Between Harley and Lord Death Man, and loved the fake comic blurbs he snuck in in issue #48.

3. What was your favorite Granny Goodness or Petite Tina moment? My favorite Petite Tina moment was her going out to get food for Harley’s pets and interacting with the real world, both well done and humorous. Petite Tina is a great character, totally fits in with Harley’s crazy cast of misfits.

4. What was your reaction to the resolution of the “Lord Death Man” story at the end of issue #49? The final battle between Harley and Lord Death Man was hilarious, I laughed all the way through. Will be honest though, the resolution he was in love with Harley seems to be a re-hash of Harley and Red Tool, although him being an actual enemy should bring a new perspective onto it. The character is definitely funny.

5. What was the wildest or most surprising Harley moment to you? May not be a Harley moment, but the biggest surprisng moment of these issues was the appearance of Jonni DC in both issue 48 and the end of issue 49. I never thought I would see that character again, and definitely not in a book without the words Ambush Bug on the cover.

As for questions for Sam Humphries…

1,) You came onto Harley Quinn as an existing title following the runs of both Conner and Palmiotti and Tieri’s run on the title. While that used to be a common practice it is not as common these days for a writer to come onto an existing title multiple writing teams have already had a run on before you. What kind of challenges does it include to jump onto an existing title like that vs starting at the beginning of a title like you did with Dial H For Hero.

2.) Jonni DC has got to be one of the strangest and more obscure characters to be brought back in recent years. What made you decide to bring her back?

[msgtv]

Why is the combo of Harley and Enya so darn funny?

[Lecouch84]

First of all thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some of our questions Sam Humphries. I really took pleasure in reading these comics. I have only three questions for you. My first question to you is what is the hardest and easiest part about writing for Harley Quinn? How do you come up with some of the more comical moments? If you could put Harley with any character in the DCU that you haven’t written for yet who would it be?

[michaellamm666]

Loved the these two issue stories. I thoroughly enjoyed Hammer Harleen. How did your creative team come up with the hammer and armor designs? How do you decide how much fourth wall breaking to do? I really enjoyed the interaction between Petite Tina and Harley. Any plans to have Harley battle Darkseid in the future? That would be a fun series. Harley vs Darkseid: The Battle for the Fate of the Multiverse!

[Jay_Kay]

With Harley involved, I can’t help but picture a battle between her and Darkseid being a fashion show about who can rock the skirt/hoodie combo the best.

[Nathan.Payson]

Sam! I would ask you SO many questions about Green Lanterns, but since this is Harley Quinn, Why start your run with Apolkolips? What pressure is there with the initial arc? Also, where do you get you goofy sense of humor?

[JLWWSM]

Today’s the day!!!

I’m so excited

[Applejack]

Starting up in 5 minutes, friends! Thanks so much for all your questions Sam Humphries is joining us from the stages of DC Daily themselves!

Just as a heads up, we don’t have a WHOLE lot of time, so we may skip some questions if there are a lot to go through from a single person or the question is a bit too broad. But we’re hoping to get to everyone