Cult Of (One) Personality: Reviewing ‘Poison Ivy’ #27

Anyone ever accused of doing something they didn’t do knows how much that can rock or entirely ruin your world. Even when the person being accused is normally the person that would be doing these sorts of actions, or in this case, crimes.

That’s where we find Pamela Isley in Poison Ivy #27, trying to clear her name as G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara, Arif Prianto, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou peel back the curtain around the Order of the Green Knight.

One of the things that brings comic book fans back to these colorful monthly offerings is, naturally, the characters. Additionally, the development of those characters is the major key, allowing us to see how the title character(s) went from point A to point B and then point C in a logical easy to follow way. That being said, we do like to see some mess scattered around those paths, because that’s just the spice of life for stories.

Every bit of that development and messiness is clear in these pages. This team has been building something for three years now and where we started is so far from where we began. Not just because this is the 27th issue (with some annuals & tie-in mini issues alongside them) of the series. No, it’s because the through line of development of the title character and her growing supporting cast is clear and oh so deliciously messy.

I love that Wilson gets to explore what effect Ivy’s past behaviors have on others, even as Ivy works to be something (slightly) better. A lot of this issue is people discussing things, with a healthy bit of Ivy inner monologue, and it’s compelling. Because by this point we care about the character and her journey and trust where Wilson wants to take her.

Some seeds are planted about the Order of the Green Knight and their vision having leader who apparently knows Ivy. The mystery swamp town that appeared outside Gotham gets even more mysterious. Oh and Janet from HR continues her tour of kissing members of Team Ivy, bringing some more of that mess. Gotta love it.

As always, the rich power of the visual style that Takara and Prianto have built together makes this book sing.

Just the right levels of roughness always stand out across the pages, giving the story the sharpness that it needs. There isn’t much action in this issue, but what is there has rapid smooth and gorgeous motion to it. Though short, ending in a stalemate, the fight between Batman and Ivy has such gravitas to it , it really feels like two titanic figures clashing for the millionth time. Just clear reflex motions on how to approach one another, as Ivy finds herself musing over during the fight.

I really want to focus on the framing and page layouts this time. They’re always the best, and part of why things just work here.

Takara has a clear eye for where things should go and how they should interact. Eschewing standard panel conventions to allow the moment to speak for itself, even if that means panels of varying shapes and sizes and page layouts that go beyond the ‘norm.’ Characters and items are allowed to bleed through and over other panels, to create interesting dynamics. Even when the panels take on more standard shapes, the choices for angles (close up, far away, wide, etc.) jump back and forth to create even more depth or weight.

Same, as usual, goes for the color palette. By now we’re used to the high levels of greens and other natural colors that permeate the pages. They somehow mesh perfectly with the more neutral toned-down colors that are used for the buildings, settings, and other elements from outside of the natural world. Darkness, chiefly through blackness and shadows, brings a firmer presence to many panels to allow depth but also the ominous horror feelings to always be present.

Those aforementioned pages with Batman work even more because their version of the character here literally is melded with the shadows. Even in broad daylight he’s enveloped by shadows with only bits of his face/cowl or costume peeking out at times. A true dark presence, which is exactly how Ivy sees him, in every sense.

As noted, there is a lot of conversation and internal monologue here.

Good thing Otsmane-Elhaou is a master when it comes to lettering. Giving every piece of dialogue, caption, or SFX the beautiful energetic life they deserve. I will eat up those captions that burst out of a box and exist within the shadows of the page happily month after month. Just one of many ways that the lettering really expands beyond placing words on the page. Putting them down with care and an eye for what makes them flow and land the best, allowing us to hear every bit of emotion, volume, or tonal energy we’re meant to.

Poison Ivy #27 is now available from DC Comics.