|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HI ALL! 'Tis I,
your loving hostess with the mostess! Believe it or not, back in the
day people would email me thinking I was Arleen Sorkin, or had
a direct line to her, or was somehow associated with DC Comics or
Warner Bros.
Idols: Marilyn
Monroe; Harley QuinnNot so! So... just who am I? Who is the gal behind the obsessive-compulsive website dedicated to a pair of psychotic, dangerously unpredictable clowns? Welp... here's just a little information about me. 
Ultimate Fantasy Guy: The Joker (It's never changed, even when my obsession died! It definitely influenced the way I relate to BDSM play) Where else can you find me: Livejournal Myspace Fanfiction.net Terrapin Tarts Other fandom interests: TMNT Roger Rabbit Pirates of the Caribbean Chucky Me and Harley: I first caught a glimpse of Harley in the episode 'Joker's Favour', in her very first scene whilst distractedly channel-surfing one day in the 1990s. She immediately intrigued me, with her fabulous costume, striking voice and, of course, her interaction with Joker, whistling him on. It was bent and twisted and cute and, naturally, I liked it. So I sat down to watch, and saw the episode through to the end. I thought it was great, and Harley's little poem to Commissioner G. made a big impression on me; I loved the sense of danger and insanity beneath her playful exterior. But I never made any effort to watch another Batman cartoon until sometime later... I don't know how long... when I caught 'Trial' halfway through, once again just randomly channel-surfing. Again, Harley, swooning over The Joker. It attracted me more powerfully this time and I was determined to tape every Batman episode after that until she appeared again, the B:TAS show at that time being on once a week. I can't even describe the agony of waiting for the next week's show, not sure if it would be an episode featuring Harley, but somehow... somehow KNOWING it would be... WELL. As luck would have it 'Harlequinade' was the epsiode straight after 'Trial' - which, as we know doesn't just FEATURE Harley, but STARS Harley. I was at the dentists' at the time and when I got home and rewound that tape only to see Harley's face on the intro panel - I could scarcely believe it, the synchronicity of fate. Well, that episode clinched it. I was hooked, line and sinker. It was the early days of the Internet gradually becoming a household thing, and it didn't take me too long to start trawling the web. I found an absolutely ancient website, Harley's Homepage, literally the first one on the web, which introduced me to the Mad Love comic. I can't even EXPLAIN the sensation that ran through my body when I realised there were other incarnations as Harley, especially ones that had such rauchiness going on between her and Joker! More fuel to feed the fire!! I had to travel an hour out of town to a comic book shop that had Mad Love on the shelves at the time, but there was no way I could've waited to order one in to a store closer to home. I HADDA HAVE IT! ;) And... there were other Harley fans too! I should've been glad, instead it made me MAD. I was intensely fixated and quite possessive... don't ask me to explain it, I can't. Let's just say I was going through a very weird and immature period, okay? Anyway, I resolved to build my own Harley website, not wanting to do much, just express my love for her. The more time passed, the more determined I became it should be the biggest and best one on the web. There were a couple in those days, but none of them comprehensive. I wanted to fill that gap. With the aid of some wonderful friends I met online, specifically Columbine and Query, as well as some other absolutely lovely HQ and general Batman fans, I succeeded. I was given Paul Dini's email address and used to harass the poor man for MORE HARLEY INFO. He was always incredibly gracious and helpful and I must send out a thank you to him for that. Onya Dini! You have to understand - back then, it was INSANELY difficult to get HQ related stuff in Australia. Comics were accessible enough, but merchandise and the animated series? Forget it! You were subject to syndication whims and most stores wouldn't stock. I was absolutely reliant on my internet friends to help me get Harley merchandise. By virtue of being webmistress of this website, I was sent many things as gifts, for which I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to anyone who did such a thing who may read this - I have NEVER forgotten it, it absolutely made me overwhelmed with joy. Harley was my drug, I needed a constant fix, and you folks helped me out! You see, this was before television series on DVD, before ebay was so comprehensive and all the rest of it. Nowadays, it's so much easier. Back then, it was next to impossible. But I was a gal motivated by passion and nothing was gonna stand in my way... and nor did it... until I started to grow up a bit, in combination with a lacklustre mainstream treatment of Harley. I was frustrated, everyone called me Harley and I felt like my identity was entirely tied to hers... once I would've LOVED that, but it started to get to me. I still adored her, don't get me wrong, I just wanted to walk my own walk for awhile. And since I didn't like the mainstream direction at the time, I made the decision to walk away. Now, I never stopped loving HQ&J, I just stopped being an active fan. But, true love never dies. And I guess I'm ready to get back in the game again. These days, however, I've got a better grip on things. More sense of balance. Plus, anyway, I'm way too busy to get too over-involved. So I'm looking forward to once again participating with fabulous Harleyites and just enjoying the fandom. As for The Joker - well, it's thanks to Harley that I got into The Joker too. Because part of my attraction to Harley was identifying with her on many levels, it wasn't hard for me to see what she saw in The Joker and to be affected by it. What can I say? I adore him. Yes, he's sick, twisted and wrong. Many of his actions are inutterably heinous. But there's... well... something about him. It's irrisistible, and compelling and fascinating. So maybe I'm sick, twisted and wrong. I can live with that. So I am a big Joker fan as well. Without Harley, I would never have gotten into comics. It was thanks to Harley that I started collecting and grew to love Batman in general. He is absolutely my favourite superhero, the greatest one of them all, and the Batman Universe is such a richly coloured and varied place with no end to the compelling and engaging stories that affect you on levels other than just splash and action. The satisfaction I get from sitting down with an awesome Batman story, even if doesn't feature my darlings Harley and Mistah Jay, well I'm sure all you other comic book geeks out there know what I'm talking about! |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harley's Haven is dedicated to the memory of Heath Ledger, an actor who devoted much to the role of The Joker. |
