Part of an ongoing series revisiting graphic novels and collected editions from days gone by....

OK, after getting a couple of Harley Quinn books from The New 52 under my belt, it's time to try something from the Rebirth era. Rebirth, in case you're not familiar with the term, refers to yet another reboot in DC Comics' long line of reboots, relaunches and reimaginings.

Frankly, I don't see the difference. This Harley is still running under the steady hands of creators Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti. It's still set on Coney Island, with the same cast of odd supporting characters. And it still has the same general attitude of irreverence without much actual crime and, occasionally, downright heroism.

It begins in familiar terrority, with a healthy does of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy cheesecake -- this time, set in a day spa.

Then things get odd after an adolescent alien lands in the American Midwest, disguises himself as a cow after mistakenly deciding that cows are Earth's dominant species and, before he figures out what's happening, is butchered and made into hot dog meat that is shipped to, you guessed it, Coney Island.

And everyone who unknowingly eats an alien hot dog becomes a zombie, hungry for human flesh (although, in this instance, a bite doesn't convert the recipient into another zombie). Unfortunately, Harley didn't know that when a friend got bitten and she quickly chopped off the affected arm with a sword. Fortunately, she had a rooftop catapult -- usually used for hurling pet feces into the water -- with which to fling her newly one-armed pal through the nearest hospital window for treatment.

Unfortunately, his severed arm was too badly damaged for reattachment but, fortunately, they had another one on hand to use instead. Unfortunately, that one belonged to a serial self-abuser.

After the aliens show up to retrieve the chewed and digested bits of their wayward E.T. -- apparently, the hot dog industry moves very quickly, with the time lapsed between slaughterhouse and wiener stand measured in mere hours -- the book rockets through several short, very diverse storylines that have no connecting thread beyond general Harley Quinn chaos.

There's a bit with more hot dogs and a sideshow Frank who gives advice as barter. There's a bit where Harley flies to Mumbai to take down an annoying call center ... that just happens to have a giant killer robot on the premises and links to the Russian mob. There's a bit with a murdered mailman and a gang of thieves who wear armor, ride horses and mostly just want to steal Amazon packages. Oh, and they're also a punk band working in a superhero fetish club owned by the Penguin. Harley goes punk to infiltrate the gang, gets a mohawk, and at one point her towel falls off. She also retrieves a bar of sentimental soap.

I enjoy these books because Harley Quinn is a fun character and a little bit of chaos can be fun, but the storytelling ... let me tell you, it's not great. If you're reading purely for escapism, by all means pick up some Harley Quinn books. (Apparently, it doesn't matter which DC continuity you're in.)