It’s hard to categorize Harleen #3. Is it a tragedy? Is it a love story? Is it a cautionary tale? Harleen herself might say it’s a comedy. Regardless, it’s a solid piece of comics writing, and an excellent addition to the Batman canon.

Much of the issue focuses on Harleen Quinzel’s struggle with her deepening romantic feelings for the Joker. On the one hand, she wants desperately to protect him--from Batman, from Arkham Asylum--and even to cure him so that he can rejoin society one day. On the other, she’s fighting with the destructive impulses that the Joker awakens in her. When the newly-mad Two-Face stages an assault on Arkham Asylum, everything comes to a head, and Harleen truly becomes Harley Quinn.

Stjepan Šejić, who both writes and digitally paints the series, has excellent insight into Harleen’s state of mind. It’s to Šejić’s credit that Harleen’s descent into--well, not quite madness, but a sort of mania--is not only believable but even sympathetic, even as she commits her first murder, killing one of the only truly sympathetic characters in the miniseries. Šejić even asks the question of whether or not the Joker’s affections for Harley are real, but he smartly avoids providing an answer either way.

In order to sell Harley’s deepening love for Mr. Jay, Šejić plays to his own strengths as an artist and makes this one sexy comic. This is published through DC’s Black Label, but (profanity aside) Šejić keeps the art PG-13, and it’s a wise choice--it’s somehow sexier than full nudity would have been. It’s a hell of a trick to make the Joker hot, but Šejić pulls it off here. He also finds ways to literalize Harleen’s struggles through her dreams and visions, using his unique digital painting style to significant effect.

Harleen #3 is a fascinating finale to an excellent character study. If there’s one complaint about this book, it’s that we get precious few moments exploring Harley’s relationship with Poison Ivy. Hopefully, Šejić is interested in a sequel...

Grade: A