Looney psychiatrist (is there another kind?) and the Joker’s on-again off-again paramour, Harley Quinn is probably my favorite comic or cartoon character, ever. The classic Harley, of course, none of this slutty, kid-killing New 52 rubbish around here…
Harley’s unique combination of cuteness, humor and psychopathic violence makes her one of the most interesting, charming, and fascinating of villains in any medium. And it doesn’t hurt that she is also both a ditz and a brain – not many characters like that around. Much as I love Harley, she seems quite a difficult cosplay subject, probably because it’s hard for a girl to look pretty when her face is covered in flour. The gals featured in this piece, however, manage to pull it off. Sometimes it’s thanks to great bodies, sometimes it’s due to the photographer’s judicious choice of angle, sometimes it’s just due to good luck…
Nota Bene
For picture credits, just pause your cursor over the picture.
PS
I don’t know what Nota Bene means either, but it sure sounds good, doesn’t it?
First one works mostly because the girl’s face has such a great shape and her eyes contrast nicely with the white of her face. Nice touch with the little downward spikes on the mask, too. Not sure why she seems to have black feathers on her chest, though – she looks like a raven has crash landed on her bosom!
This bunch works primarily because the people responsible have been wise enough to make the costume out of some plastic-like material ( most likely plastic ) so it has a very pleasing shine to it as well as some interesting wrinkles. Most Harley cosplayers make the mistake of using cloth costumes, but that just don’t work with this character – the colors pretty much demand a sheen. Matte may be fine for the comics and the animated series but in real life, if Harl doesn’t look like she’s been swimming in oil, you are really up against it.
In most of the following pictures Harley is just standing there, like she’s trying to get her hands on Mr. J’s gander by looking as cute and winsome as possible. First one’s different, though, she looks like she’s practicing for Halloween by doing her best impression of a mummy. Someone should probably tell her that Halloween has come and gone, but it won’t be me…
This one is based on an Adam Hughes design used for one of the statues DC did a few years ago. Ironically, it looks more like the design than the statue did! She sure looks happy, doesn’t she? No wonder – if the blood on the mallet is anything to go by she has just convinced her local banker to give her a very large, interest free personal loan! And who doesn’t enjoy beating the crap out of a banker, anyway?
It’s a topsy turvy world…though Harley being Harley she probably has no idea she is upside down. More likely, she’s wondering why everyone looks so weird today!
Harley’s friends will tell you that one of her many fine qualities is that she is a good listener. Here she is listening to a wall.
And this is what Harley does when she’s bored and there’s no Mr. J doll for her to play with – she sits there making goofy faces! And then she wonders why she has so much trouble getting certified out of Arkham.
To further prove the point, this is Harley during her last psychiatric review.
And here she is with a triumphant smirk on her face after finally being allowed out – apparently Harl isn’t the only shrink in Arkham who has a few goldfish missing from her fish tank…
A mere five minutes later, and our girl has broken into a local museum where she is trying to steal a, er, statue…
Oh dear, looks like we’re heading right back to Arkham again, doesn’t it?
And this is the Xmas costume Harley wore in the classic story “Oy to the world!” in which she and Bratgirl team up to rescue Poison Ivy from a gang of villainous femmes threatening her with weed killer…
For those wondering what my favorite clown girl looks like when she isn’t being a criminal, here she is sporting her classic casual look from the Batman : The Animated Series episode Harley’s Holiday…
Pictured here is Harley in her work clothes from her days as one of Arkham Asylum’s top loony inspectors.
Don’t let that look fool you, she’s nowhere near that dumb. Not all of the time anyway…
And since I keep going on about Arkham, I guess I have to include the obligatory shot of Harley with The Jack of All Evils, though I don’t know what she sees in that guy. Maybe the resemblance to a college boyfriend explains it. Or maybe she’s just crazy about the boy…
I like to call this one Fifty Shades of American Gothic…
This one is one of the cutest cosplay Harley’s I’ve seen. Unfortunately I have no idea who this girl is and could find no other photos of her – Tineye was not helpful. Maybe the real Harl was envious and had her whacked…
Now we come to a set which, by a veeeery wide margin, wins the prize for looking the most like the Animated Series Harley. It’s mostly the face that does it, though her proportions are also very close…
And this one gets the prize for the most psycho look. Also, biggest gun…
Snapped at a convention, this pic depicts a steampunk Harley Quinn and Catwoman hanging out with what I can only assume is a gigantic leprechaun …
This one works for two reasons. The first is the cute face, the second is — you guessed it — the shiny costume. I like the mallet too…
Here’s Harley hanging out with the other Gotham City Sirens, quite literally falling all over themselves to get in front of the camera…
Now just Harley and her favorite gal-pal and the woman responsible for her super-powers, psycho plant-person Poison Ivy…
AmeComi Harley meets Steampunk Poison Ivy, and to everyone’s disappointment chaos does not ensue…
And here’s Harley playing with, er, a candy cane. I’ll get back to you when I can come up with a suitably dirty double entendre for this one…
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