Harley Quinn has become one of the most popular characters in the DC Universe, rivaling the likes of fellow 90’s creation Deadpool in terms of rapid rise in profile.
Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn, is one of the most fascinating Batman Universe characters, the rare Batman villain that actually originated from outside of comic books (on the excellent Batman: The Animated Series).
Her creators, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, brought her from TV to the DC Comics Universe, and Harley has been a mainstay ever since. From her tumultuous, troubling relationship with the Joker through her more recent ties to Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn is a top tier DC villain / antihero through and through.
Below you’ll find a complete chronology and timeline to Harley Quinn’s comic book appearances and trade collections.
Related Reading Orders:
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Harley Quinn Comics Reading Order
Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories
Collects: Batman Adventures Annual #1-2, Batman Adventures Holiday Special, Adventures In The Dc Universe #3 And Batman Black And White #1
The comic book adaptation of Harley Quinn’s most famous Batman: The Animated Series story, detailing the origins of Harleen Quinzel and the Joker. Paul Dini and Bruce Timm detail how someone like Dr. Quinzel could fall for a man like the Joker, and what that means for the future of Harley Quinn. Includes prominent cameos from Poison Ivy as well.
Harley and Ivy: The Deluxe Edition
Collects: Batman: Harley And Ivy #1-3, Batman Adventures Annual #1, Batman Adventures Holiday Annual #1, Batman And Robin Adventures #8, Batgirl Adventures #1, Batman: Gotham Knights #14 And Batman: Black And White #3
All of the team-ups between Harley and Ivy by Batman: The Animated Series creative geniuses Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. Only features a very minor amount of overlap with the next collection on the list, with Gotham Knights #14 and Batman: Black and White #3 showing up in both collections.
Collects: (Late 90’s To Early 2000’s) Batman: Harley Quinn #1, Batman: Gotham Knights #14, #30, (2007, From The Paul Dini Run On Detective) Detective Comics #831, #837, (2010 One-Shot As Part Of Joker’s Asylum Miniseries) Joker’S Asylum Ii: Harley Quinn #1, (After New 52) Batman: Black And White #1, #3, Legends Of The Dark Knight 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 And Detective Comics #23.2
This Harley Quinn is a bit of a mash-up of some of Harley’s greatest hits (not to be confused with the trade paperback, Harley’s Greatest Hits
). The reading order can vary a bit here, from as early as Harley in the 90’s all the way through her appearances in the New 52. For the placement in the list of Harley comics here, I’d note that the Batman: Harley Quinn one-shot occurs in the wake of Batman: No Man’s Land
, and precedes Harley’s early 2000’s solo series. The early 2000’s Batman: Gotham Knights issues include back-up black-and-white Harley stories from creator Paul Dini, and can be read prior to her ongoing solo series.
Harley Quinn’s First, Early 2000’s Solo Ongoing & Sirens
Harley Quinn: Preludes and Knock Knock Jokes SC
Collects: Harley Quinn #1-7
Harley Quinn’s first solo ongoing series, written by Karl Kesel and drawn and inked by Terry and Rachel Dodson. Harley’s first ongoing ran from 2000 to 2004.
Collects: Harley Quinn #8-13 And Harley Quinn: Our Worlds At War #1
Quite unexpectedly crosses over with the DC Universe linewide event, Our Worlds at War. You really don’t need to read the entire event to enjoy the Harley crossover, and in fact, if you’re willing to roll with “Harley deals with Aliens,” you’re probably in the best shape possible to read.
Harley Quinn: Welcome to Metropolis
Collects: Harley Quinn #14-25
Harley Quinn: Vengeance Unlimited
Collects: Harley Quinn #26-38
Collects: Gotham City Sirens #1-13
Paul Dini and Guillem March’s brilliant team-up book starring Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy.
Collects: Gotham City Sirens #14 To #26
Harley Quinn with Suicide Squad in the New 52
If you want to see how Harley and Suicide Squad fit in with the DC Universe as a whole, you can check out Comic Book Herald’s complete DC New 52 reading order.
Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Kicked in the Teeth
Collects: Suicide Squad #1 To #6
Harley’s New 52 reincarnation features her as lead in DC’s Suicide Squad.
