Suicide Squad #15 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I will admit that I totally hear the voices of Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin when I read conversations between Joker and Harley, something that actually made this issue all the more enjoyable for me.

I don't read "Suicide Squad" and I'm not really all that big of a fan of Harley.  But, Glass delivers an excellent character study here, really delving into the relationship that she and Joker have.  You could really feel her heart break when she realized that Joker had given rabies to her hyenas, forcing her to kill them.  In fact, Glass actually shows just how far gone Joker is, because he's willing to inflict the same harm on Harley as he is on the Bat-family.  This issue isn't essential to "Death of the Family," but I enjoyed it.  It focused more on the changed Joker than it did the secret identities and I found the former a lot more interesting than the latter.  (Plus, the revelation that Joker had other Harleys in the DCnU was mind-blowing.)

Suicide Squad #14 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I obviously only got this issue since it's part of "Death of the Family."  I'm happy to say, though, that it does a lot more than "Catwoman" #13 did in terms of advancing the plot of the cross-over event.  We see Harley's reunion with "Mr. J" in this issue and it gives us some insight into her conversation with Batman in "Batman" #14, where she confirms his suspicions that Joker is...different.  Joker is angry at Harley for her relationship with Deadshot and this anger manifests itself throughout the issue, from his initial request to his somewhat shocking attack on her at the end.  You can tell that Harley is more scared of Joker than she normally is and that fear not only drives this issue but adds to the general sense of foreboding that this event is generating.  Although it's certainly not essential reading, at least it's better than "Catwoman."