Stjepan Sejic Takes on Harley Quinn's Origin in DC Black Label Series This Fall
06/14/2019 12:32 pm EDT
Stjepan Šejić will be giving Harley Quinn's origin the mature readers treatment this fall with Harleen, a new project from DC's Black Label imprint. Like Batman: Damned, the series will be released in a trilogy of oversized single issues before being collected into a trade paperback. The series will launch in September. Šejić, who has experience with female protagonists in titles like Sunstone and Witchblade. He is best known to DC fans for his work on Aquaman recently. Per DC's official description, "this twisted love story follows the young Dr. Harleen Quinzel on a quest to save all of Gotham from the madness that lurks within the city—and the twisted path that will lead her into the arms of the Joker, transforming her into the notorious super-villain Harley Quinn."
"HARLEEN is a story of a flawed person who meant well, a doctor who fell in love with her patient," says Šejić. "It is a story of her road to hell—paved with good intentions—and a smile that cost her her soul. More than anything it is a tale about good people falling. Falling in love, falling from grace, and falling apart."
In the series, Dr. Harleen Quinzel has discovered a revolutionary cure for the madness of Gotham City—she just needs to prove it actually works. Through her studies of the criminals and sociopaths that pass through the halls of Arkham Asylum and the GCPD, Harleen is seeking to end the growing apathy among the citizens of Gotham. But with the criminal justice and mental health establishments united against her, the brilliant young psychologist must take drastic measures to save Gotham from itself.
Following an attack on the city by the villainous Joker, Harleen will come face-to-face with one of the many criminals she hopes to heal—but she will soon find herself drawn into the madness and insanity that plagues him. Witness Harleen's first steps on a doomed quest that will launch the legendary super-villain Harley Quinn in this stunning reimagining of Harley and the Joker's twisted and tragic love affair.
Harleen will be released in the same large print format that Black Label has used for Batman: Damned and Superman: Year One, which is out next week from Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr. You can check out the cover above and a few preview pages from the first issue in the attached image gallery.
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