REVIEW: ‘Poison Ivy’ Issue 48

Poison Ivy Issue 48 is published by DC Comics. Written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Marcio Takara, colors by Arif Prianto and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

This is Week Six of the Batman: Bad Seeds event. In this issue, Poison Ivy starts to lose control over the deal she made. Poison Ivy Issue 48 does a superb job of showing a complete lack of control that has set in during this event.

In Poison Ivy Issue 48, it becomes clear that the plants are taking command of Gotham, yet Ivy doesn’t control them. Isley offered up Gotham to the Parliament of Trees to escape punishment for killing one of their own, which started the florafication of the city. But the Parliament isn’t willing to stick to the bargain, so Pamela isn’t out of danger.

This amplifies the anarchy within the city, because not even Poison Ivy can control the plants now. Poison Ivy Issue 48 moves at a slower pace as the balance of power slowly shifts. A steady stream of monstrous threats highlights just how much trouble Ivy and the rest of humanity are in.

Wilson adds a very different element to this event. A survival story always existed in a city full of street-level characters. But in Poison Ivy Issue 48, ancient and primordial creatures enter the fray. It makes the chances of survival even lower, and the possibility of the deadly plants growing even greater.

Poison Ivy has always been caught between two worlds, but now those worlds are threatening to tear her apart. She is a human, yet is obsessed and devoted to plants, in a way that defending The Green has become her life. But now the Parliament of Trees opposes her and sentences her, so The Green rejects her. She is also human, but the Bat Family is actively trying to attack and defeat her. Her encounter with a member of said family in Poison Ivy Issue 48 is incredibly powerful, because it highlights just how alone she is.

That’s the other side of Ivy’s personality. She presents herself as both empathetic and cruel in this crossover. When encountering those suffering from the attack she caused, she doesn’t wish to help, but also isn’t trying to harm them either. She’s definitely not a hero, but she also loses control of being the villain. The connection with the Green is fantastic, because Wilson writes them so powerfully. They are resolute and impossible to reason with, which is the human element of Ivy that she tried to inflict on them.

The art is stunning and profound in its storytelling. At the start, Ivy is amid an explosion of plant life in the streets of Gotham. She walks through bushes and witnesses the pollen in places that were once busy streets. And she looks like she belongs. She is stunningly regal in her posture, with her hair flowing in the air and ivy crawling up her shoulders and neck.

There are some major horror features within Poison Ivy Issue 48. It’s a shadowy, murky book with creatures that are capable of emerging from the Earth at any point. These spindly, wooden golem beings are haunting in their design. Throughout this crossover, the deadly aspects of nature are revealed, and this is one of them.

The designs of the Parliament of Trees are unique, ranging from almost humanoid to moving pieces of land and even abstract entities. For those not keeping up with the Poison Ivy series and are simply following the Bad Seeds storyline, it can be confusing to know who these beings are, but it’s clear that they’re dangerous and even Ivy fears them.

At first, Poison Ivy Issue 48 is an ever-escalating conversation, but there is a sudden increase in both speed and blood, with a vicious wound that comes from somewhere unexpected. And primarily. Ivy is no longer among the thick brushes of nature, and looks lost.

The colors are terrific too. Green is the most utilized color within a Poison Ivy comic, and that’s not a surprise. Ivy actually serves as the contrast, with her red hair and pale skin standing out and highlighting that she is human, not made out of plants. One of the Parliament of Trees is made up of shades that better affiliate them with the world that Ivy wants to be part of. By the end of the issue, much more red covers the green ground.

The lettering is supplied by the most creative letterer in the industry, with some sensational uses of both sound effects and word balloons. Otsmae-Elhaou always ensures that the lettering seems hand-crafted.

Poison Ivy Issue 48 rids Ivy of any world she felt she belonged in. The citizens of Gotham City hate her, and the rulers of The Green want to kill her. That’s a horrible situation to be in when you’re in an overgrown Gotham City. Ivy is losing any ally she loved and any place she called home. 

Wilson keeps reminding us why Ivy is a villain while tugging at the strings of sympathy. Ivy helped cover the city with thorns, but now she’s got to be wary of getting pricked by them too. When that isolation sets in, it creates a harrowing atmosphere.

Poison Ivy Issue 48 is available where comics are sold.