The fun of DC K.O.’s “All Fight Month” is seeing the different matchups between heroes and villains, or even heroes and heroes. Some, like Red Hood taking on the Joker, are ones fans have wanted to see. Others, like Cyborg taking on Swamp Thing or Guy Gardner and Jay Garrick coming to blows, are completely unexpected. DC K.O.: Harley Quinn vs Zatanna #1 falls squarely in the latter category, as the Mistress of Magic and the hammer-wielding henchwoman duke it out in the King Omega tournament’s second round.
DC fans might be wondering, “How is this a fair fight?” Harley, for all of her acrobatic skill and weaponry, is just a normal human woman. Zatanna, on the other hand, is one of the most powerful magic users in the DC Universe; all she’d really have to do is say “Knock out Harley” backwards three times and she’d win the match. On the other hand, some fans fear that Zatanna would lose to Harley’s overwhelming popularity.
I have to give Leah Williams credit: she doesn’t just address these issues head-on, but makes them part of the actual story. Harley gripes that she can’t touch Zatanna, yet uses the weapon that most people forget she has: her mind. After all, before she became the Joker’s henchwoman, she was a skilled psychiatrist – she knows how to read people. And she uses that skill to try and break Zatanna. While fans might appreciate this acknowledgement of Harley’s ability to wage mental warfare, they might get wary of all the fourth wall breaking.
It’s Zatanna, though, that Williams gives the lion’s share of character work to. Like Superman and the other heroes, Zatanna is wary of giving in to the ruthlessness of King Omega. Yet as DC K.O.: Harley Quinn vs Zatanna #1 progresses, she starts to embrace her morally gray side, and in the process will remind readers that she could be genuinely terrifying if she wanted to be. Speaking as a Zatanna fan, it’s great to see her take more of a presence in certain comics, and to have those comics explore different parts of her – superhero, magician, etc. Zatanna Zatara, in the right hands, can be just as complex and compelling a character as Batman or Superman.
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To draw a fight between Harley Quinn and Zatanna, you need an artist who can capture the pure chaos of Harley’s mind and Zatanna’s magic. Enter Mirka Andolfo. Andolfo is probably best known for her heartfelt (and immensely raunchy) Sweet Paprika series at Image Comics, but here she gets the chance to draw a collection of insane images. One of Zatanna and Harley’s fights takes place in a hall of mirrors, warping and contorting their faces. Another page features them trading blows that grow increasingly vicious with each panel, until the fight takes a major turn.
Andolfo’s standout moment, though, features the “power up” moments that have become a part of DC K.O. While Zatanna keeps her trademark top hat and tuxedo, Harley has an entire sequence where she cycles through different forms. Cosplayers will have a field day with these images, while longtime DC fans might recognize some shoutouts to Harley’s history. Thanks to Romulo Fajardo Jr., red and black have never looked so vibrant.
DC K.O.: Harley Quinn vs Zatanna #1, true to its protagonists, zigs where people might expect it to zag. Out of all the battles in “All Fight Month”, this has been the most surprising – and the most fun.
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