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Erica Henderson To Tell The Whole Story Of Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy

Erica Henderson to tell the whole story of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy's relationship in Harley And Ivy: Life And Crimes, from DC in November

Published Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:28:05 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Last updated Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:35:10 -0500

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Article Summary

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy's full relationship journey to be explored in a new DC Comics series by Erica Henderson.
DC once faced controversy for "straightwashing" Harley and Ivy's romance across comics and merchandising.
The new six-issue series launches in November, promising a canonical look at their love story from enemies to lovers.
Editorial changes and fan campaigns helped pave the way to highlight Harley and Ivy's queer relationship in comics.

It wasn't that long ago that a civil war within DC Comics was rending Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy apart, as different versions of the couple's relationship would play out in different titles and different editorial fiefdoms. Even statues got involved in the controversy at one point. It's a whole different world now, with a six issue series, Harley And Ivy: Life And Crimes, from writer/artist Erica Henderson, launching in November, to tell the story of their entire relationship.

Harley And Ivy: Life And Crimes #1
(W/A) Erica Henderson
Because you demanded it — a new series entirely about Harley and Ivy's relationship! Witness the entire story of the DCU's number-one criminal couple from the very start! Eisner Award-winning artist and writer Erica Henderson weaves the canonical story of how Ivy and Harley went from enemies to friends to lovers! See their first kiss, their first embrace, their first fight, the first time Harley went to the bathroom with the door open in front of Ivy (that one is a joke, jeez), etc.! You're gonna love the way this book makes you look — we guarantee it!

Remember, remember, Harley and Ivy: Life and Crimes #1 by Erica Schultz is out on the fifth of November. But before then, a flashback…

Previously portrayed for years in the comic book line as a couple, recent times had seen their relationship as being 'straightwashed' – at least as far as the comic books were concerned. The relationship between Harley and Ivy was removed from the Harley Quinn series, the new writer was forbidden to use Poison Ivy and he put Harley in a relationship with Booster Gold. The Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy mini-series portrayed them more as a Thelma And Louise couple, and concluded with a page-splash peck-on-the-forehead that screams out that it was redrawn at the last moment.

And on Valentine's Day, DC posted Valentine's Day-themed posts that singled Harley Quinn out as being single. Then DC changed the solicitation copy for a Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy statue from depicting a "same-sex couple" to just showing "good friends".

All this was happening while the Harley Quinn TV show doubled down on Harley and Ivy as a couple, causing considerable frustration for some comic book readers, including Harley Quinn's writer when he was asked to comment on the pair. #SaveHarleyAndIvy was an attempt to campaign against what was seen as 'straightwashing' of the couple in the comics, but in a positive way.

The only response was from Hank Kanalz, now-former SVP of Publishing Strategy & Support Service at DC Comics, who specifically stated that he was only writing in a personal capacity, not as a DC employee, who wrote, with Pride flags,

It is believed that DC Comics, editorially speaking, wanted poison Ivy to return to a more traditional supervillain role, which also meant not being in a relationship with Harley Quinn, who had been transformed into an anti-hero. All the time, Warner Bros were showing the pair develop as a couple in the Harley Quinn TV show, even giving them an almost-marriage in the final episode.

But the day after a whole bunch of senior DC comics editors were fired in 2020, someone at DC took advantage of a new shift in power. And the DC Comics website featured an article, that it would never ghave done a week before. The Importance of Harley and Ivy's Queer Animated Romance by Kat Calamia that began saying "Harley and Ivy's relationship became much more than a friendship as the two shared their first on-panel kiss, confirming their once subtextual queer relationship decades in the making." With this image: