Batman Arkham: Poison Ivy by Gerry Conway

Batman Arkham: Poison Ivy Reviews

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  Trine

  Great Poison Ivy collection, though I still think she deserves her own series instead of being a supporting character in almost everything else. Remember to also read "Cycle of Life and Death", it's all Ivy!!
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  Cass

  I love Ivy so much. She just wants to grow plants and kill men in peace and I think we should let her.
  
  
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  Medusa

  I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Even though this collects Ivy appearances over the years it still provides a reasonably cohesive storyline. Mostly this offers a lot of insight into Ivy as a character, which is just a nice thing in general.
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  Rylan

  it’s so interesting to see how ivy evolved past a criminal who had a romantic obsession with batman into the eco terrorists we know today
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  More Bedside Books

  Batman Arkham: Poison Ivy is a collection for the 50th anniversary of Poison Ivy’s debut containing selections from 1966-2013 charting the course of the character from pin-up model inspired seductress to eco-crusader. As a longtime fan I felt only a couple entries were of less interest or enjoyment.
  
  Batman #181 “Beware of Poison Ivy”. Created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff with inking by Joe Giella is a simple debut turning Batman off his game.
  
  Moving into 1978 in the World's Finest #251-252 A Kiss of Death Three Times” (Penciller: Ric Estrada, Inker: Jack Abel, Colorist: Mario Sen, Letterer: John Simek) and "A Poison of the Heart" (Penciller: Jack Abel, Inker: Vince Colletta, Colorist: Izzy Goldstien, Letter: Milton Snappin) written by Gerry Conway, Ivy tangling with Wonder Woman reveals a bit more of Ivy’s ill-fated background.
  1981 Batman #339 “A Sweet Kiss of Poison”, the selection of was lost on me. Ivy targets Wayne Enterprise, to be continued.
  
  In 1989 Secret Origins #36 "Pavane" (Art: Mark Buckingham, Colorist: Nansi Hoolahan, Letterer: Agustin Mas) written by Neil Gaiman who can be credited with revising and more broadly giving shape to Pamela Lillian Isley for the modern age Isley is frightening and at the same time inescapable as one sees the very deep damage betrayal can wreak.
  
  From 1993 Batman Legends of the Dark Night #42 &43 “Hothouse” (John Francis Moore, Art: P. Craig Russell, Colorist: Lovern Kindzierski, Letterer: Bill Pearson) continues sophistication of Pamela’s character along with memorably stylized scenes and references to Victorian poetry as Batman finds himself fixated with her once again. Eventually leading him to seek out her home roots.
  
  1995 Shadow of the Bat Annual #3 Year One: “Poison Ivy” (Alan Grant, Penciller: Brian Apthorp, Colorist: Linda Medley, Inker: Stan Woch, Letterer Ken Lopez. showcases her early criminal career where she is not necessarily endearing (it has one of my least favourite covers, sorry Brian Stelfreeze). Yet, the story does touch on her differing natures and asks is she truly bad or, badly sick.
  
  Released in 1997 to coincide with the live-action Batman and Robin movie, Batman Poison Ivy (John Francis Moore, Penciller: Brian Apthorp, Inker: Stan Woch, Colorist: Patricia Mulvihill, Letterer: Todd Klein) has bonus poetry again since it’s another entry by Moore. This time Pamela a survivor bent on reckoning after the human world doesn’t let her or, the environment she has become kin to live in peace.
  
  Also 1997 Batman Chronicles #9 “Passion’s Fruits” (Andrew Helfer, Penciller: Cully Hammer, Inker: Robert Campanella, Colorist: Noelle Giddings, Letterer: Albert T. DeGuzman) with Ivy in Arkham Asylum is subtle. I probably think back on this story of the collection at points the most. The cover by Hugh Fleming also has nothing to do with this chapter.
  
  Ahead to 2008’s Joker’s Asylum: Poison Ivy “Deflowered!” (J.T. Krul, Art: Guillem March, Letterer: Rob Leigh), which is also where the cover for the collection comes from, with the Joker narrating Ivy’s history (who listens to him though, probably better to read with reservations) stresses her strong connection to the green and exacting gruesome revenge.
  
