Batman: Prelude to the Wedding, Part 5 – Harley Quinn vs. The Joker #1 Review

Writer: Tim Seeley / Artist: Sami Basri / DC Comics Till Death Do Us Part Minor spoilers for Batman #48 and Batman #49 lurk below. Seeley’s Prelude to the Wedding have been a fun little romp through the different trials and tribulations of the Batfamily. Whether it’s Damian getting to know his stepmom, Dick and Jason meditating on their relationship with Bruce, or Barbara thinking about her relationship with Dick; the preludes have showcased how influential the BatCat wedding is to our favorite street-level superheroes. The prelude sequences end, however, with Joker and Harley Quinn. I have to assume if you’re invested enough in the wedding to be reading these, you’ve probably already read Batman #48 and Batman #49. You probably already know how this story ends, yet the exact events that lead to the Joker to invade a church are some of Seeley’s finest work to date: riddled with clever callbacks to Harley’s origins, and poignant commentary on Gotham’s most villainous couple.

The Joker wants his invitation to the wedding — to be the best man to the vigilante that tries to put him in prison every other week. The Joker’s relationship to Batman is probably the healthiest one he has going through this, before the one he has with Harley is destructive in more ways than one. Seeley is in top form as he makes various allusions to Batman: The Animated Series’ “Mad Love” and the first appearance of Harley Quinn in the DC universe, most notably the recurring thematic of death traps. I…