Reading: HARLEY QUINN: BREAKING GLASS - Mariko Tamaki (writer), Steve Pugh (illustrator)

While not exactly the characters or background stories I am accustomed to with three such iconic characters from the DC canon, if taken on its own merits that is a LOT to love about Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, which opens when a 15-year-old Harleen Quinn is sent to Gotham City by her mother to live. In the big bad city Harleen is befriended by the unlikely Mama, a chubby drag queen who ultimately takes the girl under her wing, Harleen adoring her as a surrogate mom as she also bonds with the other drag queens at Mama's club. It's through these new friends, as well as the meeting of a girl named Ivy at school, that Harley comes to learn about the serious divisions between the rich and the poor in Gotham - the rich fully embodied by the evil, selfish, hideously-rich Kane family (the heir of which, teenager John Kane, also taking great pains to taunt Ivy and Harleen in school), who seem determined to own the city, and to and including their efforts at gentrification that could destroy both Ivy's family and Mama's livelihood in almost a single blow ... until Harleen meets yet another new Gothamite friend in the form of a young man wearing a mask he refuses to take off, who appears to want to topple Gotham's elite even at the fire and brimstone-like destruction of the city itself. A man who just calls himself "Joker". While as far as I can tell these are all basically different takes on each character (Ivy a hardcore activist and champion of human rights, Harleen still "out there" but very toned-down/coming across more like a vigilante hero here than an arch-criminal, and - well, let's not get into The Joker), what makes this graphic novel such an engrossing read is how writer Mariko Tamaki has caught the basic personalities of each character so perfectly, each so readily recognizable that you have no problem following any of them onto these strange, altered paths. All of this is only enhanced by Steve Pugh's art, often so reflective of Harleen's childlike mentality or Joker's frenetic insanity or Ivy as the eye of the storm she creates herself, as the situation warrants (even his use of color is a spot-on at creating mood).  I don't know if I can handle a Harley Quinn who almost seems like "the goody guy" in the story, but reading this knowing what and who her character becomes later on poses some fascinating questions about how in the world she gets there.  4.5/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.