A review by caitcoy
Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories by Paul Dini

5.0

It's funny that I bought this without realizing that I'd actually read it before. I found that I enjoyed it much more on the second reading. My favorite story is obviously Mad Love which focuses on poor Harley Quinn's delusional devotion to the Joker. The story is absolutely perfect because it is simaultaneously a brilliant story about how Harey fell in with the Joker and also a perfect portrayal of their relationship. Harley tries again and again to please the Joker and when the Joker fails to respond the way in which she wants, she decides that it's Batman's fault for getting in the way and becomes determined to get rid of him.
SpoilerI absolutely loved how it ended, with Joker being the megalomaniacal jerk who just can't have Harley pull off what he never could and how Batman taunts him with it.
The end is classic Harley and I can't say more without spoiling it but I loved every second of it. The other stories are also entertaining and well-written and are very reminsicent of the animated series, which is probably unsurprising given two of the main collaborators for the book were mainstays of the show. The other stories revolve mostly around classic Batman villains like Scarecrow, Scarface and Two Face trying to go straight as well as a kind of strange but still fun R'as al Ghul story. Definitely a fun read if you're a Batman fan but I'd only really call it a must-read for Mad Love. I'm a die-hard Harley fan and that just hit all the right buttons for me!