When a comic proudly stamps “THIS COMIC REEKS!” on its cover, you know subtlety has left the building (probably holding its nose). DC’s new one-shot Harley Quinn Fartacular: Silent Butt Deadly #1 is exactly what it sounds like – an unapologetically flatulent fiasco starring everyone’s favorite clown queen of crime. Writer Joanne Starer and artists Ted Brandt & Ro Stein clearly had one mission: pack as many outrageous fart jokes as humanly possible into 40 pages. DC even touts this issue as having the “highest concentration of gas per page (GPP) ever committed to print”, and honestly, they aren’t kidding. The result is a comic adventure that stinks in all the right ways – a wild, irreverent romp tailor-made for those of us who giggle at fart humor.
Plot & Premise (Spoiler-Free Blast)
The story kicks off with a literal bang (or rather, poot): an ill-timed toot in Poison Ivy’s greenhouse. When Ivy accidentally lets one slip, Harley’s over-enthusiastic amusement (and maybe a tad of excitement) does not go over well. Ivy, mortified, boots Harley out of their hideout – sending our gal on a mission to redeem herself and prove that love can conquer even the foulest odor. Determined to win Ivy back and validate her pro-fart outlook, Harley dives headfirst into the strangest quest Gotham City has ever smelled. She discovers an exhibit at the Gotham Museum (aptly titled the “Art of Fart” showcase) celebrating the windy wonders of human history. Yes, you read that right: a whole museum wing devoted to historical fart lore.
From there, things only get weirder and smellier. Harley uncovers a bizarre mystery involving a cursed letter from a famous literary figure and crosses paths with a new villainess whose powers really cut the cheese. All the while, our gassy heroine races to fix her flatulent misfortunes and make things right with Ivy – without giving away how it all ends, let’s just say you’ll be gasping (for air and from laughter) by the final page.
Without spoiling the whole story, here’s a whiff of what you can expect along the way:
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Highbrow Meets Lowbrow: A visit to an actual museum exhibit on fart history, complete with genuine historical fart art and literature (because even the fine arts aren’t safe from Harley’s chaos). This includes the eye-opening revelation that famed author James Joyce had a secret fart fetish, worked ingeniously into the plot. Talk about literary gas!
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A Villainess Named Dutch Oven: Meet the toot-tally twisted antagonist Dutch Oven, a supervillainess cursed with perpetual flatulence thanks to a series of enchanted letters. Her never-ending gas is both her weapon and her curse – and the source of some of the comic’s craziest gags.
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Plastic Man to the Rescue: When Harley finds herself afflicted with an explosive case of the toots, who can contain the calamity? Enter Plastic Man, who literally shapeshifts into a giant “fart-containing” rubber suit around Harley to trap her toxic emissions. It’s a sight (and concept) so absurd you have to see it to believe it.
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Nonstop Flatulent Fun: From fart-propelled fight scenes to immature puns flying faster than…well, gas, this comic cranks the dial to 11 on potty humor. There are more fart jokes and visual gags per page than you ever thought possible – truly a record-breaking gas per page ratio. Harley Quinn Fartacular embraces its theme to the fullest, and no butt goes unclowned.
Humor & Tone – Crude, Rude, and Surprisingly Shrewd
Tone-wise, Silent Butt Deadly is loud, proud, and shamelessly juvenile – in the best way. It feels like an R-rated Saturday morning cartoon that chugged a gallon of whoopee-cushion juice. The humor ranges from classic slapstick (Harley literally knock-down-drag-out fighting while gassing enemies) to endless fart puns and tongue-in-cheek wordplay. It’s the kind of loud, simple bodily humor that would make a 10-year-old cackle, yet the comic knows exactly what it’s doing. Rather than treat farts as something taboo or gross, the story leans in and celebrates the art of breaking wind. In fact, Harley spends the whole issue championing flatulence with almost missionary zeal. Everyone – and we do mean everyone – ends up oddly infatuated with the smell of farts as the plot unfolds, which only cranks up the absurdity further. (One poor bystander gets so turned on by a particular whiff that he drags his wife home for an impromptu romp – this book boldly skirts the line of good taste with a wink and a nudge.)
