This book, which comprises the original one-shot as well as several Animated series tie-ins, is about as fun as fun can be. Perfectly situated on the cusp between comedy and tragedy, Mad Love entangles madcap comic book zaniness with a bittersweet tale of painful emotional abuse. If you grew up in the 1990s and watched the masterful Batman: The Animated Series, then this is a book that captures the mood and feel of that show perfectly. It ought to, because the main story (and most of the bonus material) on offer here was written and conceived by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, the guys responsible for that particular TV show. The main attraction here is the original Mad Love 1-shot, re-printed in its entirety. This tale provides Harley Quinns (proper) origin story, as well as several classic Joker moments (such as trying to kill Commissioner Gordon during a dentist appointment). Dinis Batman goes to some dark places, even in this story, ostensibly written for kids, but Timms bright and illustrative style stops us from thinking too much about all the sexual innuendo, naked spousal abuse and psychological torment on offer here. Bruce Timms artwork is vibrant and boisterous and, via the use of well-placed panels and deceptive simplicity of style, he conjures for us the definitive Batman, brazenly hewn (as he always ought to be) from a heady concoction of Nietzschean perfection and pure cartoon tomfoolery. His action scenes are superbly crafted, of course, but it is his dramatic scenes that really sell the character of Harley Quinn and make her relationship with The Joker believable and, at times, even touching. Elsewhere, we get a collection of other stories, mostly from the (very good) TAS tie-in comic, which includes brief outings for popular rogues Ventriloquist/Scarface, Roxy Rocket, Harley Quinn (again), Scarecrow (brilliantly drawn by Klaus Jansen), Clayface and Catwoman, as well as Timms Batman: Black & White chapter, which is, for our money, one of the best Two-Face stories ever told. Theres also the sassy John Byrne Joker story Laughter After Midnight and a totally ridiculous, but also supremely entertaining tale that pits Batman and The Demon Etrigan against Ras Al Ghul and a Jack Kirby-esque monster from Hell. Put simply, this is one of the best books DC has ever put out and will ignite a sense of childish glee into even the most ardently cynical Nolanite.