Suicide Squad Vol. 2: Basilisk Rising
Collects: Suicide Squad #7 To #13
Suicide Squad Vol. 3: Death is for Suckers
Collects: Suicide Squad #14 To #19
Issues #14 and #15 are included as “Death of the Family
” tie-ins, part of the Batman by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo run in the New 52.
Suicide Squad Vol. 4: Discipline and Punish
Collects: Suicide Squad #20 To #23, Deadshot #1, Harley Quinn #1
Suicide Squad Vol. 5: Walled In
Collects: Suicide Squad #24 To #30
Note that all issues of “Walled In” include the Forever Evil
DC event banner on the cover. Note that they are also written by Matt Kindt, the brain behind my 6th favorite comic of all time, Mind MGMT. All of this collection can be read after Forever Evil #2, with the exception of Suicide Squad #30, which falls after Forever Evil #7.
Harley Quinn Vol. 1: Hot in the City
Collects: Harley Quinn #0 To #8
Harley’s first New 52 solo ongoing begins from Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti.
New Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Pure Insanity
Collects: New Suicide Squad #1 To #8
Harley Quinn Vol. 2: Power Outage
Collects: Harley Quinn #9 To #13
Collects: Harley Quinn And Power Girl #1-6
Even for someone as obsessed with reading orders and chronology, I rarely get this specific, but the Harley Quinn and Power Girl miniseries is kind enough to tell us that it takes place in between the gutters of panels 3 and 4 of page 20 of Harley Quinn #12.
Harley Quinn Vol. 3: Kiss Kiss Bang Stab
Collects: Harley Quinn #14 To #16, Annual #1, Holiday Special #1, Valentine’S Day Special #1
Collects: New Suicide Squad #9 To #12
New Suicide Squad Vol. 3: Freedom
Collects: New Suicide Squad #13-16 And Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot And Katana
Harley Quinn Vol. 4: A Call to Arms
Collects: Harley Quinn #17-21 And Harley Quinn Road Trip Special #1
Harley’s Little Black Book (2015)
Collects: Harley’S Little Black Book #1 To #5
Convergence: Harley Quinn (2015)
Collects: Convergence: Harley Quinn #1 To #2
DC’s 2015 Convergence event makes it easy to read individual tie-in series without reading the core event, but if you want the full event context, there’s Comic Book Herald’s complete Convergence reading order.
Harley Quinn’s Gang of Harleys
Collects: Harley Quinn And Her Gang Of Harleys #1 To #6
Harley Quinn Vol. 5: The Joker’s Last Laugh
Collects: Harley Quinn #22-25, Harley Quinn: Be Careful What You Wish For
New Suicide Squad Vol. 4: Kill Anything
Collects: Suicide Squad #17-22
Harley Quinn Vol. 6: Black, White and Red All Over
Collects: Harley Quinn #26-30
Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death
Collects: Poison Ivy: Cycle Of Life And Death #1-6
Harley Quinn cameos throughout.
Harley Quinn Comics in DC Rebirth
Suicide Squad Vol. 1: The Black Vault
Collects: Suicide Squad #1 To #4, Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1
Harley Quinn Vol. 1: Die Laughing
Collects: Harley Quinn: Rebirth #1, Harley Quinn #1 To #6
Justice League vs. Suicide Squad
Collects: Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad #1-6, Suicide Squad #8-10, Justice League #12-13
For a full reading order for the first DC Rebirth crossover event, check out Comic Book Herald’s Justice League vs. Suicide Squad reading order.
Harley Quinn Vol. 2: Joker Loves Harley
Collects: Harley Quinn #7-12
DC Comics: Bombshells Vol. 1: Enlisted
Collects: Dc Comics: Bombshells #1-6
Bombshells is an excellent, out of continuity series set during the World War II era, starring all of DC’s female heroes and characters in new and exciting roles.
DC Comics: Bombshells Vol. 2: Allies
Collects: Dc Comics: Bombshells #7-12
Collects: Dc Comics: Bombshells #13-18
Collects: Dc Comics Bombshells #14-19
I love you for doing this! Thank you ♥
Will there be an update made for rebirth reading order? or would it be safe to just alternate between SS and HQ?