Despite the wall-to-wall gas jokes, there’s a certain cheeky charm beneath the gross-out gags. The comic has an unexpected dash of heart (and fart): it playfully conveys that natural body functions are nothing to be ashamed of, and even slips in a lesson about respecting your partner’s boundaries amid the chaos. (Who knew a story full of fart fetish jokes could have wholesome relationship advice?) Make no mistake, though – this issue also pushes the envelope right up to the edge of its Teen rating with its raunchier innuendos. There are wacky scenes of sexual suggestion – a strategically placed wine cork here, a “sticky” vintage letter there – that will make you gasp and guffaw at the sheer audacity. It never gets truly explicit (no actual nudity or F-bombs), but it gleefully winks at the naughtier side of fart humor. The tone is bold and brash, not for the easily offended. But if you have a sophomoric sense of humor, you’ll be howling with laughter. This comic knows it’s utterly ridiculous and owns it, delivering punchline after punchline with zero shame.
(As an aside, let’s be clear: this is not a book for kids. The comic itself even warns that “if you are grossed out by farts, then this comic isn’t for you”. Consider that your disclaimer. But if you’re reading this, we suspect you’re exactly the target audience for this madness!)
Art & Visuals – The Art of the Fart
For a comic so heavily driven by crude comedy, the artwork does a stellar job amplifying the laughs. Brandt & Stein’s art style is delightfully cartoony and exaggerated, which fits the absurd tone perfectly. The characters have wonderfully over-the-top facial expressions – Harley’s mischievous glee, Ivy’s mortified grimaces, and various bystanders’ shock (or bizarre pleasure) at the nasal onslaught are all played for laughs in the drawings. Flatulence is practically a character itself in this issue, depicted in all its glory. The artists devote countless panels to swirling clouds of green and brown gas billowing out of rear ends and wafting straight into unsuspecting noses.
It’s gross, it’s graphic, and it’s hilariously unrelenting. Rather than shy away from the nastiness, the visuals lean in – we get comedic “scent trails,” big cartoon stink clouds, and even a visual POOF or two as people pass gas. You’ll be amazed (and maybe aghast) at the excruciating detail put into rendering each fart plume. This commitment to the bit makes the jokes land (pun intended): by the tenth time you see Harley’s red cheeks and a skull-shaped green cloud escaping her behind, it transcends gross-out and becomes surreally funny.
On a craft level, the artwork is actually quite vibrant and energetic. The colorist Marissa Louise deserves credit for turning what could be a murky mess into a neon carnival of flatulence. The panels pop with bright hues – from Harley’s red and black outfit to the sickly neon-green gas highlights – giving the book a zany, animated feel. Action scenes are dynamic and chaotic, with sound effects like “BRAAAP!” practically bursting out of the page. And let’s not forget the visual sight gag of Plastic Man as a human-shaped hazmat suit enveloping Harley – the art milks it for all it’s worth, depicting his rubbery form ballooning around her with only her goofy grinning face peeking out. It’s ridiculous and beautifully cartooned. The cover itself (as you saw above) sets the tone, with Harley on stage in a grand burlesque of flatulence. From start to finish, the visuals match the writing’s absurdity step for step, ensuring we’re laughing at both the jokes and the ridiculous imagery. This creative team committed to the theme wholeheartedly (no surprise the solicit jokes that they should be “committed” for doing this), and that unified vision makes the book feel cohesive in its craziness.
Final Thoughts – Bottom Line (or Bottom Burp?)
Harley Quinn Fartacular: Silent Butt Deadly #1 is, in a word, a blast. It’s a bizarre, gleefully immature comic that celebrates the joy of flatulence in a way we’ve never seen from a mainstream publisher. Is it high art? Heck no – it’s proudly lowbrow and absurd. But it is undeniably entertaining if you’re the sort who finds humor in a well-timed fart joke (guilty as charged). The issue delivers exactly what it promises: an avalanche of fart-fueled antics featuring Harley Quinn at her most unhinged and gross. There’s something almost admirable about how far it goes – the creative team didn’t hold anything in (literally or figuratively). They pushed this theme to the max, from incorporating real historical fart lore to breaking the fourth wall of our noses with a scratch-and-sniff gimmick. The sheer audacity makes it a unique reading experience.
Ultimately, Silent Butt Deadly #1 isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. It will probably make a certain segment of readers roll their eyes and hold their nose. But for those of us with a soft spot for toilet humor, this comic is a dream come true. It’s bold, crude, and laugh-out-loud funny, delivering on its fartastic premise with gusto (and a lot of gas). Harley Quinn has always been a little crazy, but this time she’s taken us on a crazed odyssey into the realm of fart jokes – and we’re here for it. In the end, we have to applaud DC for letting one rip in comic form. Harley Quinn Fartacular: Silent Butt Deadly #1 left us laughing from fart to finish, tears in our eyes (from laughter… we swear). It’s the bizarre, flatulent fun we never knew we needed. If you can handle the smell, do yourself a favor and give this stink-bomb of a comic a read – it’s a real gas!
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