Harley Quinn Comics: The Complete Collector's Guide

Harley Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series. She first appeared on screen on September 11, 1992 in the episode "Joker's Favor", voiced by Arleen Sorkin — a throwaway henchwoman role that became one of DC's most beloved characters of all time. A year later, in September 1993, she made her comics debut in The Batman Adventures #12, written by Kelley Puckett with art by Mike Parobeck. Harley Quinn is a modern-era character: created in 1992, there are no Golden Age, Silver Age, or Bronze Age keys to her name. Anyone telling you otherwise is misinformed or misleading you.

This guide covers the real keys in chronological order, with values drawn from documented web sources — Heritage Auctions, GoCollect, SellMyComicBooks. One important caveat: our eBay estimator tool does not index the Batman Adventures, Harley Quinn, or Suicide Squad series (all return invalid-parameter errors). Every figure cited below comes exclusively from verifiable web sources; where no specific figure is publicly documented, this article stays qualitative.

Harley Quinn key issues: ranking and values (web sources, 2024)

Because our eBay estimator does not cover any Harley Quinn title, all data below comes exclusively from SellMyComicBooks and GoCollect. High-grade CGC copies typically command significantly more than the record sales listed here, which often reflect mid-grade copies.

Sources: SellMyComicBooks, GoCollect, Heritage Auctions. CGC 9.8 values for Batman Adventures #12 are based on 2024 sale data compiled by SellMyComicBooks.

The Batman Adventures #12 (1993): the modern grail

Published in September 1993, The Batman Adventures #12 is Harley Quinn's first appearance in print. The story — written by Kelley Puckett with art by Mike Parobeck — places her alongside Poison Ivy at a costume party, and the cover shows her beside the Joker. The issue belongs to the Batman Adventures line, an all-ages tie-in to the animated series and outside mainstream DC continuity, but the market has never cared about that distinction. Approximately 9,000 copies have been CGC-certified across all variants; the vast majority grade below 9.6. Newsstand copies are meaningfully scarcer than direct editions and command a notable premium: in CGC 9.8, they reached $5,280 against $3,250 for the direct edition in 2024.

For collectors on a tighter budget, intermediate grades remain accessible: a CGC 9.4 traded around $840 and a CGC 9.6 around $1,300 in 2024 data. An ungraded copy in solid condition can be found at significantly lower cost — but CGC certification is the standard for serious investment in this issue.

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love (1994) — the origin, Eisner and Harvey Award winner

Published in 1994, Mad Love is a prestige-format one-shot written by Paul Dini and illustrated by Bruce Timm — the character's original creators. It tells the story of Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who loses herself to obsession with the Joker. Mad Love won both the Eisner Award and the Harvey Award in 1994 for Best Single Issue or Story — a remarkable distinction for a tie-in to a children's animated series. That critical recognition makes it a collectible object in its own right, separate from the rest of the Batman Adventures line. The documented record reaches $550 per SellMyComicBooks; no CGC 9.8 record has been compiled publicly as of this writing.

Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (1999) and Harley Quinn vol.1 #1 (2000)

Batman: Harley Quinn #1, published in 1999, marks the character's first appearance in the mainstream DC Universe — outside the animated continuity. Written by Paul Dini with a painted cover by Alex Ross, it officially integrates Dr. Harleen Quinzel into DC canon. The documented record for this issue stands at $450. A year later, Harley Quinn vol.1 #1 (December 2000, cover by Terry and Rachel Dodson) launched the character's first solo ongoing series, which ran for 38 issues until 2004 when Harley is institutionalized in Arkham. It was an audacious bet by DC for a character who had not existed eight years prior. The documented record for this debut issue reaches $800 according to SellMyComicBooks — the highest among all post-1999 Harley keys.

The New 52 and the Conner/Palmiotti run (2011–2016)

The September 2011 New 52 relaunch gave Harley Quinn a new look — the red-and-black costume that would go on to define her image in film. Suicide Squad #1 (2011), the first New 52 issue featuring that redesign, has reached a documented record of $360. In 2013, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti took over Harley Quinn vol.2 (with issue #1 sometimes dated late 2013, sometimes 2014 depending on the printing): the series became one of DC's consistent top sellers, cementing Harley's status as a standalone star beyond her connection to the Joker. The first issue of that run has recorded a matching high of $360.

On screen, Margot Robbie brought the character to a global audience in Suicide Squad (2016, $746.8 million worldwide) and Birds of Prey (2020, $205.5 million worldwide). Those adaptations substantially widened the collector base and drove renewed demand for original keys — The Batman Adventures #12 in particular saw meaningful market appreciation following the 2016 film release. The Harley Quinn animated series (2019, voiced by Kaley Cuoco) further reinforced the character's cultural footprint and sustained long-term collector interest.