Si la confrontation de Pamela Isley avec Jason Woodrue, l'homme responsable de sa mutation en Poison Ivy, l'a amenée aux portes de la mort, elle a aussi changé la nature de sa fuite en avant destructrice. Ayant renoncé à réduire en cendres l'Humanité tout entière, elle demeure néanmoins bien résolue à faire payer aux responsables de l'état catastrophique de la planète le tribut que Mère Nature exige. Ses retrouvailles avec Harley Quinn parviendront-elles à calmer ses envies de meurtre... ou l'odyssée sanglante ne fait-elle que commencer ?
Hugo, World Fantasy and American Book Award-winning author of novels and comics, including THE BIRD KING, INVISIBLE KINGDOM, and ALIF THE UNSEEN. Co-creator of Ms Marvel. Honorary doctor of letters, Rutgers University. I accidentally started a dutch baby baking cult during quarantine. Not very active on here right now, but often found on Twitter.
as always, i love the art in this run, and the cover is gorgeous!!! i was so glad to see ivy and harley together for a few pages, but i wish we had gotten more of them :/
A major mycelial step down from the previous volume. I thought things might get interesting when it pivoted to a snarky takedown of the "Wellness" industry but ultimately it was pretty toothless, if somewhat lurid. Is this series continuing? If so I'm no longer going to be in a hurry to pick it up, alas.
In this volume, Poison Ivy takes on "green" companies that are actually damaging the environment or the health of customers. I felt that this was not as good as the first volume. The thing that felt off was that there was a lot of horror content in here, but people didn't react like they were seeing it. For example, someone gets taken over by fungus spores and transforms into body horror creature. Poison Ivy fights it and defeats it, but the banter continues like nothing happened. If the characters don't seem to be reacting to the story, it's hard for the story to make an impression on readers. Perhaps changing to an artist that is better at expressing human emotion in art could help fill in the emotional gaps in the writing.
Poison Ivy still tries to save the world (still killing people now and then in the process, if necessary). But that’s not so easy if you don’t really know who’s good and who’s evil, especially when you have to struggle against a fungus inside you that’s likely to take over your body and your whole being. No wonder that Ivy gets into trouble, which results in unfaithfulness, sex orgies, an impending zombie apocalypse, death and doom … Again, a highly political and psychological work of art with many important contemporary issues. This time, it’s striking that the main characters are almost exclusively (strong) women, which is a good excuse for a lot of girl-on-girl action. If you read the whole omnibus in one go, it might be vexing that the main characters look different in the separate volumes because the comic book artists are different (Marcio Takara / Atagun Ilhan). But the whole graphic novel is a wonderful visual feast of beautiful and nightmarish imagery with a hefty dose of horror as well as heart, body and soul. 5 stars.
A fairly entertaining Poison Ivy story, albeit a slightly heavy-handed COVID 19 allegory. The send-up of Gwyneth Paltrow felt a bit lazy; like shooting fish in a barrel, really.
The high point of the book was the issue where Harley Quinn comes for a visit. Fun and rather sweet.
Após os acontecimentos do volume anterior, Hera está com as energias renovadas e uma nova perspectiva de vida. Ela recuperou – em partes – seus poderes, superou seu desejo de vingança e está com um novo propósito: acabar com aqueles que realmente estão no topo, que são os causadores dos problemas ambientais e mascaram seus interesses individuais tentando vender a solução de algo que eles mesmos causam.
Assim, logo no começo, temos a Pam investigando uma empresa que se vende como uma produtora de combustível/energia renovável e super feminista, tendo como CEO uma mulher ambiciosa. Dessa forma, Hera vai até o local para investigar a empresa e verificar os estragos que o combustível está causando na biosfera do seu entorno. É nessa aventura que somos apresentados a Janet do RH, uma antiga conhecida da Hera, que a ajuda a acabar com a empresa, e em troca, Pam ajuda-a com uma cirurgia que a moça precisava.
A partir disso, Janet se torna uma personagem recorrente da HQ. Ela começa a morar com Pam e serve como um contraponto da protagonista no que tange sua visão crítica em relação a preservação do meio ambiente. Enquanto Hera possui uma visão radical, Janet se mostra aquela pessoa que se importa com a reciclagem – por exemplo – mas se limita a essa visão micro da conservação ambiental, caindo em discursos de capitalismo sustentável e teorias afins.
Por conta dessa visão, Janet convence Hera a passar um final de semana em um retiro, que prega uma visão de se conectar com a natureza e consumo dos recursos naturais de forma sustentável. Ambas as personagens visitam o local, e por conta do fungo que está presente no corpo de Hera (conforme visto no volume anterior), as reação de um suco que elas bebem, acaba tendo seus efeitos potencializados, gerando alucinações e transbordando Dopamina nas mulheres ali do retiro. Isso leva a trama para um âmbito muito divertido e interessante, causando reflexões nas personagens acerca da vida, sonhos e visão da sociedade.
