While she might have been created to play second fiddle to the Joker, the best Harley Quinn comics take her beyond that and create a unique mythos just for her. The Harley Quinn of 2025 is a far cry from the love-sick sidekick that first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series. She’s gone from a one-note villainess to an antihero and one of DC’s most popular characters.
Best Harley Quinn comics as of 2025
Most DC characters got their start in the comics, but not Harley Quinn. She first appeared in 1992 in episode 22 of Batman: The Animated Series, “Joker’s Favor.” She was initially intended to be a one-off foil for the Joker, but both the producers of the show and the fans loved her enough to ensure she became a permanent fixture. Two years later, she got her own one-shot comic book, The Batman Adventures: Mad Love, which introduced her origin as a former psychologist named Harleen Quinzel who fell for the Joker as an intern at Arkham Asylum. From there, she went on to play a larger role in the DC universe over the years.
The comics below contain some of Harley Quinn’s best adventures and are an excellent jumping-off point to explore more of her history.
Harleen
Image Credit: DC
One of the best Harley Quinn reads out there, Harleen gives us a fresh and compelling retelling of her origin story. From Stjepan Šejić comes a graphic novel that’s bursting with both phenomenal storytelling and stunning artwork. Often, you’ll get a story that leans heavier on writing or visuals — but in this case, both are creatively top-tier.
Published in 2019, the three-issue series begins with the beautiful and brilliant Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist studying the decay of empathy in criminals. Her research leads her to Arkham Asylum, where she hopes to rehabilitate some of Gotham’s most dangerous minds. But soon, she begins having vivid nightmares about a patient known as the Joker. But soon the line between terror and titillation, between repulsion and attraction, starts to fade. Fascination grows, fantasies deepen, and before long, Dr. Harleen’s carefully constructed identity begins to unravel. And at the center of it all is a man who seems to understand her.
We know, it sounds like a romance series. And in some ways, it is. This one reads like a smutty romance novel (DC sensors are still on, don’t worry), entirely off the tracks, and it’s a freaking blast.
Gotham City Sirens
Image Credit: DC
Written by Paul Dini with artwork by Guillem March, Gotham City Sirens brings together three of Gotham’s most iconic villains — Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and, of course, the ever-chaotic Harley Quinn. Does it necessarily make sense that these three would team up? Probably not, though we know there is evidence of Harley and Ivy’s camaraderie. Still, I’m not convinced there’s enough room in the group for all that ego in the long term. But with a concept this fun, we’re not complaining. We’ll play ball.
The 26-issue series kicks off after the events of Batman: Hush and Heart of Hush, another fantastic Batman storyline. At the start of Gotham City Sirens, Selina Kyle is in a particularly vulnerable place. After having her heart literally cut out and being kept alive on a ventilator just to torture Batman, she somehow survives and gets her heart reimplanted. For real, how do you bounce back from something that messed up?
Out of necessity, not desire, Catwoman joins forces with Ivy and Harley. They form an uneasy alliance, and from there, it’s one wild event after another. Alongside the chaos, though, the series delivers genuine emotional depth, with the girls sharing some lovely moments of girl talk, commiserating over their boyfriends. In one, Harley gets fed up enough with the Joker and decides to kill him. But, of course, she arrives and things don’t go as planned. Dini clearly has a thing for writing powerful, unhinged, and yes, redeemable, female characters. And judging by our collective obsession with Harley Quinn, the character he co-created back in Batman: The Animated Series, it’s safe to say he’s pretty darn good at it.
Batman: No Man’s Land
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One of the better crossover events, No Man’s Land was a massive 80+ issue series published between 1999 and 2000. The story begins with Gotham no longer recognized as part of the United States, following the devastation caused by biological warfare and natural disasters in Legacy, Contagion, and Cataclysm. The city is quarantined, completely cut off from the outside world, with the U.S. military guarding the borders. While the Justice League is busy outside of Gotham, it’s up to Batman to maintain some semblance of order. And of course, that’s no easy task when the entirety of Arkham Asylum is on the loose, carving up the city into territories.
No Man’s Land sets some significant milestones in the DC Universe. It introduces the third Batgirl, Cassandra Cain, and gives us Harley Quinn’s debut in main continuity. We get a tie-in to her origin story and also see what happens when the Joker inevitably grows bored of her. Can’t help but feel for the girl. Still, it sets the stage for her budding (err….blossoming? Growing?) friendship with Poison Ivy. While Greg Rucka serves as the primary writer throughout the series, the event also features work from Devin Grayson, Chuck Dixon, Denny O’Neil, Bob Gale, and Larry Hama.
Mad Love
Image Credit: DC
So, before things get too confusing, there are multiple Mad Love comics. There’s the original Mad Love one-shot issue from The Batman Adventures after DC asked the creators to give us more than the Harlequin-suited punk villain in the animated series. Then there’s a 2019 graphic novel retelling. Both come from the same creative team: writer Paul Dini and artist Bruce Timm. They tell the same core origin story of Harley Quinn, but the 2019 version is a brisk 256-page, somewhat revisionist novel with far more backstory, for better or worse. We get some of her childhood, an insight into the personality of an ambitious young professional who will do whatever it takes in the name of research. It’s a good time, but also gives maybe a little too much — “Oh, you’ve always been this way, Harleen.” But both are great takes.
In the original Mad Love, the story opens with Batman foiling yet another Joker scheme, this time one to kill Commissioner Gordon. After the plot fails, the Joker lashes out at Harley and throws her out. Left alone, Harley reflects on her past and how she ended up in this toxic dynamic (good for you, girl), but then misplaces her blame onto Batman, believing he’s the reason she and the Joker can’t be together (not so great, girl). She sets out to take Batman down herself. No spoilers beyond that though!
Harley’s Little Black Book
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From Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti comes Harley’s Little Black Book, a six-issue miniseries published between 2016 and 2017. It’s essentially a team-up side series where Harley Quinn either clashes with or joins forces alongside various iconic DC heroes and antiheroes in each oversized issue. If you haven’t spent much time with Conner and Palmiotti’s work, expect a tone that’s over-the-top, chaotic, comedic, and frequently breaks the fourth wall.
Issue #1 pairs Harley with Wonder Woman, followed by a hysterical turn in issue #2 where Harley becomes a Green Lantern (which is just the right amount of ridiculous as a concept). The rest of the series features team-ups with Zatanna, Superman, Lobo, and the Suicide Squad. In every issue, we get a zany, unfiltered, but still surprisingly endearing Harley. This extended portrayal was released almost perfectly with the Suicide Squad film (2016), signaling the character’s rise to solo stardom.
How we chose the best Harley Quinn comics
We’ve got a little origin, some character development, et cetera, et cetera, but mostly, we picked the best Harley Quinn comics where Harley’s quintessential quirks and chaotic energy shine. She’s an absolute terror, but darn is she fun. We also considered the stories that helped launch her into pop culture spotlight or solidified her as a vital part of DC Universe.
