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Detective Comics (1937-2011)
Detective Comics (1937-2011) #823
Once she was the mistress of all growing things. Now the plant kingdom has rebelled and unleashed its deadly fury on Poison Ivy! While struggling to protect his enemy, Batman is drawn deeper into a forest of intrigue where he uncovers a horrifying secret from Ivy's past.
23 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 6, 2006
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Paul Dini
731 books722 followersPaul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Duck Dodgers. He also developed and scripted Krypto the Superdog and contributed scripts to Animaniacs (he created Minerva Mink), Freakazoid, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. After leaving Warner Bros. In early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the popular ABC adventure series Lost.
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 9, 2026
(B+) 78% | Good
Notes: Less in-the-weeds detective deeds, if still a sleuthing case, as well it's drawn like early Spawn—a total change of pace.
*Progress update
Notes: Less in-the-weeds detective deeds, if still a sleuthing case, as well it's drawn like early Spawn—a total change of pace.
*Progress update
February 1, 2025
The plot is good.It has a very cool cover and some really gorgeous splash pages. Not seen much of Joe Benitez as an artist but this is really cool.
The story is a fantastic whodunnit perfect for the World's Greatest Detective to solve. Poison Ivy is in Arkham and is attacked by dangerous vines!! Somehow she saves herself and then asks Batman for help. Poison Ivy who is usually composed and scheming is quite vulnerable here. The Batman is trying to figure out why the vines are attacking someone who they think is their friend or master. It's a cool story and wraps up in one issue itself.
The story is a fantastic whodunnit perfect for the World's Greatest Detective to solve. Poison Ivy is in Arkham and is attacked by dangerous vines!! Somehow she saves herself and then asks Batman for help. Poison Ivy who is usually composed and scheming is quite vulnerable here. The Batman is trying to figure out why the vines are attacking someone who they think is their friend or master. It's a cool story and wraps up in one issue itself.
Read
April 9, 2022i hate u paul, minus ten stars lol
March 2, 2021
Dang what a story! It was fun to see Tim hanging out with Ivy while Batman was away, and just to see Ivy in a vulnerable position like that being that she's normally the toughest of the Sirens.
October 7, 2025
tw; sexual abuse
//
If you follow my Letterboxd, you know that I don't like to pass judgement on people for the things they enjoy.
Think Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is terrifying and better than the original film? Sure.
Think Rise of Skywalker is a brilliant masterpiece and a perfect conclusion to the Saga? Go nuts.
That being said, if you think Detective Comics: Stalked is a good comic, there is something wrong with you. I'm basically of the opinion that Paul Dini is a total hack whose worst impulses were kept in check on Batman: The Animated Series thanks to a whole creative team that knew how to reign him in. I know many people would disagree with this and that statement is at least debatable. This comic's lack of merit is not, it is the only piece of franchise media I would be confident in calling "objectively bad" and the crown jewel of shit in the Stone Age of media that was DC in 2006.
The comic begins letting you know exactly what kind of story you're in for with the heavily sexualized rape of Poison Ivy by a plant monster. Dini sycophants will trip over themselves trying to white wash this as "not actually rape", but I think it's very telling that all of the drooling fanboys making this assertion are men. Her clothes are torn, she's gagged, her legs are spread open. Every woman I know who has seen these opening panels has come to the exact same conclusion as to what this was depicting. Now is probably a good time to mention that Dini based his take on Poison Ivy on a co-worker who spurned his romantic advances, which puts his treatment of the character in this comic in about as dark a light as you can possibly cast. It only gets worse from there as Ivy immediately flirts with the police who have her in protective custody. Because that's totally what a rape victim wants to do, she wants to suck dick after being sexually assaulted.