  Into 2010 Gotham City Sirens #8 features a killer is on the loose targeting those who have committed some offense against the ecology of Robinson Park and Ivy is suspected. It’s series where Pamela has teamed with Harley Quinn and Selina Kyle, I recommend checking out.
  
  2013 bringing revision once again, Detective Comics #23.1 Poison Ivy “The Green Kingdom” (Derek Fridolfs, Art: Javier Pina, Letterer: Taylor Esposito) this time dives deeper. It’s a beautiful piece. Though I favour the similar Secret Origins #10 “Green Savior” from 2015 that was not included in the volume.
  
  
  All in all, Batman Arkham: Poison Ivy is a good value and should be entertaining. Especially as a starting point for reading about this enduring Queen of May.
  
• 
  Rob McMonigal

  A variety of Poison Ivy stories from across the decades, starting with her rather clunky debut and running through a more modern interpretation that features her interacting with other Gotham villains-turned-anti-heroes.
  
  The most fascinating part of this in my opinion is just how hard it's been to figure out how to use Ivy as a character. She's boring as a "I love Batman" character but when complexities are added, they seem to almost make matters worse, such as when John Francis Moore looks to soften the villain aspects of her character while maintaining the "I love Batman" vibe. As a result, the stories here are extremely uneven, and almost seem like character whiplash at times. I know the point of these stories was to show the character's growth, but I'm not sure that happens here. What I saw instead was this cool character struggling to find a niche. I think they may have a better handle on her now, but I don't really read modern DC. I will say I liked the take in Gotham City Sirens and the villain one-shot, the final entries in the anthology, blending her into more of an deranged eco-activist who can sometimes be on the side of right.
  
  Artistically, anytime you get a P. Craig Russell story, you're winning. Mark Buckinghim and Cully Hammer also make appearances, and if you like overtly sexualized women, Guillam March will make you very happy. It's also cool to see how a change of artists on a two-part story really brings out how good of an inker Jack Abel was--and Vince Colletta was not.
  
  Overall, I enjoyed this, but not quite as much as, say the Riddler batch in the same anthology series.
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  Ian Raffaele

  This is a compilation of Poison Ivy stories going all the way back to her first appearance in 1966. The most recent is from 2013. I enjoyed the compilation series on The Cheetah more. This graphic novel is a reminder of how Poison Ivy was a one-note villain for decades. She was a very shallow character whose primary goal seemed to be bedding Batman. It comes off as ridiculous when read today. The most disappointing part was how long it took to give her any sort of depth or agency. DC and Marvel comics are this strange entertainment medium where their base characters are silly, childish things. It is only with clever writing and talented art that we can accept the premise of a man dressing in a bat costume and beating up mental patients at night. When the writing and art are good the illusion works. Compilations like this show the decades of work and evolution of character writing it took to make comics something an adult would enjoy. The book is good as instrument to show how this character has evolved in the eyes of the writers and artists of DC over the past half century. My only regret is that the stories, and in many cases the art, were not all that enticing. I would love to see Stjepan Šejić take on this subject. We already got a glimpse of his vision of Ivy from his recently released story on Harley Quinn.
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  Tyler Zamora

  Loved this collection of Ivy comics! It includes her first appearance, which I had never read before. I will say I always knew her character was a man eater, but I didn’t realize how misogynistic the earlier comics were to her. It’s still interesting to see her character unfold throughout time. I forget how she came to be and her horrible origin story (which slightly changes in names and details) which makes her motives completely justifiable in a way. She’s a great Batman villain because she carries the same duality as the rest of the roster. She has a duty to the Green because she feels no one else in the world can save or appreciate the environment anymore. Her goals are admirable in a way, but then the psycho comes out when she kills and poisons people. Either way her character is awesome and completely relevant in a time when people would completely deny her very mission of environmental rehabilitation because global warming doesn’t exist. Get ‘em Ivy!
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  Neo

  Out of DC's supervillains, I love Poison Ivy the most.
  
  This collection is the argument why. Ivy, with varying real names, is just a misfortunate girl. Were it an evil professor using her as a test subject or an abusive father, she is a product of her environment - not evil or crazy per se. Her ability to grow, to flourish almost despite circumstances makes her a great antagonist.
  
