Harley Quinn was born on television, not in a comic book. She first appeared on September 11, 1992 in the episode "Joker's Favor" ofBatman: The Animated Series, created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. His first stint in comics came a year later inThe Batman Adventures#12 (September 1993), and its official integration into the main DC continuity did not occur until October 1999 with the one-shotBatman: Harley Quinn#1. She then obtained two major solo series (2000 and 2013) before becoming a cinematic phenomenon with Margot Robbie from 2016.
Few characters in the DC universe have an editorial journey as unique as Harley Quinn. Most superheroes and supervillains are born on a comic book page before, possibly, seeing a television or cinema adaptation. Harley, on the other hand, took the opposite path: designed for the small screen, she had to “earn” her place in comics thanks to a popular craze that no one, starting with her own creators, had anticipated.
This atypical trajectory explains why her bibliography is also split between several continuities, several graphic styles and several incarnations of the character - the joker accomplice of the Joker of the 90s, the independent criminal of the 2000s, then the solo and queer-coded anti-heroine of the years 2010-2020. For a collector, understanding this chronology is essential before embarking on the search for key issues, as prices and rarity vary from one era to another.
In this article, we retrace in chronological order the birth of the character, his transition from cartoon to comic book, his editorial consecration with his own series, then his cultural explosion in cinema - relying solely on verifiable publication facts: dates, creators, print runs and CGC census data when they exist.
From the dubbing room to the drawn page: an accidental creation
The story begins on September 11, 1992, with the broadcast of "Joker's Favor", the twenty-second episode ofBatman: The Animated Series, directed by Boyd Kirkland and written by Paul Dini. The screenwriter needed a new right-hand man for the Joker and was inspired by a performance by actress Arleen Sorkin in the soap operaDays of Our Lives, where she played Calliope Jones dressed as a jester for a dream sequence. Dini suggested to Bruce Timm that he design a female character in this court jester spirit, half red and half black, and Sorkin herself was chosen to lend her voice.
The most revealing detail of this genesis is that Harley was only supposed to appear in this single episode. She had to play the role of a disposable sidekick, the kind of secondary character you meet once and forget. But the chemistry between Dini's writing, Timm's design and Sorkin's interpretation immediately struck a chord with the audience and the creative team itself, who decided to bring her back. Harley Quinn thus became a recurring pillar of the DC Animated Universe long before officially existing on paper.
The first appearance in comics: The Batman Adventures #12
It took almost a year for Harley to cross the bridge from animation to print.The Batman Adventures#12, published on September 10, 1993 by DC Comics, is Harley Quinn's first appearance in comics — and her first cover. This series derived from the animated series, written in the same tone and initially intended for a youth readership, is today one of the most sought-after comics of the 1990s, precisely because it marks the printed birth of a character who became, thirty years later, one of the most profitable figures in the DC catalog.
In terms of rarity, this issue has an important feature to know before buying: there is a newsstand edition and a direct market edition, and the CGC does not systematically distinguish them in its overall census - which complicates the precise evaluation of the relative rarity of each variant. Census data recorded around 9,000 certified copies in total, with 936 examples in grade 9.8 (the maximum grade then observed) according to a June 2021 survey. On the secondary market, copies in 9.8 have historically traded well above guide quotations, with some sales having exceeded $2,000 during peaks in demand, with more recent transactions around $1,700 reported by specialized trackers — a signal that interest in this seminal issue remains strong, even if prices fluctuate widely depending on the exact grade and variant (kiosk or direct).
For collectors who are discovering the character, this issue remains the absolute reference in terms of "first comic appearance", not to be confused with his first appearance (which remains televisual) nor with his entry into the main DC continuity, which arrives later.
Integration into the main DC Universe: Batman: Harley Quinn (1999)
For seven years, Harley Quinn remained a character confined to the continuity of the animated series and its derivative products (youth comics, toys, derivative products), without official existence in the “classic” DC Batman universe. This compartmentalization ended in October 1999 with the publication ofBatman: Harley Quinn#1, a 48-page prestige one-shot written by Paul Dini himself and drawn by Yvel Guichet.
This issue has a double narrative function: it tells the origin of the character adapted for the readership of mainstream comics, and it inserts it into the plot ofBatman: No Man's Land, one of the major Batman editorial events of the late 1990s. It is this one-shot which officially makes Harley Quinn a character in the shared DC universe, capable of crossing paths with Batman, Robin or any other figure of Gotham outside the isolated framework of the TV series. For a reader who wants to understand how Harley went from television curiosity to full-fledged villain of the DC canon, this issue is the missing link.
The first solo series: Harley Quinn (2000-2004)
Building on the character's growing success, DC offered him his first ongoing series in 2000.Harley Quinn#1 appeared on October 11, 2000, written by Karl Kesel with art by Terry Dodson and inking by Rachel Dodson. The series revolves around a strong premise: Harley breaks (temporarily) with the influence of the Joker and attempts to lead an independent criminal career in Gotham, surrounded by a new gang of accomplices nicknamed the “Quintets”.
