Poison Ivy #2 variant cover, via DC Comics.
Poison Ivy #2 – G. Willow Wilson, Writer; Marcio Takara, Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Poison Ivy’s slow, terrifying trip through the heartland as she plans the extinction of humanity continues this issue, with a haunting issue that makes the themes of the story a little clearer than the disturbing first issue did. After a prologue that explains why Ivy considers herself a carnivore—and lets her get some revenge on an obnoxious-looking vegan and his unsustainable agave syrup—Ivy finds herself at a small diner in Montana, manned by an Indian gentleman who brings his own immigrant flair to the menu. There, she watches the normal, happy people head by—including an eccentric young poet who introduces herself to Pamela as the two strike up an odd bond. The first issue mostly showed the people Pamela encountered as neutral or hostile, while this issue seems to go out of its way to show them as kind, unique, and just wanting to live their lives—something that doesn’t deter her from her mission one bit.
Lost love. Via DC Comics.
This is almost a bottle episode, a few flashbacks aside. Most of the action takes place within the confines of the friendly, isolated diner as Pamela starts to bond with this mysterious traveler—and discovers there’s much more to her than it seemed at first. A tense stand-off with some trigger-happy cops raises the stakes, and Pamela seems to briefly hesitate on her mission of infecting everyone in sight—but in such a way that makes her plan potentially even more horrific. It’s very hard to do a villain protagonist, and even harder to make the audience care about one whose goal is straight-up mass murder. The fact that Wilson and Takara are making Ivy both sympathetic and genuinely horrific is a testament to their skill. The opening segment reminds us that the Ivy most fans like best is still in there somewhere—but in some ways, that just makes the events unfolding here all the more tragic.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
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