Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent has been announced again, now for 2027. DC included the miniseries among the projects it presented at New York Comic Con in October 2026. That clears up a key point from 2025: retailer orders for the first two issues were canceled, but that did not constitute a public, definitive decision to abandon the story.
The comic is a sequel to Kami Garcia's Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity, although DC itself says the new story is designed to work as a standalone read. A 2027 target should not be mistaken for a confirmed release month or availability in Brazil.
What exactly was canceled in 2025?
On September 5, 2025, Bleeding Cool journalist Rich Johnston reported that DC had told retailers it was canceling all orders for Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent #1 and #2. The issue listings were removed from distributor Lunar Distribution. According to that report, the publisher said the titles would be solicited for orders again at a later date.
The distinction matters: canceling comic-shop orders does not, on its own, prove that an editorial project has been permanently canceled. The report offered no official explanation for the withdrawn orders. Attributing the move to production delays, creative changes or any other specific cause would therefore be speculation. Earlier solicitation copy also cannot establish that the 2027 release will retain every detail.
What did DC confirm at NYCC 2026?
The project was reintroduced at the convention on October 8, 2026 and included in DC's October 16 roundup. DC placed it in the DC Black Label/Vertigo presentation and named Kami Garcia, Mico Suayan, Jason Badower and Cat Staggs as the creative team. Garcia wrote the earlier series, Suayan and Badower also worked on it, and Staggs was added to the team presented for this new installment.
In DC's official description, Harley Quinn remains a criminal profiler, and the story picks up her path after Criminal Sanity. DC also mentions the Joker, Black Canary and Selina Kyle, known as Catwoman, as well as black-and-white flashbacks. These are announced elements, not scenes from a 2027 issue that has already been published.
How does Malicious Intent connect to Criminal Sanity?
Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity debuted in 2019 as a DC Black Label psychological thriller. In this version of Gotham, Harley is a forensic psychiatrist and profiler who assists police investigations. A murder connected to her past draws her into a hunt for the Joker, portrayed through a more grounded criminal-investigation lens than in many conventional stories about the pair.
The collected edition listed by DC contains Criminal Sanity #1 through #8 and the Secret Files special, with a US on-sale date of September 7, 2021. This identifies the preceding volume without confusing it with the project reannounced for 2027. Both stories share the investigative approach and the internal continuity of this alternate setting.
Do you have to read Criminal Sanity first?
No. DC's October 2026 article explicitly states that Malicious Intent is designed to make sense to readers who have not followed the earlier work. Readers interested only in trying the new thriller can start with the miniseries once it is available.
For the background to Harley's investigation, the characterization of this Joker and the context behind her choices, the fuller publication-order route is Criminal Sanity, including its special, followed by Malicious Intent. That is a reading recommendation, not a prerequisite set by the publisher. There is no need to work through the entire mainstream Batman and Harley Quinn timeline.
Does Black Label mean mainline DC continuity?
Not in this case. DC introduced Criminal Sanity as a standalone story outside traditional continuity under the Black Label imprint. Malicious Intent follows that particular portrayal of Harley and the Joker; being connected to its predecessor does not make it required reading for DC's main comic-book continuity.
The announcement consulted establishes 2027 as the planned publication year, but does not specify a month, day, final price, issue schedule or localized Brazilian edition. The count and sales terms in the withdrawn solicitations should not automatically be treated as specifications for the new solicitations.
Timeline: what the sources document
| Date | Documented event | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity debuts. | Beginning of this investigative portrayal of Harley. |
| September 7, 2021 | US sale date for the collected edition in DC's catalog. | Collects eight issues and Secret Files. |
| September 5, 2025 | Bleeding Cool reports canceled retailer orders for Malicious Intent #1 and #2. | Orders withdrawn, with no official reason disclosed. |
| October 8 and 16, 2026 | NYCC reannouncement followed by DC's official roundup. | Project announced again for 2027. |
| 2027 | Publication year targeted by DC. | No confirmed month or Brazilian availability in the sources consulted. |
Information verified on October 22, 2026. A projected release should not be confused with actual availability from Brazilian retailers.
