So, Alyssa Wong and Tini Howard are both working respectively on the current Deadpool and Harley Quinn runs and both of them are amazing, queer AF, and hilarious.
Here’s the question: Why do they both work so well?
Here’s what I think, and feel free to agree, disagree, or call me a dumbass who doesn’t read enough comics:
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Both are queer as all hell and they’re not afraid of it.
Think of a queer person saying, “All queer people go to Hell? Then it must be a party!” and then you got the level of LGBTQ Holiness in both of these comics.
(Side-note: I’m bisexual and I can confirm that I’ve said that before.) -
Both don’t shy away from real issues.
Doing that is why, for example, some of the X-Men comic runs don’t work since if you don’t focus on real-world issues as well, readers can’t get sucked into the world you’ve created as easily. -
You just can’t help but love the protagonists…
And that’s thanks to the writers. You can tell that they understand the characters very well and not only want to be faithful, but they also want to expand on the characters. They both know what makes Deadpool and Harley tick, with a good example for Alyssa is issue #8 of Deadpool, where they have Deadpool trapped in a lie that involves his best friends and daughter which even ends in Deadpool having to kill the fake version of his daughter without knowing what may happen, and a good example for Tini being Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn #1, where she has Harley stuck in her nightmares, but she isn’t scared by them since Tini KNOWS that Harley has been through too much for that to work and instead, Tini ends it with a great joke of Harley’s greatest fear is being in the Justice League… despite the fact that she became a member during Dark Crisis. -
They take time to just have fun with the characters.
Deadpool and Harley are fun characters that ARE able to have dark, dramatic moments. Sometimes however, you just need to have your characters do stupid ■■■■, like Deadpool going on a date while his symbiote dog and Lady Deathstrike take down the assassins on Wade and Valentine’s tail. Meanwhile, a lot of the current Harley run is fun stupid ■■■■, which is a nice breath of air following the Harley Who Laughs storyline. -
Both Alyssa Wong and Tini Howard aren’t afraid to push the limits you normally find.
Like I said above, Alyssa and Tini know these characters well, and therefore they aren’t afraid to take a giant mallet and 50 pounds of C-4 to the limits of Marvel and DC. They go beyond what you’d expect and it works amazingly. Also, if you want to go there, I can say the same about G. Willow Wilson and the current Poison Ivy run.
Now, what do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree?
(Side note: it’s unrelated, but I was watching The Batman [2021] again and I realized that the design for Batman’s grappling hook gun was stolen from the 2019 Carmen Sandiego reboot. The More You Know!)