Do DC’s graphic novels for young readers get a passing grade?

It’s only been four months since the release of Mariko Tamaki’s last YA graphic novel triumph, Laura Dean Is Breaking Up With Me, and she delivers her best superhero work with Breaking Glass, a zany, exhilarating, intensely political coming-of-age story about a liberated young woman waging war against gentrification and the patriarchy. The teenage Harleen Quinzel is reckless and more than a little unstable, but she also has a burning drive to fight for the people she cares about, with no concern for any laws she breaks in the process. Harley is one DC’s biggest personalities, and this creative team aggressively drives that point across. The book is narrated by Harley and she really likes to talk, but this actually propels the story because she has such a playful worldview and frenzied voice.

The narration is very active, and there’s a quick early moment that firmly situates the reader inside Harley’s head. After introducing herself and one of the people that rode the bus with her to Gotham City, Harley focuses on a random stranger before remembering that he’s not part of the story and should be ignored. It’s a funny bit that details Harley’s mental process as she responds to stimuli, zooming in on the new thing that pops into view and then rapidly dismissing it. It’s also the first panel that doesn’t feature Harley, opting for a first-person point of view that shows the reader exactly what Harley is seeing in the moment. This book is full of small character touches that bring a lot of dimensions to the supporting cast, including a group of queer performance artists and a new take on Poison Ivy as a young black activist whose family owns a community garden threatened by new neighborhood developments.

And then there’s the Joker. Any take on Harley has to feature her clown prince in some way, and Tamaki’s interpretation is an avatar for a generation of young white men who openly relish their privilege and engage in destructive behavior because there won’t be any consequences. This Joker is a spoiled brat who wants the whole world to listen to him when he’s unwilling to engage with any opinions that conflict with his own. His sense of entitlement fuels his intolerance, as well as his desire to see the world burn so he can watch the show from a safe position high above the rabble. He’s total scum, but Harley is still a teenage girl vulnerable to the charms of a young rebel who takes drastic action. Luckily, there are other rebels that Harley cares about much more, and when the Joker’s actions put Harley’s chosen family in danger, she immediately turns on him.

The presence of graphic novels in libraries and classrooms is a big reason why they’ve grown in popularity with younger readers, and Breaking Glass is full of teaching opportunities, whether that means delving further into the political subject matter or the craft that goes into the script and artwork. It opens doors to discuss how gentrification impacts marginalized communities, the ways institutionalized bigotry feeds white privilege, and the role that masks and performance play in creating queer identity and community. Students can write a research paper detailing how Tamaki’s take on Harley, Ivy, and the Joker compares to previous interpretations, or an analysis of recurring color themes in Steve Pugh’s artwork.

The DC Ink books have gone through a very interesting color progression. Mera’s palette is restricted to washed-out teal and orange, and Under The Moon sticks to monochromatic blue that goes gray during flashbacks. This flattens the linework and limits the expressive use of color, giving these two titles a drabber look. Raven features painted spot colors across a wider spectrum, with David Calderon using color to indicate moments of heightened emotion. A romantic night of Rachel walking through the streets of New Orleans with her new boyfriend is colored with a soft blend of purple, blue, and green, a palette that returns when Rachel is hanging out with her friends. These two moments are depicted in pages with no text, prime examples of Garcia’s willingness to let the visuals reinforce relationships on their own. Red is reserved for Rachel’s demon father, Trigon, who reveals himself in a splash page that powerfully establishes his dominion on his daughter’s soul.

Red is also Harley’s signature color, and it saturates the Gotham City sky in Breaking Glass, visually tying her to the environment that she’s trying to save. Everything about Steve Pugh’s art in Breaking Glass is phenomenal—the diversity of body types and facial features in his character designs, the layouts and compositions that immerse readers in the environment, the detail and expression of his linework—but the coloring is what makes this book look like nothing else. Flashbacks are colored with a fiery palette that emphasizes the rage in young Harley’s soul, which she channels into violent attacks on the people who disrespect her and her family. Pugh controls the tension with the colors, filling the page with soft pastels when Harley’s with friends and leaning into red/blue contrast when she’s with the Joker.

This week’s new DC Zoom and Ink releases have the imprints realizing their potential, just as they are about to shutter. This summer has been a rollercoaster for DC with the announcement that it will be streamlining its different lines, cutting Vertigo, DC Ink, and DC Zoom imprints and organizing content under three labels for different age ranges: DC Kids (8-12), DC (13+), and DC Black Label (17+). Given that DC had just launched Ink and Zoom and recently finished a Vertigo 25th anniversary celebration, this decision put the publisher’s long-term planning in question. Vertigo had been struggling for a while so the writing was on the wall there, but eliminating Ink and Zoom after titles had already debuted with the branding was especially puzzling.

Having those clearly defined channels makes it easier for retailers, librarians, educators, and consumers to find the books that are appropriate for different age groups. The Ink and Zoom branding is still present on new releases, so maybe the market’s response will change DC’s plans to phase out the imprints as it gears up for its huge slate of upcoming graphic novels for young readers. And the market is responding very well. The Ink and Zoom books are in the top 10 of Diamond’s graphic novel sales charts for each month they debut, and given the popularity of Harley Quinn and Superman, that trend is likely to continue with August’s debuts.