Warning: contains spoilers for Harley Quinn #8!
Fans of DC Comics know that the various Batman-related events over the years tend to be incredibly dark, all-encompassing events that involve most if not all of the Bat-Family and his villains. These Bat-events such as Fear State often lead to bittersweet endings and bleak conclusions, resulting in death, destruction and chaos befalling Bruce Wayne and/or the residents of Gotham City. But in Harley Quinn #8, written by Stephanie Phillips with art by Riley Rossmo and colors by Ivan Plascencia, DC communicates with their fanbase and sends them a message: the events shouldn't be taken seriously at all.
In Harley Quinn #8, the Magistrate (as part of the ongoing Fear State event) is in league with Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow, as he attacks Gotham City. Meanwhile, Harley is searching for Poison Ivy - the real Ivy, as the person Harley found beforehand is a creation of the real Ivy who remains underneath the city. Gotham remains in chaos, but Doctor Hugo Strange isn't surprised in the slightest. In fact, he remains entirely unperturbed, for he has seen these things happen before.
Hugo Strange observes the catastrophe around him and muses that Scarecrow may be destroying the city, "...but we've seen that before. One after another, all of Gotham's finest have laid waste to the city at one point or another...and this month it's Scarecrow's turn." Hugo Strange knows the horrible reputation of Gotham City - and it's history - but isn't too worried, since Gotham City's destruction happens in every other Batman-related event...most notably in Batman: No Man's Land.
In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, Gotham City lies in ruins, with millions of people displaced and desperate. The United States government amazingly refuses to rebuild the city, and destroys the bridges leading to the mainland, effectively dooming Gotham to rot from the inside. Even Superman refuses to help and flies off elsewhere. The entire No Man's Land event was played completely straight despite the abundance of absurdities on display, and while the event was well-received overall (notable events include the debut of Harley Quinn in the mainline DC books), it wasn't nearly as self-serious as fans made it out to be.
Hugo Strange's musings in Harley Quinn #8 suggest DC is more than willing to tell Batman fans to lighten up and to not take every event seriously. Batman's darkness, if used in the right way, could be used for comedic purposes as well as telling a straight-and-narrow story. DC Comics' may occasionally make Batman too dark, but at the same time, the fans are meant to take these stories as entertaining tales before anything else.