Poison Ivy, Vol. 1: The Virtuous Cycle

There seems to be something of a trend in comics these days to turn female villains into something more positive and heroic - Catwoman and Harley Quinn being obvious examples. Poison Ivy has by no means been immune to that trend, but this volume pulls few punches and makes her into a much darker character. The plot essentially sees her on a mission to wipe out humanity, emotionally scarred by the trauma she suffered in other comics and taking her ecoterrorist leanings to the extreme.

And yet, the writing is more subtle than that; she's not some mad villain, but somebody dealing badly with her recent experiences. (Really badly; there's a high body count and themes of suicide). Alongside the despair, though, her underlying humanity shows through in brief glimpses until we reach the denouement and face somebody much worse. The story is well written, much of it in the form of letters in which Ivy tries to explain her actions and square what she's doing with her love for Harley. There are plenty of psychedelic sequences as Ivy (and others) trips on hallucinogenic fungi, making things both visually and narratively weird. It all adds to the flavour of a strong story that's more about Ivy's emotional journey than superhero action.

I only have a baseline knowledge of Poison Ivy, so while this comic was gorgeous and had an interesting concept, I didn't fully connect with it the way a long-time fan might. Still a fun, solid read with heartfelt moments between the eco-gore.