Sam Humphries on Taking 'Harley Quinn' to Jack Kirby's Fourth World

Sam Humphries just left the Green Lantern Corps and headed for another part of deep DC Universe space: the Fourth World. His passenger? Harley Quinn. Which, of course, is where things get a little crazy.

A three-issue arc featuring Harley's run-ins with the New Gods will kick off Humphries' arc, leading into a few stories that sound pretty crazy...and one that he promises will utterly blow up DC continuity (in a fun way!).

Humphries joined ComicBook.com for a quick Q&A about his initial few months on Harley Quinn, including her trip to Apokolips, a new supporting character joining the cast, and some Harley Quinn comics that threaten to destroy all of space-time.

As the story starts, Harley is on vacation. I guess the question is: what kind of lunatic chooses Apokolips for a vacation spot?

SH: She's not on vacation on Apokolips! She's on Badhnisia Island. Recently in the spotlight because of Justice League vs. Suicide Squad. It's a big deal down there. They have it on a giant WELOME sign at the airport.

Harley Quinn (2016) #45 Gallery

Oh god John Timms is just a monster. He can do the crazy, he can do the emotional, and he can do the big, bombastic Jack Kirby superhero stuff. It's a small moment, but I loved his version of Deep Six.

Are we going to see more of the "Our Little Harley" (a strip within the comic that chronicles Harley's early life) in your run?

We are going to see more of Our Little Harley, and more comics by the same mysterious creator, M. Clatterbuck. The Harley comics by Clatterbuck are about to cause some SERIOUS damage to the DC Universe...

Was it an intentional storytelling choice that in your first issue, each of the first four pages got earlier and earlier? We go from NOW to 24 hours ago to 48 hours ago to childhood!

Hmm, OF COURSE that is EXACTLY what I planned ALL ALONG I am a GENIUS a TRUE MAESTRO at the TOP OF MY GAME...sit back and watch me MAKE MAGIC!!!! (Whoa, that's weird.)

How long will it be before we get a clue as to what Granny is up to?

Transforming Harley into Hammer Harleen is just one part of Granny's plan -- it centers on a weapon called THE SUBJUKATOR - and a powerful DC Universe artifact - all to be revealed in issue 46!

Also: Didn't Tom King just kill her like 3 months ago?!

Mister Miracle takes place within a story inside a pocket dimension wrapped in a dream of Nunchucks, Mitch Gerad's cat, surrounded by fanfic. Or is that my book? I always forget. Someone call Bob Harras!

Harley, on that note, starts the issue with a bit of malaise. Will that tie into Heroes in Crisis down the line?

We just had a fantastic DC summit a couple weeks ago. It was like a three-day round of poker, where everyone has to show their cards. We all had to cough up our secrets for the next year and beyond. Trust me when I say this is one of the most exciting times in DC's history. And we all got to talk together - talk about how our characters and stories are coming together in wild and unexpected ways. And that's all I'm allowed to say.

Harley is such a wild and versatile character that bringing her to Apokolips eventually kind of stands to reason. But doing it out of the gate? Is this a concept you have had in your head for a while or is that just how your mind works?

We're bringing the Harley book closer to the core of the DC Universe. And what is more core to the DCU than the Fourth World? It seemed unlikely, terrible, and hilarious all at once – and a good way to make a big statement right off the bat.

Going forward post-Apokolips, it sounds like you're going to add some characters and concepts from this arc to the book at least semi-regularly. What might that look like?

Issues 48 and 49, we're putting Harley up against one of my favorite Bat Villains of all time. Issue 50 is a nearly double sized art jam anniversary spectacular, and unlike ANY comic you've ever seen before. HARLEY DESTROYS DC UNIVERSE CONTINUITY. Pow. Goodbye! And we've got a lot of big, bombastic plans coming up – we're planning for issue 75 and beyond. Including one of the biggest Harley Quinn epics of all time!

Has Harley thought about calling up Animal Man (or at least Grant Morrison) for some advice on how to handle weirdly meta comic books?

She keeps getting sent to voicemail. Weird.