In DC Comics, the Batman-related characters ofThe JokerandHarley Quinnhave had a long and tumultuous relationship that’s gone from bad to worse in ways that have canonically defined them, with a new DC Black Label Joker x Harley comic series being the perfect story for fans of the detective genre.
First presented as a couple inBatman: The Animated Series, Joker and Harley’s eventual comic book appearances saw their slapstick dynamic quickly devolve into a toxic and abusive arrangement that Harley thankfully moved on from, with2019’sJoker/Harley: Criminal Sanitygiving fans a new take on their infamously rocky relationship.
InJoker/Harley: Malicious Intent, the upcoming sequel to thatDC Black Label seriesfrom returning creative team, Kami Garcia, Mico Suayan, and Jason Badower,Harley gets wrapped up in a serial killer mysterythat may or may not involve a criminal named John Kelly, or as Gotham better knows him, The Joker.
Joker and Harley Quinn Are Back in A New DC Black Label Series
Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent - October 2025 (Kami Garcia, Mico Suayan, and Jason Badower)
Incarcerated in Arkham Asylum at the end ofCriminal Sanity’s out-of-continuity story, Joker was put there in part thanks to Harley’s work as a forensic psychiatrist for the GCPD, with this universe’s version of Harley almost killing Mr. J after a series of art-inspired murders proved that he was beyond saving.
Breaking ties with the GCPD and taking matters into her own hands at the end ofCriminal Sanity,Joker/Harley: Malicious Intentpromises a story that seesHarley become her own kind of hero, but when another series of grisly murder/art pieces start popping up around Gotham, Harley can’t shake the feeling that the Joker is somehow involved.
Recentlyrevealed by PopversethatMalicious Intent, “…explores the relationship between heroes and villains and how thin the line is between the two,” writer Kami Garcia teases thatMalicious Intentis an “intense true-crime thriller for fans of shows likeTrue Detective,Mindhunter, andCriminal Minds,”and will be a tale well worth telling.
Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanitytold its story over eight main issues and one “Secret Files” chapter.
Providing preview images ofJoker/Harley: Malicious Intent #1from its October 8th release, fans ofCriminal Sanityshould have no problem jumping back into this alternate continuity, with the fact that artists Mico Suayan and Jason Badower have also reimagined some iconic DC characters boding well forMalicious Intent’s Batman-less story.
Joker and Harley’s Sequel Series Will Be a Mystery About a New Serial Killer in Gotham
Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity’s World Deserves to Be Explored Further
While other characters and plot details are scarce at the moment,Malicious Intent’s synopsis and teaser images make it easy to get excited over its serial killer-themed mystery,giving detective genre fans a fresh DC Comics spin on a whodunnit storythat goes hard with its R-rated tone and themes.
Though Gotham’s latest killercouldbe one ofJoker’s trained disciplesor maybe someone inspired by his contagious evil,Malicious Intentcan go anywhere with its narrative, with Jonathan Crane’s role as the head of Arkham Asylum setting up an interesting plot thread that could see Crane work alongside Joker to somehow continue his murderous rampage from behind bars.
While no previous knowledge ofJoker/Harley: Criminal Sanity’s story will be required to enjoy its follow-up, fans still have a few months to go beforeJoker/Harley: Malicious Intent’s first issue hits comic stores, giving everyone more than enough time to brush up onJokerandHarley’s previous DC Black Label exploits.
Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent #1will release on October 8th, 2025 from DC Comics.
