In an in-depth interview exploring the similarities and differences between DC Comics lead characters "Harley Quinn" and "Starfire," Jimmy Palmiotti shares his thoughts on the strength and sexuality represented by the former Cupid of Crime and the Tamaranean Titan, as well as the qualities that both characters share with his significant other and co-writer Amanda Conner.

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Teasing that the dynamic duo may team-up in "Harley's Little Black Book" (an upcoming bimonthly series also written by Conner and Palmiotti), Palmiotti shared details about what's to come in the pages of "Harley Quinn," illustrated by Chad Hardin, and "Starfire," which features interior artwork by Emanuela Lupacchino.

The writer also discussed how he and Conner approach writing the characters, working with their art teams to depict them as sexy characters without "going there" into the realm of sleaziness, why he and Conner made the decision from day one to write a Harley Quinn that is no longer the victim of an abusive relationship and why she's a stronger character for it.

CBR News: While Harley and Kori are wildly distinct characters and quite literally from two different worlds, I feel their inherent uniqueness gives them a commonality. Starfire is your classic fish out of water, and Harley doesn't give a damn and does her own thing. What traits or characteristics do you feel they share, and where do you find them violently opposed?

Jimmy Palmiotti: Harley, on the surface, is more dangerous. If she feels justified, she'll do something and then deal with the consequences later. And although Kori does follow her emotions, she tends to be a little more time thinking it through. Because she's new to the planet, she doesn't react as much. She kind of looks at the whole situation. In the next few issues, we see her with Dick Grayson, and it's interesting to see how she deals with that. She treats it a little bit differently than a lot of other characters.

Harley tends to be spontaneous, and there is a price to pay for her spontaneity. In "Harley Quinn," we always explore the idea that she reacts and sometimes she finds herself in situations and has to shoot her way out. [Laughs]

I think Kori is trying to be more of an observer, and get into it a little less than normal because she's like the guest here on Earth. Her attitude is a little bit standoffish at times, and then, of course, she loses her temper or something happens and she reacts in the classic Starfire tradition and takes out everything in her way.

Yes, the characters definitely have two different beats to them. Harley is more rock and roll, maybe almost punk rock/rock and roll, and Starfire is a little more Lana Del Rey when we write her. She's a little more laid back but their something going on below that laid-backness that you have to be aware of.

"Starfire" certainly isn't an all-ages book, but due to the fact that the lead character is an obviously kinder and gentler soul than Harley, the mood and tone just feels more safe. That said, Kori's not worried about being naked, and you're not worried about writing her naked. How do you find the balance between making her sexy and not making the series overtly sexualized or exploitative? Have there been any concerns about this either from editorial or readers?

First, you have to have a little responsibility when you're writing, and second, you have to consider who the audience is and what the audience wants from the characters. Kori tends to be a little open and doesn't have the same things we have bred in us about nudity or playfulness or sexuality, so when we actually cover it in the book, we're trying to keep it as how she would see it. And Ema [artist Emanuela Lupacchino] comes in and draws it the way that she sees Starfire as well, and that's as a sexual being.

But it doesn't mean that we have to "go there" with the book. We can present things tastefully. It can be sexy and sweet and cute. With us, it comes from a place of beauty rather than somewhere else. The sexuality and her being who she is and staying in her personality is something that we see as beautiful, and I think that's the way we write it. It doesn't come off as sleazy or sensational. We're trying to show that she's a beautiful person, inside and out, and she's proud of her body . And because she's from another place, she is learning that it's maybe not acceptable to take your clothes off and walk around all of the time. [Laughs]

We have fun with that, because we like the idea that Sol and Stella and her supporting characters can get shocked by her once in a while. It's fun to watch that interplay with the characters. I think we write the character with a lot of respect. Sexuality is a part of her -- we just stay away from the sleazy stuff.

Similarly, Harley also isn't afraid to be naked -- I'm noticing a theme here. [Laughs] Because of her history with mental health and her unrelenting passion for the Joker, she has often been portrayed as broken, or even subservient. But in yours and Amanda Conner's writing, she is portrayed with such confidence and bravado, even leading a Gang of Harleys into battle. Are we going to see her crash and burn, or is that not the Harley you are writing?

Our Harley is not in an abusive relationship with The Joker. She is being her own character. She's out. She is every vocal about he she feels about things and acts. She is an emotionally-driven character, so she reacts to the extreme, sometimes. Her story comes from a passionate place. She's a passionate character that reacts. As well, she falls in love very easily with everything and everyone all around her, including animals. She is an extreme character that's living her life the way she feels that she should live it. She feels that she is doing good with the Gang of Harleys, and even though some things get crazy, in her head, she thinks that she is helping people.

We took her out of an abusive relationship. That's not there anymore. We think that she is a stronger character than that, and that's what we've been building for the past couple of years. She can't be that person anymore. That person is grown up and realizes that kind of relationship isn't healthy for her. She's moved on. It was very important for us to approach the character like that once we got the book as a steady book. The book would never last if it was just about The Joker and Harley all the time. It something that you can come in and out of, but we want to be writing this book for a long time, so we had to set up different rules for the character. And, so far, so good.

In the latest issue of "Starfire," the story ends with a possible death of one of Kori's few friends in Key West. We won't spoil it, but can you talk about Soren Hook -- the man responsible -- and his incredible gift that not only cures cancer but also kills?

