Blood Soaked Roots — Reviewing ‘Poison Ivy/Swamp Thing: Feral Trees’ #1

Remember The Happening? That really bad film where Mark Wahlberg had to deal with the trees deciding to kill humanity? Truly, we’re all better off forgetting that film, unless planning a night of bad movies that can at least bring a chuckle.

Why bring this up then? Well, the idea of trees being killers has returned in a story that does that same beat a million times spookier, stronger, and emotionally deeper. Presented by G. Willow Wilson, Mike Perkins, Mike Spicer, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou for DC Comics Poison Ivy/Swamp Thing: Feral Trees special.

Watching Wilson get to cut even looser with Ivy with the inclusion of the Parliament of Trees is really something special. For years now we’ve been able to witness what she can do with this character, elevating her far beyond just a member of Batman’s rogue gallery or the eco-terrorist villain space. A truly fleshed out character who has deeper feelings, thoughts, and complicated relationships with herself, the human world, and the natural world.

We’re privy to all of that here as a young woman becomes a victim of the world, her connection to the Green (Earth) causing a forest to unleash its anger upon humans. Willow presents the interesting dynamic of Swamp Thing & the Parliament of Trees who only care about patiently protecting the trees opposed to the brasher action oriented Ivy who has eyes only for the human suffering at the heart of it all.

This is a tale perfect for the Halloween season with the tonal creepiness that resonates through it all. Just like many of the best horror stories, though, there is a deep human element with emotional resonance that propels things forward.

Perkins and Spicer lean heavily into the dark, twisted, and rough nature of this story. Everything on the page is painstakingly detailed and given true weight and depth. Their textures are rougher, almost sharper, in nature with a lot of shadows and muted elements in play. While this story takes place at night, there is a far more ominous darkness that exists within.

Color palette choices create that heavy feeling with all the blacks and darker colors that swirl around the pages. Nothing here really pops in an overly vibrant superhero sort of way. Even with the Parliament of Tree members being a variety of colors, everything is natural and toned-down quite a bit in many ways, speaking to the natural and more grounded nature of this story.

Emotional beats need to be very much felt on the page, in every facet, and Perkins’ work delivers that. Facial expressions and body language are clear, and the presentation through panel choices keeps things focused and present. Everything moves with a fluidity that befits the heavy emphasis on nature that is on display here.

Capturing a lot of that is the lettering wizardry of Otsmane-Elhaou. There is a reason he’s in such high demand and working on so many books at this point. He’s able to take simple words and spin them with greater energy, color, and power, seemingly on a whim. His work allows everything from dialogue to captioned thoughts to SFX just resonate with the right levels of energy.

Just like the rest of the artwork, the letters live within spaces that embrace the shadows and more muted of colors. It’s a staple of Poison Ivy related issues at this point, since Otsmane-Elhaou letters all the issues, but the captions eschewing boxes to live within shadows on the page never ceases to excite me. Visual work that pushes beyond the boundaries of the ‘standards’ of the medium will always bring a stir to this life-long fan.

Poison Ivy/Swamp Thing: Feral Trees #1 is now available from DC Comics.