The original Gotham City Sirens series from 2009 is a highly underrated classic. Teaming Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn is usually a recipe for success. There is just something satisfying about seeing the bad-but-not-too-bad Batman villains working together. Unfortunately, this new revival fails to capture most of the characters and falls flat as a result.
Gotham City Sirens #1 centers around an eventful night for all three anti-heroines. Catwoman steps in to rescue minor villain White Rabbit from a posse of cowboys that are hunting her on horseback. Harley Quinn has a similarly strange encounter with a stampede of robot bison and two cowboy LARPers trying to bag them.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Poison Ivy is investigating a strange new energy drink that seems to be turning random gamers into violent rioters. Shockingly, these cases are all connected and have something to do with Punchline and her sideline as an e-girl influencer with an endorsement deal for said energy drink. (At least, this revelation might be shocking if Punchline weren’t on many of the covers for this issue.)
Gotham City Sirens a good Harley Quinn story, but little more
Writer Leah Williams has a solid grasp of Harley Quinn’s character. This is unsurprising, given she wrote the excellent specials starring Harley during the Knight Terrors event. Unfortunately, her treatment of the other Gotham City Sirens suffers a bit, and they come off as shallow as a result.
Pamela Isley is clinical and cool, which makes some sense, given she’s in scientist mode. However, this Ivy lacks the character’s usual sass. Selina Kyle is similarly generic for the few pages she is present. There are also some oddities in their interactions, like how Selina is the first person Harley thinks to call to hack a robot bison. Maybe this is a reality where Oracle and Harley aren’t on good terms, but it is still odd. Given that, and Punchline’s involvement, this seems more like a Harley Quinn solo comic than a Gotham City Sirens story.
The artwork is serviceable but not outstanding. Matteo Lolli has a crisp, clean style, with streamlined characters standing out against the detailed backgrounds. This is further punctuated by the bold colors of Triona Farrell. Unfortunately, there are some panels where the color clashes distract from the foreground action. This makes the finished artwork somewhat muddy at times, as a result.
Gotham City Sirens #1 is not the return of the classic series most fans hoped for. It might have made for a good Harley Quinn story, where the lack of an even ensemble would not be so detrimental. The series may improve in later issues, but this is a weak start despite the promise it shows at times.
Grade: 3/5
Gotham City Sirens #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