He's a twisted guy, because he means well, but the thing that makes him help people is actually messing with his brain. He's trying to stabilize it, and at times, he's in denial of what's going on with him. At other times, he's on full rage mode, and this power that he has to help people is actually messing his brain up really bad. He sees something in Kori, that she can help him, or maybe she can't but he wants to try. This is not your typical bad guy. He's sort of like a character that means well but has some brain damage. He's not totally in control of what he's doing, and now he's met up with Kori. When Kori touches him, she's getting these flashbacks of his life, and it's scaring her and upsetting her. At the same time, she feels bad. She is dealing with someone who is not an obvious bad guy. This is somebody who is helping people, but it's also affecting him. For us, the more interesting part is seeing how Kori handles him.

Soren is around for another issue or so, and we might catch up to him again, later on. Something happens to him, but we have a lot more story going on. "Starfire" is a constant of wheel of stories, with characters going in and out. We like to look at it like as a superhero soap opera. There is a lot of story coming up with Dick Grayson over the next couple of issues. We have so much planned for her, but Soren -- sometimes you introduce a character to put your main character into a situation where you learn more about her, and this is one of those situations.

In "Harley Quinn," Harley faces off against a classic DC character: Deadshot. They kiss -- not literally -- and make up, but in the end, she gives him the slip. Is this the last we're going to see of Deadshot in "Harley Quinn?"

There is a mutual respect between the two characters, even though they are pissing each other off. I think we approach that towards the end of the book, when we see them sitting down and talking and having a drink. Of course, Harley pulls a move on him and it goes from there. This was us basically having a little fun. It's funny, because we didn't announce that Deadshot was going to be in these books. It wasn't announced ahead of time. We just put him in there as part of the story, and if it wasn't for the cover of the new one, you wouldn't even know he was in the book. [Laughs] We were just trying to feel out how that would work with Floyd and Harley. We put them in a situation where we would see them not only deal with each other, but also deal with their day-to-day stuff.

Floyd has a different agenda than Harley does, except for this two-part story. They both had the same goal that they were going for. Floyd is a lot more money-motivated, and Harley is motivated by helping the girls. It was two different types of characters meeting up, having an adventure, and then everybody gets puts back in their places again. By the time we get to "Harley Quinn" #23, Floyd is out of the picture and we're dealing with Mason, who has been pretty much in jail for the last couple of issues. He's getting on really bad and his life is in danger, so Harley actually has to go and break him out of jail to help him out. That's where we are going for the next couple of issues. The lead-up to "Harley Quinn" #25, which winds up with Mason in an asylum, in a place called -- well, I don't want to ruin the story for you. [Laughs] Let's just say the 25th issue is a really fun issue with a lot of different characters in it.

These definitely sound like two characters that you love dearly. Do you have any plans to have them team-up in comics, either as a crossover in the two solo titles, or maybe in your other upcoming series, "Harley's Little Black Book?"

"Harley's Little Black Book" is a bi-monthly, 38-page team-up book with Harley and another character, so it really isn't that farfetched that somewhere down the line, we will do one with Starfire and Harley. Even you just mentioning it and talking about it and throwing some ideas my way really helps. [Laughs] Anything is possible in "Harley's Little Black Book." The first issue is drawn by Amanda, and it features Wonder Woman and Harley -- and let's just say that we're starting off with a bang. But yes, to answer your question, it's definitely possible that we'll see Starfire and Harley connect at some point, and it's going to be really interesting.

If you and Amanda were tasked with writing a "Harley Quinn v Starfire" movie, what would be the premise? Maybe more importantly, what would be the subtitle?

Since Harley's mom lives in Florida, I think it would start with Harley visiting Florida and visiting her mom, and she would meet up with Starfire. I don't think they would fight each other. I think they would have an adventure together. Harley would cause some trouble. Starfire would jump in. It would be more like "Lethal Weapon" with superheroes than "Batman v Superman." I don't see a battle brewing. That's for sure.

And what about the subtitle?

If "Batman v Superman" is "Dawn of Justice," it would probably be "Morning of Hangover." [Laughs] I think those two would get in a lot of trouble.

[Laughs] You said they wouldn't, but if they did fight, who would win?

That would not be an easy one, because Starfire is really powerful and Harley really doesn't have any powers -- she has her crazy wits about her and lots of weapons. But it would still be an interesting battle, and in a sense, it would be very much like Superman versus Batman. If you think about it, Starfire could just fly Harley into space, give her a good boot and kick her out of our atmosphere. At the same time, Harley could have something up her sleeve to take Starfire down. Honestly, you might just have to put the different scenarios on a wheel and spin. [Laughs]

I've met Amanda a few times, and interviewed her, and she seems quite lovely. She's not here to defend herself, but do you see or hear any Amanda in Harley and/or Kori?

[Laughs] I'll have to watch my answer here. I see her kindness and her nurturing way in both of the characters. And also, the toilet humor. [Laughs]

Amanda is not a person to mess with. If she wants to mess with you, she goes all in. There is a certain joy about the characters, and Amanda is full of joy. Our relationship is pretty happy and satisfying. We pick on each other and have fun, and I think that comes across in the books. There is a little bit of us in both. I definitely see Amanda in Harley and Starfire if it's anything to do with animals. I call her Mother Nature all the time, because she won't kill an insect, she won't kill a spider. She would rather try to catch it for three hours and walk it outside. She's like that with animals. She gives money to shelters all of the time. All of her charity work is animal-based, and I think a lot of that comes through in both characters.