Japanese artists have collaborated with American comic book creators before, but this one featuring Harley Quinn is certainly stunning. DC Comics writer Stephanie Phillips recently revealed a variant cover by Yoshitaka Amano for the upcoming comic book Harley Quinn #1.
By the way, here's the full Yoshitaka Amano Harley Quinn #1 cover. 😍 pic.twitter.com/bJ8TKcaHpj
— Stephanie Phillips (@Steph_Smash) December 17, 2020
Amano’s illustrations and character designs have spanned generations, with the anime version of Speed Racer in the 1960s, Gatchaman in the 1970s, and Vampire Hunter D in the 1980s. More recently, he has done designs for the Final Fantasy games, and other franchises.
This is not his first foray into American comic books. He previously collaborated with Neil Gaiman on The Sandman: The Dream Hunters for DC’s Vertigo. In 2002, he and Greg Rucka created Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer for Marvel.
Harley Quinn has been a fan favorite ever since she first appeared as a sidekick to the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. (The series wasn’t anime, but it included Sunrise and Tokyo Movie Shinsha among its animators.)
The playfully sexy, snarky, and crazy character soon branched out (with or without the Joker) in comic books, films, TV series, and video games. These include Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, and DC Super Hero Girls.
The new Harley Quinn is a relaunch of previous comic books featuring the clownish girl. Issue 1 of the new series is expected to come out in March 2021.