A resolução para todo esse problema da Hera envolvendo o fungo, se torna um desenvolvimento critico, que traz o elemento do vilão final envolvendo quadrinhos de super herói, mas sem perder o tom critico que a personagem carrega consigo a respeito do meio ambiente. Ademais, esse volume também trata de amor e aceitação, logo, a participação da Arlequina é bem desenvolvida, sendo um símbolo tanto de perda para a Hera, por ela ter abandonado Gotham, rumo a sua missão solitária, assim como um símbolo de força para a personagem, tendo em vista o bom relacionamento das duas e como a Harley consegue potencializar o lado bom da Hera, até permitindo uma visão inovadora dos poderes da personagem.
okay. Guys this one has a long story behind it I expect you to read this fully.
The first impression i got for this book other than the cover is when i turned it around and was met with the text “mommy is very angry” in bold. Like sorry not sorry but how could i not read that book?? mommy is very angry??? i have so many questions: why is mommy mad? Why are we calling her mommy there is no need? thats rlly it but still in that moment i wished i had starbucks so i could have spat my coffee in shock. ok so i bought that book bc ofc I did but Im not about to walk around in public with a book that says mommy is very angry with a picture of a milf on it, so i also bought Julius Caeser by Shakespeare so that I could cover this one and people wouldnt judge. I was technically in that area bc i wanted to buy a play but it wasnt in stores so whatever
Poison ivy needs to stop fucking people when she has a girlfriend, but also the idea of her having a girlfriend works so well as a progression to her bc she hates men and shit. Like pushing her out of her comfort zone with that works so well im obsessed with the person who decided to make that happen
TLDR everyone whos in charge of making poison ivy the character deserves to be kissed on the mouth
A very disappointing mess compared to the first volume. The story was incoherent, the characters were very uninteresting, and overall it just felt pointless.
I absolutely adore Harley and Ivy’s “toxic” relationship and just the free spirited way they both can drift but still always come back to each other it really is beautiful to watch. Also hats off to the artists on this series, the horrendously beautiful plant spores and infestation that literally at times seem to absorb the entire page make such a vivid reading experience and really brings the mind to almost a surrealist like viewing
This series is big and colorful and fun, if maybe a little light. It could definitely benefit from a bit deeper dive into the horror but its a minor complaint.
This was still a great volume, but I didn’t think it was as strong as volume 1, which was near perfect. The art in this one was a little more uneven, and I didn’t find myself as into the plots here. The character work is still stellar though, and the Harley issue was amazing. 4/5 stars.
Plot not nearly as good as Vol. 1 and with a weird artist change in the first two issues. Harley brings in the good parts and seeing her with Pam was definitely the highlight of this volume but the rest was disappointing.
Depois de ter arrebatado os leitores com uma retratação radical, porém heroica da ecoterrorista Hera Venenosa, G. Willow Wilson continua mantendo as expectativas sobre o título em um nível bastante alto. Na trama, continuamos acompanhando Hera, Pamela Isley, a combater os esporos de fungos que dominam seu corpo. Primeiro quando ela derruba uma empresa de agrotóxicos no centro dos Estados Unidos e salva uma moça com câncer. Depois de a moça se submeter ao tratamento, Hera se encontra com Arlequina, sua namorada. Mas em seguida, após Quina se retirar, Pamela e a moça que salvou vão a um retiro gratiluz. Mas lá acabam enredadas em um problema. Acabam intoxicadas com os fungos presentes no corpo de Hera e começam a ficar eufóricas e a alucinar. Hera sofre uma mutação e só consegue se recuperar com a ajuda de Arlequina, que a convida para retornar ao local que sempre pertenceu: Gotham City. Assim se encerra esse encadernado, com a barra lá no alto, uma trama muito imersiva e ótima de se acompanhar. Ansioso para o próximo volume!
Як я згадував у відгуку на першу арку цієї серії початково серія "Poison Ivy" повинна була бути ліміткою з 6 номерів, однак в результаті їй дали ще 6. Тож давайте дізнаємося чи позитивно вплинуло це рішення на серію та чи вдалося Віллов Вілсон втримати планку минулих номерів.
7 і 8 номер розповідають про те як Айві занесло у містечко в Монтані в якому вона дізнається, що місцева корпорація "FutureGas" отруює поля, а також що забруднення призводить до перетворення людей у створінь схожих на Флоронік Мена. В результаті наша екотерористка має намір вбити власницю корпорації. Мені цей сюжет сподобався, він триває недовго й читається досить легко та цікаво. Місцева лиходійка звісно вийшла досить клішованою, однак декілька плюсів їй додає те, що в принципі тут можна провести паралель з тим якою б могла бути Памела якби Вудроу не перетворив її у Плюща. Плюс те, що Айві робить з нею у кінці вийшло досить жорстоким. Тут також представляють Джанет з ейчару, яка стає таким собі сайдкіком для Айві. Щодо малюнку то гостьовий художник Атагун Ільхан зі своєю роботою впорався досить непогано.
