“Poison Ivy” – Chapter Twenty
Artist: Marcio Takara
Color Artist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Review by Fay Clark
With Poison Ivy #20 we get even deeper into learning the lore behind how Pamela Isley became the villain/anti-hero we know and love today.
I love seeing G. Willow Wilson representing a whole genre of women through one character. Ivy’s always been fiercely against people who are killing the planet and Wilson has now added a few more members of to Pam’s crew. So, if you thought we would be satiated with just Pam, you were wrong.
The Origin Of The Species
Diving deeper into the origin story of how Poison Ivy came to be has been a wild ride, and we’re only two issues into this arc. G. Willow Wilson has clearly thought about this a lot more than the rest of us because there’s so much going on. The story’s full of love, mystery, crime, and betrayal. What more could you possibly need from an origin tale?
My brain’s seeing this series more like a TV series; everything’s so descriptive and real. I constantly find myself reading the issues like they’re actually storyboards for a show. This issue adds so much depth to the characters we already know while introducing yet more new people into the mix.
Everything seems so on track for a mid-season arc, that I’m not even mad we aren’t in the present killing Plant zombies. I’m very much enjoying the way Wilson’s pacing the tale.
Picture Perfect Pam
Arif Prianto has absolutely smashed it, once again. There are so many panels in this comic that depict the perfect Pamela Isley. The hair’s on point and vibrantly red, thanks to Marcio Takara. The fact that she’s pulled an all-nighter has no bags under her eyes, and has hair that’s stunningly quaffed is so unrealistic… I LOVE IT.
For some reason, it just adds more to the comic for me. It’s like characters that wake up from a night’s sleep in full makeup with their hair done looking so put together it’s annoying. Yet with Ivy, it’s just cute and endearing. I might not be able to review this series unbiasedly because I love our girl so much.
Conclusion
I know we’re dragging out the reveal of how Ivy gets out of her predicament in the present, but I can’t say I’m mad about it. Poison Ivy #20 has given me the Dr. Pam Isley that I’ve been longing for, so Wilson knows what she’s doing. I trust in the process, and can not wait to see the end of this arc and the epic reveal of the present.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment