Looney psychiatrist (is there another kind?) and the Jokerâs 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 hereâŠ
Harleyâs 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 doesnât hurt that she is also both a ditz and a brain â not many characters like that around. Much as I love Harley, she seems quite a difficult cosplay subject, probably because itâs 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 itâs thanks to great bodies, sometimes itâs due to the photographerâs judicious choice of angle, sometimes itâs just due to good luckâŠ
Nota Bene
For picture credits, just pause your cursor over the picture.
PS
I donât know what Nota Bene means either, but it sure sounds good, doesnât it?
First one works mostly because the girlâs 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 â 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 donât work with this character â the colors pretty much demand a sheen. Matte may be fine for the comics and the animated series but in real life, if Harl doesnât look like sheâs been swimming in oil, you are really up against it.
In most of the following pictures Harley is just standing there, like sheâs trying to get her hands on Mr. Jâs gander by looking as cute and winsome as possible. First oneâs different, though, she looks like sheâs practicing for Halloween by doing her best impression of a mummy. Someone should probably tell her that Halloween has come and gone, but it wonât be meâŠ
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, doesnât she? No wonder â 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 doesnât enjoy beating the crap out of a banker, anyway?
Itâs a topsy turvy worldâŠthough Harley being Harley she probably has no idea she is upside down. More likely, sheâs wondering why everyone looks so weird today!
Harleyâs 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 sheâs bored and thereâs no Mr. J doll for her to play with â 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 â apparently Harl isnât the only shrink in Arkham who has a few goldfish missing from her fish tankâŠ
A mere five minutes later, and our girl has broken into a local museum where she is trying to steal a, er, statueâŠ
Oh dear, looks like weâre heading right back to Arkham again, doesnât it?
And this is the Xmas costume Harley wore in the classic story âOy to the world!â in which she and Bratgirl team up to rescue Poison Ivy from a gang of villainous femmes threatening her with weed killerâŠ
For those wondering what my favorite clown girl looks like when she isnât being a criminal, here she is sporting her classic casual look from the Batman : The Animated Series episode Harleyâs HolidayâŠ
Pictured here is Harley in her work clothes from her days as one of Arkham Asylumâs top loony inspectors.
Donât let that look fool you, sheâs nowhere near that dumb. Not all of the time anywayâŠ
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 donât know what she sees in that guy. Maybe the resemblance to a college boyfriend explains it. Or maybe sheâs just crazy about the boyâŠ
I like to call this one Fifty Shades of American GothicâŠ
This one is one of the cutest cosplay Harleyâs Iâve seen. Unfortunately I have no idea who this girl is and could find no other photos of her â Tineye was not helpful. Maybe the real Harl was envious and had her whackedâŠ
Now we come to a set which, by a veeeery wide margin, wins the prize for looking the most like the Animated Series Harley. Itâs mostly the face that does it, though her proportions are also very closeâŠ
And this one gets the prize for the most psycho look. Also, biggest gunâŠ
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 âŠ
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…
Hereâs Harley hanging out with the other Gotham City Sirens, quite literally falling all over themselves to get in front of the cameraâŠ
Now just Harley and her favorite gal-pal and the woman responsible for her super-powers, psycho plant-person Poison IvyâŠ
AmeComi Harley meets Steampunk Poison Ivy, and to everyoneâs disappointment chaos does not ensueâŠ
And hereâs Harley playing with, er, a candy cane. Iâll get back to you when I can come up with a suitably dirty double entendre for this oneâŠ
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