У 9 номері відбувається возз'єднання Айві та Гарлі й загалом вийшло досить миленько, з основного ми дізналися що Плющ все ще має свої старі здібності й під кінець вона вирішує повернутися до Ґотему. На жаль незважаючи на те, що мені цей номер так-то сподобався в контексті наступних номерів він відчувається відверто зайвим й трішки ламає деякі моменти.
Сюжет з 10 по 12 номер мені взагалі не сподобався й звідси йдуть більшість моїх проблем. За сюжетом Джанет вирішує затягнути Айві на спа курорт у результаті якого відвідувачі заражаються спорами (я так і не зрозумів чи це від самої Плющихи вони пішли чи це ті які вона в першій арці випустила). Десь 90% подій у серії є досить слабеньким філером. Як мені здається на них випав "перехідний період" оскільки серію спочатку продовжили до 12 номерів, а потім зробили повноцінним онґоїнґом, в результаті чого Вілсон поспіхом забивати чимось номери.
Щодо Джанет то у мене жодних претензій до неї коли вона виконує роль умовної стрейт вумен на фоні Айві якій лиш дай привід вбити людей, навпаки з такої динаміки я кайфую. Однак Джей Віллов Вілсон тут намагається зробити любовний трикутник між нею, Айві та Гарлі, а тому під впливом спорів зізнається в коханні Айві та спить з нею. Як на мене, то вийшло цей момент працював би набагато краще якби був пізніше в серії коли ми більше провели часу з нею та Плющом. Особливо це дивно виглядає на фоні номера з возз'єднання Айві та Гарлі, а враховуючи, що 12 номер знову завершується їх возз'єднанням то краще було б 9 трохи переробити й посунути в самий кінець.
Щодо малюнку то тут все теж не те щоб добре. Марсіо Такара знову художник і цього разу його робота вийшла набагато слабшою тут. Моментів з боді горором було менше й фокус був на людях, які у нього місцями вийшли досить такими собі.
В результаті друга збірка Отруйного Плюща починалася непогано, однак в результаті розчарувала мене. Сподіваюся, що в наступних номерах авторці вдасться виправити ситуацію.
This will be near the top of my list of best comics that I’ve read this year. Beautifully executed story and phenomenal art. This series creates such complexity for the character of Poison Ivy, who I’ve always thought as a typically one-dimensional character. The internal dialogue boxes are my favorite because we really get the supposed unfiltered thoughts that Ivy is having as she progresses through this story. This might be the first time I’ve seen the Ivy/Harley relationship done well and I think that’s because there’s more to the relationship than just getting together and hooking up, which seems to be just about in everything with one of the two lately. They definitely do get together and hook up, but their relationship in this is complicated and it shows in the story way too well, which makes this feel like it’s just done different and done right. I’ve loved seeing Poison Ivy as a monster and as a hero (sometimes both within the same few panels) as she made her way across the US and I’m really hoping the quality of this series doesn’t drop as she’s back in Gotham City again. Very hopeful for more of this quality storytelling in the future.
Excellent commentary on influencer/wellness culture, corporate greenwashing, and fascinating to see Covid trauma used to tie things together. Just so well done.
Shill Baby Shill is still one of the better covers for the Poison Ivy comic. I enjoyed this story when I read it in single issues but kind of meh prechy. On the reread of the trade and in just two reading sessions I have to say this was really good. The Poison Ivy lady is just working through her Trauma issues and apparently trying to not kill all humans. It is nice to see a character have the same reaction to the whole New Age bullcrap as I do. Ivy even tried to help those poisoned by the guru lady.
Poison ivy meets back up with Harley has a little romp and realizes life may be worth it after all… She gets back with HR Lady and heads to California to a GOOP style health seminar and unknowingly takes mushrooms BUT Ivy has mutated the local vegetation so things go bad!
I felt like the first trade was really engaging and beautifully illustrated - this one doesn’t have that same energy although it still maintains the story.
I think, much like the spores, this series has taken hold of me. Art-style pet peeves aside, I think this installment really solidified my love for the plotline at the moment. There were certainly some areas that I felt like slowed for just a little too long, but past that, this was solid work from the *team* of individuals contributing to this. Once again, Wilson seems to be touching on some very interesting and especially relevant tropes when it comes to recent health-nut fads. With that said, I'm eager to see what's next.
In this volume, Poison Ivy takes down a scammy wellness entrepreneur named Gwendolyn Caltrope whose company is called Gløp. I love how unsubtle this is.
Adore this series. Sapphic, fungi powers, environmental commentary, and women doing bad things that I can probably excuse. 🙂↕️
So far I’ve loved both volumes in this series. I adore how they’ve written Ivy and how, even though she is flawed, you can still sympathise with or understand her concerns and choices.
The art is a lot of fun and I adore how vibrant it is… and how harrowing the fungi is.
Rep// Bi Woman MC, Bi Woman MC, Sapphic MC, Sapphic SCs. Central romances are WLW.
TWs listed below, please skip if you don’t want vague spoilers.
TW// possible cheating (under influence of substance), fungi outbreaks, death, murder, mild violence, needles, poisoning/drugging without consent, hinted at group sexual encounter under influence (no sex or nudity on page.)