“Poison Ivy” – Chapter Twenty One
Artist: Marcio Takara
Color Artist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Review by Fay Clark
Poison Ivy #21 closes off Pam’s origin story. Getting to see her beginnings before her arrival in Gotham has been a treat. I feel like we’ve dived deeper into her character than ever before and have more of an understanding of her motivations.
Planting Pheromones Again?
G. Willow Wilson has taken us on a roller coaster ride with Pamela’s story. The way she’s written the inner monologue of someone telling a story in the present, about her past but without losing any of the current story threads, has been amazing. Hearing the whole saga from Pam’s perspective has helped us all understand more about her character. It’s definitely one of those “Hold on, am I rooting for the ‘bad guy?” moments.
It makes you think about everything Ivy’s done in previous issues, as this chapter lets us explore the mentality of a criminal, yet completely be on their side. Wilson is a master at getting the reader to see every side of the story.
Ancient Tree or Boss Lady Awakening?
I could go on and on about the art team all day, as Marcio Takara and Arif Prianto could not be a better match and work beautifully together. Takara’s so brilliant at drawing your eye to the centre of the panel and letting you take in everything else around the focal point.
Arif Prianto’s a stand-out talent for me in this issue. His color work on one panel in particular is visually stunning. It’s like a loving slap in the face, it hits you like a tonne of bricks but I would let him do it again. The different hues being used and the contrast of color is amazingly vibrant. It brings everything to life in a whole new way.
Conclusion
Why do people insist on cliffhangers? Come on… you already know that I’ll be reading the next issue, and I don’t need the extra push! The amazing work from the whole team in Poison Ivy #21 guarantees that I’ll be paying very close attention to every detail I can, next time.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment