Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn and Generation Joker: The Deluxe Edition

Thirty years of Harley Quinn in one volume, from her first appearance as the Joker's henchwoman in the animated series to the solo antihero who now outsells most of the Bat family. The anniversary collection picks the turning points rather than the best sellers, which makes it the clearest map of how the character changed.

Mad Love is the story that turned Harley Quinn from a single episode henchwoman into a permanent fixture of the DC universe. Paul Dini and Bruce Timm tell how Doctor Harleen Quinzel met the Joker inside Arkham Asylum and never left, drawn in the clean animated style that defined a whole generation of Batman comics.

Harleen collects Stjepan Sejic's painted retelling of how Dr. Harleen Quinzel became Harley Quinn, told entirely from her point of view. She is a serious clinician with a grant, a thesis about empathy and a growing suspicion that Gotham's justice system creates the monsters it punishes. The Joker does not seduce her so much as agree with her, and that is what makes the book frightening.

Harley Quinn by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti, collected complete as a pack of 3 oversized omnibus volumes and cheaper than buying them one by one. Harley Quinn by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti Omnibus Vol. 1 is the run that gives Harley a loud, messy and independent solo rhythm outside the Joker's shadow. Coney Island, supporting oddballs, slapstick violence and sudden sincerity turn the book into a character engine rather than a villain spin-off. Its appeal is tonal identity: this is Harley as chaotic lead, community magnet and comic disaster with enough heart to keep the anarchy readable. Harley Quinn's adventures in Coney Island continue in the second volume of the Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti run. Harley has established herself as Coney Island's unofficial protector, builds her own gang, and takes on threats ranging from local crime to cosmic weirdness. The series maintains the anarchic energy of the first volume while deepening the supporting cast and Harley's relationships. One of DC's most purely entertaining series of the 2010s, continuing the run that made Harley Quinn a star. Harley Quinn by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti Omnibus Vol. 3 keeps the run’s manic rhythm while pushing Harley through friendship, violence, jokes and sudden sincerity.

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti wrote Harley Quinn for six years and turned her from a Batman villain into a lead who carries her own neighbourhood. Conner and Palmiotti write Harley as fundamentally decent and completely unhinged, and the Coney Island supporting cast — her tenants, her roller derby team, her rescued animals — is the reason the run works. Conner's art is among the most expressive in mainstream comics and the book is genuinely funny rather than edgy.

Harley Quinn's adventures in Coney Island continue in the second volume of the Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti run. Harley has established herself as Coney Island's unofficial protector, builds her own gang, and takes on threats ranging from local crime to cosmic weirdness. The series maintains the anarchic energy of the first volume while deepening the supporting cast and Harley's relationships. One of DC's most purely entertaining series of the 2010s, continuing the run that made Harley Quinn a star.

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti moved Harley Quinn to Coney Island and gave her a building, a gang of misfits and a life entirely separate from Batman. Separating Harley from the Joker is what made the character work as a lead, and this run is where DC committed to it. Conner's art carries the comedy, and the supporting cast of tenants and sideshow performers gives her something to protect that is entirely her own.

Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens Omnibus collects the complete Gotham City Sirens run, putting Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy at the centre of their own Gotham team book. Across Gotham City Sirens #1-26 and Catwoman #83, the volume follows a trio built on friendship, secrets and bad decisions rather than another Batman-led storyline.