“Poison Ivy” – Chapter Eighteen
Artist: Luana Vecchio
Color Artist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Review by Fay Clark
‘Tis the season for green and red, so Poison Ivy will fit right in! Every time we see her something crazy happens, and last time it was a hoard of plant zombies. OH. My. Gosh. PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES. How did I not get that? Well, let’s see if we can finally figure out who wins, in Poison Ivy #18.
Plants Vs Zombies
I’m now obsessed with the idea of plants vs. zombies and no one can change my mind. Did G. Willow Wilson really think that no one would notice? I admit, it took me a few issues… but I got there. Wilson’s clearly a mastermind, as I now think that she’s been planning this from day one.
Ivy’s back in the hut with her new team, and they have some work to do if they want to keep the zombies away. Wilson makes it so easy to empathize with these characters. Firstly, we see a Killer Croc that’s never before been so, kind, caring, and wholesome. We also finally get to see Ivy working in her lab as a botanist, and not just be a villain. This is a smart woman in S.T.E.M. and a worldwide authority on plants, after all.
Of course, we get the majesty that is Janet from HR. This issue gives us even more character development than we could ever dream of, and there’s still so much more to come.
When G. Willow Wilson started this series, it was a fun road trip with Pamela, now it’s an all-out war on bad mistakes. You can tell the amount of growth Ivy’s had in such a short time. yes, she’s been through the wringer and had to rethink a lot of things.
Several moments in this issue have been foreshadowed, and yet all of them still came as a complete surprise. The way Wilson writes is crazy/awesome; she’s so busy getting you to focus on one thing, that you completely miss the obvious signs. Once again, the guest stars in his issue are insane, and I have no idea how she pulls off writing so many characters and pulling so many threads together.
Gravity-defying ponytails
If you’ve ever read one of my reviews, you will have noticed I have a weird obsession with how comic artists draw hair. I don’t know why, but I fixate on it. In this chapter, I noticed a familiar-looking high ponytail on our heroine. It reminds me of a hairstyle that Jen Bartel drew for Wonder Woman in “Future State“. Now, I don’t know if Luana Vecchio was pulling inspiration from that, but I definitely felt it.
Adding in the vibrant colors of Arif Prianto was also amazing. The green and red hues on every page were stunning when mixed with Luana’s artwork. I’m also so happy that we got to see more of this super-talented guest artist’s work in another issue.
Conclusion
I know that we always leave off on a cliffhanger, but… ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That was so good, and so unnecessary. G. Willow Wilson will insist on taking us all for a ride and Poison Ivy #18 has the maddest ending of the series so far. I have no idea how they are supposed to top this one.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment