DC Announces Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity

The Joker and Harley Quinn's twisted relationship will be the subject of DC Comics' next Black Label miniseries. Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity comes from writer Kami Garcia and artist Mike Mathew and Mico Suayan.

"There is no character more terrifying than the Joker. He is one of the most complex psychopathic killers ever created," writer Kami Garcia said in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter). "I wanted to approach the project as if the Joker was a real person — an intelligent and sane psychopath, who kills because he wants to, not because he suffers from delusions. To me, a version of the Joker, who is sane like John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy, is more frightening. In the series, Harley is the only character with the skill set and intelligence to hunt the Joker, but the investigation will force her to confront her own inner demons."

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity reframes Harley as a forensic psychiatrist and profilers working the Joker's case as a consultant for the Gotham City Police Department. Her work helps bring the authorities closer and closer to catching up with Joker.

Garcia is a New York Times-bestselling author thanks to her YA series Beautiful Creatures. As announced with a trailer yesterday, Garcia is also working with DC on a series of YA graphic novels under the DC Ink banner, many based on the Teen Titans family of characters. The first is Teen Titans: Raven, releasing next month.

"When Kami came to us with the idea of profiling one of the most mysterious and dangerous characters in the DC Universe, it felt so new and original," DC publisher Dan DiDio said. "Kami, Mico and Mike are taking great care to ensure that the mystery surrounding the Joker and Harley Quinn remains intact, while delivering a story that's both compelling and haunting. This series is exactly the kind of unique, standalone story that's perfect for DC Black Label, one we hope will engage both casual and new fans of these characters."

Created last year, DC Black Label is an imprint intended to allow creators to take fan-favorite characters in new directions without having to worry about conforming to mainstream DC Comics continuity. Other titles in the line in Batman: Damned, Batman: Last Knight on Earth and the upcoming Superman: Year One. Batman: White Knight was retroactively added ot the DC Black Label banner and the sequel Batman: Curse of the White Knight will follow.

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