Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Art: Marcio Takara
Colors: Arif Prianto
Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover: Jessica Fong
Variant Covers: Joseph Middleton & Jenny Frison; Simone di Meo; Skylar Partridge
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: 3.99
Release Date: March 7th, 2023
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Poison Ivy #10 Review.
The Dispatch
Poison Ivy has everything under control. She adapted to the lamia spores. She found ways to improve the world one small way at a time rather than killing humanity. Now she is eliminating other people that know about the lamia spores and might use them for nefarious purposes. So…everything’s under control in POISON IVY #10. Until it’s not. Despite Ivy’s insistence last issue that she is where she belongs, as POISON IVY #10 opens she is packing to return to Gotham City. Janet, the roommate Ivy picked up after POISON IVY #8, wants to take a detour to California to a wellness retreat hosted by Gwendolyne Caltrope. Janet says that Gwendolyne is environmentally aware and practicing conscious capitalism. Against her better judgment, Ivy relents and the two women make their way to California. While Janet finds value in what the retreat is offering and likens it to what Ivy does, Ivy sees nothing but people trying to fool themselves into thinking improvement is easy. This is all harmless enough until Ivy discovers that lamia spores she has been host to have begun to grow wild.
Ivy isn’t quite reaping what she sowed in POISON IVY #10, but the idea that her past actions might be coming back to haunt her and threaten her new friend is compelling. Ivy changed her mind about mass murdering people in POISON IVY #6, but that doesn’t mean she gets a free pass for everything she did leading up to that. Wilson’s choice to incorporate this idea into a story is a reminder, perhaps an uncomfortable one, that no matter how sympathetic Ivy may be she is not a hero. Janet isn’t a particularly strong character in POISON IVY #10 (which doesn’t distinguish her from the previous issue). The major characters that entered Ivy’s orbit in the first six issues were built around goals and are ambitious in fulfilling them. Janet is more like a hanger-on, focused on somehow being involved in what Ivy does even though she doesn’t share Ivy’s stridency. However, in this issue, as the lamia spores make a new and different appearance, Janet’s weakness could be a storytelling asset.
The Art
Takara does an outstanding job depicting Ivy and Janet in this issue. He imbues Janet with more personality than Wilson accomplishes in dialogue and narration. She isn’t necessarily a stronger character when depicted visually but her expressions give her more depth. This is something that Takara always succeeds at–making the characters leap off the page by conveying clear and nuanced emotions. Prinato’s colors are always vivid, and he creates an absolutely lovely California. The final pages let him go wild as POISON IVY so often does with one of the series’ typical psychedelic sequences. These never get old, and are always a visual feast.
Final Thoughts
POISON IVY #10 suffers somewhat from Janet’s presence. There are possibilities for her going forward depending on how Willow further crafts the story. But in this issue she doesn’t add much more than a cheerleader quality. That said, a weak issue of this series is still high quality and shouldn’t be missed.