Gotham City Sirens #11

History

Issue #11 was written by Paul Dini, the television writer and comics creator best known for his foundational work on Batman: The Animated Series — the very show that introduced Harley Quinn to the world — who served as the primary writer for the Gotham City Sirens series, which launched in June 2009 as part of DC's Batman: Reborn publishing initiative following Bruce Wayne's apparent death in Final Crisis. Interior pencils for this issue were provided by Andres Guinaldo, with inks by Raúl Fernández, colors by Ian Hannin, and letters by Steve Wands; the cover was by series artist Guillem March. Editors Mike Marts and Janelle Asselin oversaw the issue, with Dan DiDio serving as executive editor.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Story title: 'On the Job' — published April 28, 2010, with a June 2010 cover date.
• First appearance of Alisa Adams, a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist who deduces that the newly appointed Director of Biochemical Research, 'Dr. Paula Irving,' is in fact Poison Ivy — and attempts to trap her using a plant-dehydration tube.
• First appearance of the East Side Dragons, a Gotham street gang.
• The issue runs three parallel plot threads: Poison Ivy's first day at S.T.A.R. Labs under her alias Dr. Paula Irving; Catwoman and Harley Quinn searching the neighborhood for missing dogs; and the revelation that Harley's pet hyenas, Bud and Lou, have been escaping at night and are responsible for the disappearances.
• Written by Paul Dini with pencils by Andres Guinaldo — Guinaldo handled interior art on issues #10–11 and #13 of the series, while series regular Guillem March provided the cover.
• Batman and Commissioner Gordon appear in this issue in name only — both are mentioned but neither appears on panel, underscoring the series' design of keeping its leads operating in the margins of Gotham's male-dominated power structure.
• Reprinted in the trade paperback Gotham City Sirens Vol. 2: Songs of the Sirens (ISBN: 978-1-4012-2908-5), which collects issues #8–13; also collected in Gotham City Sirens: Book One (2014) and the Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens: DC Compact Comics Edition.
• The Alisa Adams character introduced here returns in subsequent issues (including #12, #14, and #15), eventually becoming an involuntary keeper of Ivy's secret identity under threat of harm.

Cast · 4 characters

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