Back To The Beginning: Reviewing ‘Poison Ivy’ #19

Sometimes the only path forward requires a reflection upon the past and every step taken to reach the present day. In comic books, those flashback-heavy tales fit into the realm of origin stories.

At long last it’s time for Pamela Isley to get her definitive origin story in Poison Ivy #19 from the series stalwart creative team of G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara, Arif Prianto, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

First off, there is no way I can’t give a bit of a call out to the fact that the name of the arc is “Origin Of Species,” making sure it’s clear what is at hand. Sometimes clever spot-on is just the right way to go with these things.

There are numerous conventions used in comics to find a way to do origin flashbacks mid-story. From time-space shenanigans to people just outright narrating their stories to others. It all depends on the moment and character and what works best. Your title character bleeding out (after a man linked to their past rebirthed from within their body) and their life flashing before their eyes is perfect for the vibe of this eco-horror book.

Wilson threads the line between the version of Ivy we’ve seen before who was sort of naïve (pulled into the shadow of a charming powerful abusive man) with plenty of shades of the Ivy we know poking through. Chiefly the final moment where, despite being spurred to do something because of Woodrue, Pamela discovers something about herself. Unleashes something that eventually grew and blossomed within and created Poison Ivy.

Tossing in Alec and Linda Holland was a great touch. It makes perfect sense with Ivy’s past and path and avoids the ‘cameo just for the sake of it’ feeling. Same for someone like Philip Sylvain, a person important to Ivy’s past but has no actual presence in DC or her life. Plenty of people in our lives are important for a flash before we never see them ever again.

Takara and Prianto nail the visuals every single time, especially together. Whether a story is full on horror or not, there is an inherent dark roughness to be found everywhere. It works because even though past Ivy is smoother, this is present Ivy looking back with a clear vision about how actually rough things were.

All that deep detail, emotions clear as day, hitting the right vibes to feel bright and shiny while also heavy. Many of the color choices are kept to a toned-down quality, letting the more vibrant choices pop even more because they stand out from the pack. Even as there is clear exaggeration or deviation from realistic depictions, there is just something inherently that feels very ‘real’ about everything on the page. These characters, and spaces, are vibrant and alive.

Such solid choices are always made with the paneling. Eschewing standard feelings to go with the flow. Things might have a handful of squares or some rectangles and squares or other shapes. Using the gutter white space to form borders, that light contrasts with the darker elements of the story.

I really love what Otsmane-Elhaou pulls off with this book. All those spooky horror vibes that are inherent allow for even more room to do some neat lettering things. Such as the every so often used putting white font captions outside of a bubble, against the shadowy black backgrounds. Ivy’s words are sounding and living within the shadows/darkness, as she does off and on herself. Putting all that alongside the usual things just lets him cut loose and do whatever works to fit the tone and get the voices right.

It’s not just those things though. Sometimes it’s the little things like having the font of a character like Woodrue being a bit bolder and squigglier than others, reminding us of how slimy this guy is (just as much as the visual of him already does).

Poison Ivy #19 is now available from DC Comics.