This first attempt at a solo series lasted from 2000 to 2004, laying the narrative foundations that many authors would subsequently take up: a Harley capable of existing without being defined solely by her toxic relationship with the Joker, endowed with her own humor and a gallery of secondary characters who belong to her. It is a period of bibliography often underestimated by new readers, even though it contains the DNA of what will become the more autonomous Harley of the 2010s. OurHarley Quinn reading guidedetails in which order to approach these different eras if you wish to read the series in its continuity rather than only following its publication chronology.
The New 52 reboot: a radical visual overhaul (2011)
In September 2011, DC relaunched its entire catalog with the "New 52" editorial initiative, which restarted all continuities from scratch. Harley Quinn makes her reappearance inSuicide Squad#1, written by Adam Glass with Federico Dalocchio and Scott Hanna on art, Val Staples on colors and Jared K. Fletcher on lettering. She is forcibly recruited by Amanda Waller into Task Force X after a desperate attempt to attract the attention of the Joker through a series of murders.
This issue marks a major visual shift: the historic red and black jester costume is abandoned in favor of a very different corset and shorts ensemble, inspired by video game designsBatman: Arkham AsylumetBatman: Arkham City. The character's skin becomes porcelain-white and her blonde hair is replaced by a two-tone red and blue gradient — a look that will define Harley Quinn's image in popular culture throughout the 2010s, well beyond the comics.
The critical and commercial triumph: Harley Quinn (2013)
The character's editorial consecration comes with the solo series launched in 2013 by the duo Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, drawn mainly by Chad Hardin, with occasional contributions from artists like Darwyn Cooke, Sam Kieth, Tony S. Daniel, Paul Pope and Walter Simonson. Beginning with issue #0 in 2013 and continuing continuously until issue #30, this series sets Harley up in Coney Island, far from Gotham and the Joker, surrounded by a new circle of friends and colorful roommates.
The tone of this series – black comedy, self-deprecation, frantic pace, mixture of cartoonish ultra-violence and tenderness – met with considerable public and critical success, propelling Harley Quinn among the best-selling characters in the DC catalog of the time. It is this version which directly influenced the writing of the character in the cinema a few years later. If you are looking to identify the most significant narrative arcs across all eras rather than a publication chronology, our article onbest harley quinn arcsapproaches the issue from a different angle, focusing on the quality of the stories rather than their place in editorial continuity.
The impact of adaptations on the rating
Harley Quinn's move to live-action cinema has had a direct and measurable effect on collector interest in her original comics. Margot Robbie plays the character for the first time inSuicide Squad(2016), then reprises the role inBirds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)in 2020, before finding the character inThe Suicide Squadby James Gunn in 2021. Each of these releases generated peaks in searches and purchases around the character's founding comics, in particularThe Batman Adventures#12 and the one-shotBatman: Harley Quinn(1999), the two issues most directly associated with its “birth” in the eyes of the general public.
Beyond the cinema, the animated series for adultsHarley Quinn, broadcast since 2019 on the platform that will become HBO Max, has also maintained a constant renewal of interest, particularly among a younger readership discovering the character through this means before returning to comics. This phenomenon is typical of characters born outside the pages: each new media exposure acts as a commercial booster shot on the source comics, while for a classic character the logic is often the opposite.
Buying guide
Before you launch into the Harley Quinn comics market, a few practical tips so you don't get the wrong number or version:
- Distinguish clearly between the three “first appearances”: the first appearance in the strict sense is televisual (1992, not collectible in itself), the first in comics isThe Batman Adventures#12 (1993), and the first in the main DC continuity isBatman: Harley Quinn#1 (1999). These are three different numbers searched for different reasons.
- Check the kiosk vs direct market variant on Batman Adventures #12: the CGC does not always separate these two versions in its census, which can create differences in value that are poorly understood by first-time buyers — always ask the seller to specify the edition before purchasing high grade.
- Don't neglect the 2000-2004 series: less expensive and less speculative than the 1993 or 1999 issues, it remains a solid entry point for reading the evolution of the character without a confirmed collector's budget.
- Number #0 of the 2013 seriesgained recognition in hindsight thanks to the critical success of the Conner/Palmiotti series; compare several recent sales rather than relying on a single displayed price.
- Favor CGC or CBCS certified copies for key numbers(1993 and 1999 in particular), counterfeiting and overclassification being frequent on titles in high demand.
- Follow media releases(films, animated series) which mechanically move demand on the founding numbers — buying outside peak times can allow for better deals.
To methodically organize your collection as you acquire it, thecollection management applicationallows you to track your numbers, their condition and their estimated value all in one place. And for any part you already own or are considering purchasing, thefree estimateof the site relies on actual eBay sales to give you a low, middle, and high price range based on reported condition.