The Not So Honorable Pamela Isley — Reviewing ‘Poison Ivy’ #42

Controlling all of plant life is pretty cool. Even cooler: controlling plant life and your local city government legally.

A whole new era starts as Poison Ivy #42 begins the reign of Mayor Ivy over her domain of Gotham City. It’s the next chapter in this epic saga from G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara, Arif Prianto, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

— Spoilers Follow —

From a fungus-utilizing, murderous terrorist to throwing around political weight as the voice of Gotham — it sure has been quite a dramatic shift for Pamela Isley over the past few years. It took 42 issues to get to this point, but it’s sure been a journey along the way.

Wilson manages to consistently keep this book both fresh and familiar. Deep-rooted relationships and supporting elements keep the book connected no matter the overall plot direction in the moment. It allows for new growth to flourish and bloom while being nurtured by a nutrient rich foundation.

Also, witnessing Ivy get to put the verbal smackdown back to Vandal Savage was quite a nice beat.

In that respect, starting with Ivy already entrenched as the newly elected mayor was a solid choice. Sure, witnessing what Ivy would be willing to do or say during campaign could have been some juicy storytelling. At the same time, we skip past all that stuff and get right to the thing that people want to see. From that standpoint, storytelling beats fill in the holes of what happened in that “lost” time.

An example: the breakdown at the end revealing Ivy somehow lost Harley in making this all happen. We love their relationship — one that has just gotten to have some solid footing in the last few years — so anything that might break it up needs to be seen. Couples have their ups and downs, and they are no different.

Adding to that dense foundation and desire to keep reading are the always hefty and emotionally perfect pencils from Takara, who forever lingers in that sweet spot between rough-and-tumble as well as soft-and-whimsical. Everything has purpose and power upon the page, no matter how long or little it happens to show up thanks to wise and evolving panel shapes and foundational change bursting with transformative energy.

No matter the setting, Takara gives it the right kick of life to make it glow upon the page. This series began with a lot of very eco-horror energy in the artwork, and it hasn’t lost any of that through the years. Takara keeps that whole vibe strong all the time while softening it just enough to showcase other life energy.

Choices for color palette aid this endeavor, as Prianto really leans into the heavier, darker tones through-and-through. The choice allows various elements to be the ones where more vibrant flashy colors find their way into the scenario. This gives the whole affair the overall fantastical-in-a-superhero-adjacent-space feeling as well. The “best of both worlds” kind of thing, really.

Visually stunning describes this series at all times. Each element playing off one another in the most constructive and cohesive of ways. We see that in how Otsmane-Elhaou always approaches development of the lettering (or anything he works on). All lettering found on the pages has an edge to it, boosted by shifting colors, fonts, bubble styles and more.

Even with the bevy of darker colors always popping into play, the overall colorfulness of the lettering always delights me. This is especially true when things turn black and engage the darker, heavier tones that make the book what it has been for years. It is a true exploration of the darker and grayer side of things through the lens of Poison Ivy.

Poison Ivy #42 is now available from DC Comics.