Poison Ivy #23: Dying, Gotham, Dying!

As regular readers are well aware, Poison Ivy has been at death’s door for some time now — December of 2023, in fact. Ivy has been dying for so long that she narrated a three-issue origin story arc embedded in this arc while dying, putting even Shakespeare’s deathbed monologues to shame. So it comes as little shock to find that Poison Ivy #23 offers more of the same. 

Writer G. Willow Wilson offers a moving meditation on mortality, lacing her script with humor to take the edge off. Artist Haining, meanwhile, expertly blends the series’ characteristic fungal horror with moments of poignant human tragedy. That said, the psychedelia that has also been a series hallmark feels notably absent. Master colorist Arif Prianto keeps scenes vibrant and readable despite Poison Ivy #23’s visceral mess and chaos. And letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou skillfully walks a tightrope, creating chaos through messy onomatopoeia and squiggly speech bubbles while still giving each character a unique, memorable voice. The issue is a high-octane, high-impact splatterpunk extravaganza with every creator on their A-game.

And yet, it needs to end. Reader, it is Pride Month. Pride is many things: it’s a time to celebrate queer resistance and resilience. It is also a time of remembrance for those we’ve lost. It is not a time to continue slowly killing off your bisexual protagonist, albeit now in the company of her two girlfriends. Last year for Pride, Poison Ivy’s cover falsely promised a “Date Night!” special only to show Ivy spending one page total with girlfriend Harley. This year, it’s the classic and equally exhausting “Bury Your Gays”/“Dead Lesbian Syndrome” trope. For decades and across all forms of media, depictions of queer tragedy and death have remained the dominant narrative—especially for queer women. This narrative insists that to be queer is to suffer and that dying is the only punishment severe enough for transgressions of sexuality/gender. While superhero comics have long milked character death, the very length of Ivy’s makes it feel as if the script is relishing her agony. And with the knowledge that a Gotham City Sirens miniseries starring Ivy starts in August, it also feels pointless. I highly doubt any of this is the message “Team Ivy” meant to send, but it is nonetheless the message.