Somehow, it gets even worse from there. Batman & Robin take Ivy back to the Batcave, where she now flirts with an underage Robin, because Dini needs to do everything possible to justify Ivy's rape in those opening panels as punitive justice. And I do mean everything, because it's later revealed that the monster who attacked Ivy was actually a hybrid of souls that Ivy had tortured to death (all of whom being people who were nice to her) and made bisexual snuff films out of. It's such a transparent way of Dini to take the piss out of Rucka's seminal take on the character in No Man's Land as a morally ambiguous antihero, a complete betrayal of the character's entire heroic journey that had spanned 9 years up to this point since John Francis Moore's Batman: Poison Ivy in 1997. Ivy in this story was also apparently too stupid to know that herbicide would be an effective weapon against a plant-based enemy, so she basically has no redeeming qualities here. I don't know what's more pathetic between the violent misogyny and Dini's burning jealousy at a writer adapting a character better than he ever could.
And if all that wasn't enough, the comic ends on the most tasteless note possible with Ivy cowering in fear at Arkham when a nurse presents her a peeled orange, effectively turning her rape trauma into a comedic punchline. Even Frank Miller would be reaching for a vomit bag at this point.
People (rightfully) gasp in horror at Mark Millar pitching The Rape of Wonder Woman to DC, but that's effectively what Dini successfully pitched for Ivy. And people let him get away with it because they watched Batman: The Animated Series when they were 7 and have nostalgia for the writer. Fuck him. And fuck anyone who defends this comic.
//
If you follow my Letterboxd, you know that I don't like to pass judgement on people for the things they enjoy.
Think Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is terrifying and better than the original film? Sure.
Think Rise of Skywalker is a brilliant masterpiece and a perfect conclusion to the Saga? Go nuts.
That being said, if you think Detective Comics: Stalked is a good comic, there is something wrong with you. I'm basically of the opinion that Paul Dini is a total hack whose worst impulses were kept in check on Batman: The Animated Series thanks to a whole creative team that knew how to reign him in. I know many people would disagree with this and that statement is at least debatable. This comic's lack of merit is not, it is the only piece of franchise media I would be confident in calling "objectively bad" and the crown jewel of shit in the Stone Age of media that was DC in 2006.
The comic begins letting you know exactly what kind of story you're in for with the heavily sexualized rape of Poison Ivy by a plant monster. Dini sycophants will trip over themselves trying to white wash this as "not actually rape", but I think it's very telling that all of the drooling fanboys making this assertion are men. Her clothes are torn, she's gagged, her legs are spread open. Every woman I know who has seen these opening panels has come to the exact same conclusion as to what this was depicting. Now is probably a good time to mention that Dini based his take on Poison Ivy on a co-worker who spurned his romantic advances, which puts his treatment of the character in this comic in about as dark a light as you can possibly cast. It only gets worse from there as Ivy immediately flirts with the police who have her in protective custody. Because that's totally what a rape victim wants to do, she wants to suck dick after being sexually assaulted.
Somehow, it gets even worse from there. Batman & Robin take Ivy back to the Batcave, where she now flirts with an underage Robin, because Dini needs to do everything possible to justify Ivy's rape in those opening panels as punitive justice. And I do mean everything, because it's later revealed that the monster who attacked Ivy was actually a hybrid of souls that Ivy had tortured to death (all of whom being people who were nice to her) and made bisexual snuff films out of. It's such a transparent way of Dini to take the piss out of Rucka's seminal take on the character in No Man's Land as a morally ambiguous antihero, a complete betrayal of the character's entire heroic journey that had spanned 9 years up to this point since John Francis Moore's Batman: Poison Ivy in 1997. Ivy in this story was also apparently too stupid to know that herbicide would be an effective weapon against a plant-based enemy, so she basically has no redeeming qualities here. I don't know what's more pathetic between the violent misogyny and Dini's burning jealousy at a writer adapting a character better than he ever could.
And if all that wasn't enough, the comic ends on the most tasteless note possible with Ivy cowering in fear at Arkham when a nurse presents her a peeled orange, effectively turning her rape trauma into a comedic punchline. Even Frank Miller would be reaching for a vomit bag at this point.
People (rightfully) gasp in horror at Mark Millar pitching The Rape of Wonder Woman to DC, but that's effectively what Dini successfully pitched for Ivy. And people let him get away with it because they watched Batman: The Animated Series when they were 7 and have nostalgia for the writer. Fuck him. And fuck anyone who defends this comic.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews