Poison Ivy, Vol. 1: The Virtuous Cycle

Poison Ivy (2022-) (Collected Editions) #1

by G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara (Artist), Brian Level (Penciler)

Pamela Isley has been a lot of things in her life. A living god, a super-villain, an activist, a scientist, and dead. In a new body that she didn’t ask for and with a renewed sense of purpose, Ivy leaves Gotham and sets out to complete her greatest work—a gift to the world that will heal the damage dealt to it...by ending humanity.

On her journey to doom humankind, a heartbroken and betrayed Poison Ivy encounters obstacles (plant assassins!) and dodges the law along the way, in a body horror-infused character-defining epic from the visionary creative team of writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Marcio Takara.

This volume collects Poison Ivy #1-6.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Queer, Horror, Superheroes, LGBT

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2023

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Jim Ef · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.2/10
A good idea that lacks in execution.
It starts off nicely, as we see Ivy in the beginning of her journey. A journey that it seems when it's over, it will be the end not only for Pamela but for all mankind.
So definitely not a bad beginning .. but then it kind of lost me. I got a little bored, as it looked to me that the story was getting a bit repetitive.
It did become better again by the end, but not good enough for me to continue the series.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poison Ivy is like, we shouldn't be throwing soups, but burn factories instead. This series is just beautiful plants, body horror, serial killer vibes and lesbian angst.

[Literally Lesia]

Поки без оцінки, бо відчуваю, що ще буду його перечитувати з більшим багажем знань по DC, але сама історія Пем Айслі мені ну дуууже сподобалася! Захотілося копатися в її минулому та читати наступну частину, не відкладаючи. Комікс намальовано так гарно, що розглядати кожну деталь можна годинами. Ну і звісно, основна тема історії не залишає байдужими.

Зараз нам потрібні вбивці. Саботажники. Революціонери. Люди, які не бояться захищати те, що лишилося від Землі.

[Franzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"i could fix her-" well i could accept her as she is! you don't like the murder? grow up!

[Rachels_booknook_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poison Ivy has always been my favorite, and the art in this volume is gorgeous so this is one of the best books in my collection! This is a great story of an anti-hero. *insert Taylor swift* I don't necessarily ship Pam with Harley much because it never felt that organic to me and together they become much less interesting and more milquetoast, but Harley isn't really in this volume. I thought she would be since early on we are told this is a love story, and Harley is Poison Ivy's one great love or whatever. It looks like she will be more present in future issues though.
Anyway I enjoyed the focus being on Pam, her struggles with her body, and her mission. (She is so often sidelined in favor of less interesting characters). I definitely got some Last of Us vibes from this one, but less ominous because it's hard not to side with the reasoning of eradicating the invasive human species to save the planet. The end promises a new direction though and I can't wait to see where the story goes next!

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been meaning to come back to this series after I read some of the series as it came out issue by issue. This was the September pick for our comic book club. As a huge fan of G. Willow Wilson, this did not disappoint in terms of writing; however, I think that it will be a hard volume to get into if you don't have an context for Poison Ivy as a character and Joker War. Nevertheless, I thought the art was great and I'll be continuing the series!

[Sapphir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poison Ivy is disappointed in humankind. So she sets off to kill the humans in order to save the earth and her precious plants. But then she realizes bit by bit that there are still people worth saving, too …
This graphic novel rigorously addresses highly political and social issues, first of all climate protection and the fact that humanity destroys the very basis of its existence by exploiting natural resources and human beings. But it’s also a stunning work of art with beautifully drawn, albeit sometimes nightmarish, pictures.
5 stars.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delves deeply into the motivations of Poison Ivy, with a strong focus on her environmental concerns. It feels like there is a strong Lovecraftian influence here, so if you like a bit of horror with your supervillain stories, this is a good book to pick up.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was pretty great! best thing of Wilson's I've read since the groundbreaking first volumes of Ms. Marvel, and the art really served the story well.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poison Ivy is on a genocidal road trip, spreading fungal spores to bring about the end of mankind. As happens on road trips she meets colorful individuals and has time to reflect on her origins and relationship with Harley Quinn. And of course, she's being pursued by someone with their own agenda. Something tells me the world is going to be safe when all is said and done.

This whole thing seems to be an epilogue to some crossover event that I never read.

Gloomy and dull narration. No sense of humor. Constant homicidal rage. Eco-terrorism. Mushroom induced hallucinations. This is a hard sell even for an antihero book.

And no matter how hard G. Willow Wilson works to make Ivy deep and tortured, the dozens of variant covers in the gallery at the rear demonstrate that most people still think of her as a pin-up femme fatale first and foremost.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: (All stories written by G. Willow Wilson, original covers by Jessica Fong)
• Prologue: Photosynthesis (Batman (2016) #124) / DaNi, artist
• Chapter One. Landscaping (Poison Ivy (2022) #1 / Marcio Takara, artist
• Chapter Two. A Bite to Eat (Poison Ivy (2022) #2 / Marcio Takara, artist
• Chapter Three. Yard Work (Poison Ivy (2022) #3 / Marcio Takara, artist
• Chapter Four. Horrible Bosses (Poison Ivy (2022) #4 / Marcio Takara, artist
• Chapter Five. Dead Reckoning (Poison Ivy (2022) #5 / Marcio Takara, artist, (p. 9-22); Brian Level, penciler (p. 1-8); Stefano Gaudiano, inker (p. 1-8)
• Chapter Six. Old Wounds (Poison Ivy (2022) #6 / Marcio Takara, artist, (p. 14-22); Brian Level, penciler (p. 1-13) and inker (p. 13); Jay Leisten, inker (p. 1-12)
• Ophiocordyceps Lamia (Gotham City Villains Anniversary Special (2021) #1) / Emma Ríos, artist
• Variant Cover Galleries / Nick Robles, Álvaro Martinez Bueno, Justine Frany, Seb McKinnon, Zoe Thorogood, Tula Lotay, Warren Louw, Frank Cho, Dan Mora, Kris Anka, Josh Burns, Will Jack, Jim Lee, Kendrick Lim, David Nakayama, Sozomaika, Nathan Szerdy, Sweeney Boo, Jenny Frison, Claire Roe, Christian Ward, Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, Joelle Jones, Joshua Middleton, Amy Reeder, Matías Bergara, Stjepan Šejić, David Talaski, Janaina Medeiros
• Character Designs, Cover Sketches, and Commentary

[Bill Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going into this I was expecting a woke mess but was pleasantly surprised. The storyline wasn’t bad, although it really could have been told over about 2 issues rather than spread out over 6. The artwork was fantastic. It would have been nice to have had a bit of backstory on her character as issue 1 pretty much starts with Ivy in the middle of her quest.
I am looking forward to seeing where this story heads next.

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poison Ivy has always been one of my favorite characters and she can do no wrong in my eyes. If she wants to kill off the human race, I say let her.

I didn’t think this was the most interesting version of her that I’ve read and even though it gave me the Last of Us vibes it wasn’t enough to carry the story for me. but I’m always happy to get Harley x Ivy crumbs. ❤️‍🔥

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing art and a brilliant story that addresses depression, trauma, rage and hope.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poison Ivy gets the prestige treatment and I'm here for it. The Virtuous Cycle is a gorgeous production, looking more like a Black Label work than a traditional DC series. The art, the design, the languid storytelling. Good stuff.

After the events of Fear State, Ivy is on the run, leaving Harley Quinn behind (sad!) and setting up a scheme to, um, annihilate the human race. Admittedly, that's a tough plot point to swallow - we're supposed to root for this character who has decided humanity's climate inaction is a good reason to take everyone out? Yikes! Though...I do kinda agree.

In any case, Ivy finds herself at odds with her grand plans as her road trip continues. The ultimate goal is in Seattle, where she confronts the man who gave her her powers. It's a deep cut bit of backstory for Poison Ivy, who I really only know from her appearances on various TV series. Notably, this is not the Ivy from the current Harley Quinn show, though there are some similarities.

The book ends on a new leaf for Ivy, hopefully with a reunion with Quinn in the future. Marcio Takara's artwork is stunning, especially the many detailed facial expressions for Ivy. She truly leaps off the page. Takara also gets to draw a Last of Us season's worth of gross mushrooms growing out of people, which is cool, I guess.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be the first true female anti-hero comic from a mainstream publisher that I can remember (I'll disagree about Catwoman and Harley Quinn as those characters have both been pushed much more to to the hero side recently).

While there is a slight tonal change at the end of this story arc, this is definitely Ivy as eco-terrorist. It took me awhile to get into the story, so others might find it a bit slow, or a slog at the beginning. Enough story and characters points were hit for me to want to continue and see if Ivy really does go after the bigger ecological targets.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining road trip with Ivy, with really nice artwork for the most part (the dreaded curse of the fill-in Artist struck issues five and six, though).

I felt I couldn’t rate it any higher than 3 stars, though, because I did feel like I’d seen it all before in books like Animal Man, Black Orchid and Swamp Thing.

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa, this was WAY better than I expected. I never even knew this series was running the last few years but fuck, this was awesome!

Basically Poison Ivy goes on a road trip around America slowly sending our spoors, ready to enact the end of humanity for what they've done. First off, love this idea, and love this version of Pamela. Vicious when needed, but loving side does show. Especially for plants and the Green. I really loved all her intimate moments with Harley and the stuff with The Green King was fantastic. Art is also insanely good throughout.

It does feel a little padding in the middle, but overall this is a must read for fans of the characters, fan of horror, and fans of just good comics. A 4.5 out of 5.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poison Ivy is separated from THE GREEN and is back to her (mostly) human form. She plans on spreading poison mushroom spores throughout the world through Amazon packages but she figures out humans aren’t all evil and instead goes to fight (and eventually eat) Dr. Woodrue.

The psychedelic tinged art is awesome - really hits that mushroomy feel and the story is really nicely written.

[Belle Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story, drawing on life and art. I’m not obsessed with comics, but I do read them sometimes, and this was
amazing. 🌱🍄‍🟫

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

whatever she wants whatever she wants

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not reading Marvel comics in any particular order. It tends to be accidental. And I have never read any Harley Quinn or Poison Ivy comics or watched any of the Harley Quinn movies. So I am fairly clueless. Luckily a reading buddy provided me with some backstory. Still, I would struggle to give a coherent summary of this volume. It goes something like this: Ivy was split into multiple beings, then fused back into one and gained some powers. The she lost those powers again and now she is pissed off and not in a good place mentally. She is a pretty evil dame.

But we, the humans, are worse. We are destroying the Earth and she wants to fix that in a terminal way. We might be heading towards a sixth mass extinction and Poison Ivy is the one trying to make it happen. Vicious story. Eco Terrorism. Part of this felt like a recruitment ad for a severe version of Fridays for Future. We are at the edge of the apocalypse. Poison Ivy seems to slowly be turning back into Dr. Pamela Isley though.

“Faith is what persists when hope is gone.“

The last two issues deal with the not so nice Green Man. Dr. Jason Woodrue is creepy. The mad scientist. Not quite sure what happens to Ivy at the end, but I can guess. If the opportunity presents itself, I would continue with this series.

I liked the colourful artwork. The appendix has a massive collection of alternative covers and shows good concept artwork.

This volume collects issues #1-6.

PS: Feel free to recommend any Harley Quinn comics to me.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first time reading a Poison Ivy comic and I'm so glad I started here. I absolutely loved this. The themes are dear to my heart (queer women reclaiming their own lives, fighting for the environment, etc). The art is gorgeous. The bonus content was much appreciated. I loved that it had horror elements to it as well. Overall, this really hit the spot for me. I loved that it stood on its own well, but I'm also looking forward to checking out the next volume!

[Motori Nastya · Rating 5 out of 5]

«Природа не жорстока. Вона просто раціональна.»

Це неймовірної краси комікс, справжня подвійна роад сторі: поки Пем втілює свій план і колесить по всій країні в фургончику, ми проходимо шлях від заперечення думок про екологію до повного усвідомлення що Земля - наш єдиний дім, іншого ніколи не буде. І тільки від нас залежить як нам тут далі жити💚
Так, величезний лайтмотив мальописів про Отруйний плющ - це питання екології. В чомусь Пем надто категорична, в чомусь взагалі жахлива і жорстока, але саме на такому контрасті ми помічаємо власні гріхи. А вона - помічає свої.
Насправді весь цей текст про любов: до природи, рослин і тварин. І про кохання до улюбленої жінки. Пошук себе і справедливості.
Комікс до біса смішний! Місцями я фоткала фрейми і відправляла подругам.
Комікс прекрасно перекладений. Давно я так не насолоджувалась: тут і повне попадання в образ Айві, і кайфова гра слів, і деякі красиві елементи, що притаманні українській мові.
Словом, я щаслива що одна із улюблених Готемських Сирен має настільки вдалу репрезентацію українською💚 (Але хочу ще🌱)

[Emily Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

God forbid a woman have a hobby of spreading fungus spores.

The story for this was solid and fast paced. I loved the depth they gave to Ivy’s character with her reasons for what she was doing; they committed to giving her layers that the reader can connect with.

This volume is also incredibly sapphic and I adored the pining throughout.

Rep// bisexual woman MC, Bisexual woman MC, sapphic SCs.

TWs listed below, please skip if you want to avoid vague spoilers.






TW// needles, medical setting scenes, sexual harassment, self harm, animal death, death, bodies, fungi sickness, scenes with cops.

[Chantaal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid read that worked on most levels, even though I haven't read Fear State and that apparently is the basis for the entirety of Pamela's mindset here. The book does enough to explain what happened and why it's fucked her up, but it doesn't quite reach the levels it needs to justify this physical and emotional journey she's on. Wilson does attempt to make some decent commentary on nature vs humans via Pamela's End All Humans tour, but it feels like it meant absolutely nothing with the wimpy way that she has a change of heart in the end. The final issue just felt like a way to have Pamela turn away from becoming a straight up villain, just because she's a fan favorite and needs to be more of an anti-hero.

The art was solid, but I don't think it was Takara's best work. The body horror art didn't do much for me, and body horror is typically one of those sub-genres that freaks me out no matter what.

[Pruett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe my favorite comic collection I’ve read all year with my least favorite cover, Poison Ivy is AWESOME.

Sometimes when you’re a lesbian plant goddess with an environmental conscience coping with a recent breakup you just want to turn people into fungal zombies á la The Last of Us!! And that’s okay!!

The writing’s great, the art’s better, and I’m recommending this to every person I know who cares about the environment (Liv. Mitchell.)

Five 🪴 stars 🥀

[Haley The Caffeinated Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poison Ivy's solo run in The Virtuous Cycle is just a great run at least for this first volume (I did not read the rest). We got some body horror, we have some prime villain/vigilante run up and amazing artwork and coloring. Poison Ivy's always been a fave of mine so I was stoked to read this to begin with and may have been biased. Oh well. We did this for our Graphic Novel Club at my local comic book store. The discussion surrounding this was great. People are way more analytical and critical than me, and I 'm pretty sure I'm a potato as far as brain function goes after I listen to the peeps in there. There was a consensus though among us that the change of Poison Ivy's 'end game' might have made it weaker but this also allowed the series to continue so I mean depends on how you view that on if you'll enjoy the change up of her feelings or not. Also. Poison Ivy road tripping? Chef's kiss.

I'll definitely be reading the other volumes of this. Also, just for the initial mindset of Poison Ivy and the art alone it's 4.5/5 for me.

[Fraser Simons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has made a bunch of best-of lists and it’s well deserved. Excellent in all aspects of craft, but really incredible paneling, artwork, colouring—and the story itself is compelling, as well as queer, as a bonus. I did not read what was happening with the character previously. Apparently, she was a part of The Green, ala Swamp Thing (which makes sense), and had godlike powers, but Harley, who is in a relationship with Ivy (I had no idea) made a decision to save Ivy’s life. The process cut her off from those powers and left her with a kind of infection, putting her life on a timer.

Most of the book is Ivy having left from that point, embarking on a scheme to seed the thing that’s killing her around the world before she succumbs herself. But mostly it’s about her dealing with loss and that grief, and attempting to find something worth living within her, before that happens. It’s full of empathy for characters. It’s not shy about letting Ivy be villainous as well as queer and loving, and intentional about showing when Ivy is monstrous and why.

It’s also quite the thrust trap, but has the goods to back it up.

[Roman · Rating 4 out of 5]

​​Серія про Отруйний Плющ стала досить неочікуваним успіхом для DC, те що спочатку повинно було бути ліміткою з 6 номерів стало ліміткою з 12, а потім повноцінним онґоїнґом. Тож дізнаймось що ж такого в цій серії.

Під час "Fear State" в рані Тайніна на онґоїнґу Бетса дві половинки Айві були з'єднані в одну, в результаті чого її зв'язок із Зеленню було розірвано. Ця серія відбувається після цього і розповідає як Памела вирішує розпустити по світу спори які знищать людство й повернуть природу то свого першочергового стану, але є три "але" у вигляді того, що спори вбивають й саму Пем, її переслідує старий знайомий Флоронік Мен та нерішучість нашої (не)героїні щодо вбивства деяких людей.


Мені перша арка дуже сподобалася, в результаті вийшов такий собі роуд тріп в якому Віллов Вілсон вирішила зосередитися на переживаннях і самокопанні Айві. І скажу чесно то читалося все досить цікаво й не напряжно. Щодо малюнку то тут теж все досить непогоно. Художник Марсіо  Такара видав досить непогану роботу, особливо сподобалися невеликі моменти з боді-горором коли показували як Айвіні спори впливають на людей.

Загалом я дуже задоволений тим як розпочалася ця серія, сподіваюся, що далі буде так само. Раджу прочитати.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilson and a deep bench of artist deliver one of the best body horror stories DC has delivered in a long, long time.