8. Her First Comic Book Appearances Were Elseworld Stories
The Thrillkiller books are some of the best comics DC have ever published, yet it's been out of print until recently. Their Elseworlds line of titles allow creators to craft stories that are set outside the usual DC continuity, which has lead to all sorts of weird and wacky ideas like an all-vampire Justice League and a Victorian-era Batman who hunts Jack The Ripper in Gotham By Gaslight. Thrillkiller, meanwhile, imagined what a Batman and Robin operating in the early sixties would be like. Except more the psychedelic tune in, drop out sixties than the camp of Adam West's TV show. Written by American Flagg's Howard Chaykin with art from Daniel Brereton, it's a real blast. It's also, technically, the first comic book appearance of Harley Quinn. In Thrillkiller and its sequel, she's a schoolgirl named Hayley Fitzpatrick who dresses up in order to help a female version of the Joker, called Bianca Steeplechase. The pair's relationship is short-lived, but on far more of an equal pegging than they ever managed in the mainstream continuity. So that's nice.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
