Poison Ivy #29

Recap
After killing her abusive mentor and coming back from the dead, Poison Ivy has been trying to turn over a new leaf. For real this time. Her days of trying to genocide humanity with a fungus zombie plague are behind her, if only just. However, the Order of the Green Knight, a newly emerged ecoterrorist group who claim Ivy is their leader, are making that a whole lot harder. While they seem well-meaning enough and offer themselves up willingly, they’re about as brainlessly Ivy-obsessed and destructive as the zombies. And troublingly for Ivy, they’re blaming her for crimes she had no part in. On the lam and looking for refuge in a ghost town that has emerged in Slaughter Swamp, Ivy now finds herself magically transported to her other recent hometown: Seattle, Washington.
Review
Jessica Fong’s haunting cover for this month’s Poison Ivy #29 shows Ivy approaching a cluster of cultists standing in the woods around a giant figure made of branches. Fong’s cover is eerily reminiscent of The Wicker Man, a 1973 folk horror film where the protagonist is famously burnt alive inside a giant wicker effigy by a village of cultists in the final act. In Fong’s homage, the effigy resembles Ivy herself, wearing the fungal armor she fought Floronic Man in (Poison Ivy #22). Like the 2006 American remake of The Wicker Man, Poison Ivy #29 has relocated its protagonist and weird cultists to the state of Washington, though the comic feels less folk-y thanks to its urban Seattle environment.
In Ivy’s previous encounters with the Order, they spoke of a “First Disciple” who brought them together after they each dreamed of Ivy in her armor. As Ivy searches for the First Disciple in Seattle, the series’ subplots and side characters take a back seat, allowing momentum to build uninterrupted towards the final confrontation. The result is a conversation-forward character piece in which writer G. Willow Wilson satisfyingly fleshes out the relationship between Ivy, the Order, and its leader. While Ivy still struggles to assert her autonomy after killing her abuser (not once but twice), Wilson’s compelling characterization now sees her simultaneously struggle with her desire to control others.
Marcio Takara’s characters continue to feel lively and expressive, though the comic could benefit from more varied panel compositions. Colorist Arif Prianto favors earth tones for mundane moments while reserving brighter colors for psychedelic action scenes. While this is usually quite effective, the proliferation of spare, often beige backgrounds lead conversational portions of this issue to feel a touch drab. That said, the short mid-comic action scene packs a visual punch. The nature of Poison Ivy #29 places additional emphasis on series letterer Hassan Ostmane-Elhaou, who captures a great deal of nuance through varied letter and bubble styles. For example, when Ivy is influencing a man with her pheromones, her green speech bubble sends out tiny tendrils and infects the nearest corner of his white speech bubble with green. While I doubt the identity of the First Disciple will come as much of a shock to regular series readers, the comic’s explorations of herd mentality and abusive relationships still offer plenty of food for thought.
Final Thoughts
Poison Ivy #29 sets aside its subplots and supporting cast to offer a focused meditation on faith, love, and control.
Poison Ivy #29: Green Goddess
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 8.5/108.5/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10