Poison Ivy #14: Orchid Fever

Picking up right where Poison Ivy #13 left off in June, Poison Ivy #14 sees Ivy becoming embroiled in a disturbing orchid-themed murder mystery and facing off against a fearsome new foe. In fact, it doesn’t address the last two months’ event tie-in comic, Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy at all, treating it like a soon-forgotten bad dream. Poison Ivy is once again being fully drawn by Marcio Takara, who continues to prove himself a master of psychedelic horror while also deftly capturing the comedic turns in G. Willow Wilson’s script. Wilson and Takara waste no time drawing readers into a web of intrigue, with Arif Prianto’s unsettling color scheme making the issue all the more enthralling. 

The lighter secondary plot, featuring the first sustained interaction between Ivy’s girlfriends Harley Quinn and Janet, takes some surprising turns of its own. Because Prianto is finally coloring Janet’s hair the same blonde as Harley’s (per Janet’s first appearance), their similarities and differences– both visible and not–are made all the more obvious. It will certainly be interesting to see how the dynamic between Harley, Janet, and Ivy develops over the course of the coming issues. And while Poison Ivy #13 asked what it meant for Ivy to return to the city she’d left behind. Now, we get to see Gotham through an outsider’s eyes–Janet’s eyes–and it’s delightful.