Taking A Mighty Big Swing — Reviewing ‘Poison Ivy’ #40

Once upon a time, DC Comics launched a comic book that gave a particular supervillain the solo spotlight they deserved. It began as a mini, became a limited series, and grew quickly into a thriving ongoing series with no end in sight.

Here it stands, Poison Ivy, the book that could and did, at forty healthy eco-horror emotionally and situationally tough issues under its belt. A longevity that speaks to the power that G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara, Arif Prianto, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou infused in the series back in 2022. While Takara isn’t in this issue to celebrate, the spirit is still felt in how Davide Gianfelice approaches this issue.

While I won’t spoil anything, there are big things ahead for this series based on the solicitations we’ve already received. The pieces for a huge change for the character are seeded within this very issue — One that brings Ivy back to where things always seem to end up, Gotham City.

One of the beautiful things about this series is being able to chart the character development Ivy has made through forty issues. Wilson was not cool with just sticking to one interpretation of the character and keeping it balanced for all these issues. No, instead, we’ve gotten various versions and focuses for the character, all of them logical and based on the way the world and others receive her.

From trying to murder the world with fungus to having a whole little found family and now a whole eco-terror focused group built in her name. It’s been quite the journey.

The swing that Ivy takes here is a bold one that feels in line with her changes. As does the fact that it blows up in her face spectacularly, because she stretched a bit beyond what she usually deals with. How we get from the bloody conclusion of this issue to where she’s meant to stand in a few months has me on the edge of my seat in anticipation.

A character with rough edges who cuts through the world is what we’re given and what we see. Gianfelice really leans into that through an art style that feels light and welcoming while also sharp and dark. It has its own unique qualities compared to regular artist Takara but holds much of the same energy. It’s been great to see the other artists that have popped into the world over the years, bringing their own interpretation that still keeps the same overall eco-horror supervillain with a lighter side tone.

Part of the tonal throughline is the color palette stylings of Prianto. They shift and morph depending on the particular artists’ style, naturally, but keep a lot of the same flavoring. Sprinkling in considerable darker tones brings a heavier presence to the page, balancing them with the vibrant splashes of bolder colors while giving the world familiarity as well as the fantastical trimming these comics need.

Rounding out the glorious interior artistic beauty is the work that Otsmane-Elhaou brings to lettering month after month. Never settling for simple or adequate, he always takes things fifteen steps further. He really leaning into the imagery and the artistic aesthetic that can be built for the character, the world, and the narrative, swirling in colors, different fonts, usage of black space, and a bevy of other unique seasonings.

We can’t end this review without calling out the other long part of this series, cover artist Jessica Fong. It’s her bold and powerfully thematic work that welcomes readers into this story all the time. Finding a way to evoke the tone of the issue in different ways from directly to interpretive. Shifting to lean on horror or superhero comic book aesthetics depending on the call. It makes sure that this series has a beautiful wrapping from start to finish.

Poison Ivy #40 is now available from DC Comics.