  In the collection, there are several different Ivys. In the 60's Beware of -- Poison Ivy! she's an aspiring (female) world public enemy #1. In Pavane written by Neil Gaiman she's terror and madness. John Francis Moore's Poison Ivy comments on war industry and peaceful retreat, whereas the Ivy in Deflowered and The Green Kingdom is all murder and mayhem. The untitled Gotham City Sirens comic shows Ivy without life-granting sunlight.
  
  I would have loved a small foreword included. Otherwise, a great collection.
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  Jess

  As with the previous ones I read (last winter) the Arkham series have two small problems.
  1. They are attempting to be a best of villain X collection but often don't serve that purpose.
  2. With most of these books you get the origin story five or six times. (Once for each of the DC Universes many revisions.)
  
  This was true of Two-Face and Man-Bat. It get's more monotonous with Poison Ivy.
  
  Now, I give the editor's points for selecting at least ONE best of story not drawn from a Batman story. But if they were going to claim it was a best of Poison Ivy collection and then not do her meetings with Swamp Thing. Really, those stories are great. Granted, I borrowed my copy from the Library and at least if it is a 'mainstream title' they are sometimes reluctant to carry one that would required an adult ID to check out.
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  Anniken Haga

  I was disappointed in this comic, I have to admit.
  It's supposed to be a ''best of Ivy''-collection, but almost every story is told from a males point of view, and almost all of them focused on her being a sexy little thing that really just needs to be saved.
  Not to mention we got the origin story in almost every comic included.
  There were so many things they could have chosen to have in this collection, but they picked the main stream titles, the ones even non-fans of Ivy could relate to.
  
  I am tempted to give it 2 stars, to be honest, but that's a little too low, I feel, so in the end it's another 2.5/5 stars. it felt like they just published this as an answer to the #SavePoisonIvy movement, but didn't really listen to their message, their wishes. Instead, they gave us another book about men saving the day, and women being crazy and hysterical.
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  Kristin Katsuye

  To me this comic started off terribly so don't dnf it! It gets better much better trust me. I didn't enjoy the vintage comics to poison ivy because it has a weird narrating system & the characters are terrible cliches. Story development is terrible. As you read forward story gets much better. This whole comic book as a whole is great because it gives the whole origin story to poison ivy from the very beginning. I really enjoyed her cleaned up story development as time went on. The first origin was sad for an origin story & glad how they played it off to be a joke from her later on to make a better story for her. Would have gotten five stars from me if it weren't for the boring vintage comics but I wouldn't take them out from this story either.
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  Russio

  I really like Ivy and her more modern version as an Eco-warrior is a creation that appeals. Back in the 60s the character was clearly a 1-D crank obsessed with flowers but as time has moved on, so society's views shift and move around to her way of thinking. In the final story her vision of a renaturalised Gotham is some of the more paradisal art in the collection.
  
  Fascinating as a barometer of the time, charting a little of society changing and a lot of the increasing sophistication required by the comic reading public, this broadly gets better as it ages.
  
  One drawback, however, is that as she pops up across the various titles, so do we get a constant retread of her origin.
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  Linda

  A decent collection of stories showing the origins of Poison Ivy. If I'm being honest a good amount of these storylines were duds for me in terms of plot or conflict. It soon became clear the majority of the writers made Ivy's goals mainly seducing Batman. Did it still lead to a fun time? Yes and no; some moments were so ridiculous that they were funny while others I just felt bored. I don't ask for a lot of depth from old comics but still a smidge more would be nice. I did enjoy the more recent issues within the volume as there was a shift in Ivy's stories to be less about her obsession with Batman and more to do with herself and her violent plant-y ways.
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  Jud

  In this collection, we get to see Ivy's origins through the years and her development and... WOW. I ADORE Ivy, so I wasn't expecting to find her so dull in her first appearances. Luckily, with time, Ivy has been developed as an anti-heroine with her own interests, motives and relationships: I think she suits far better this eco-terrorist role she displays now and I love her relation with Harley and Selina.
  
  Overall, a very good read!
  
  PS: I love how her character was constructed around all these misogynistic ideas and how she has been developed into a strong female who does not need a man. What an ICON! Simply brilliant! Way to go DC!
  
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  Larry

  An interesting read in more than one way-it’s sort of a fictional study of cultural customs as much as stories of the various incarnations of Batman super villain poison ivy, as this archive collects stories of Ivy from many different decades. It’s both interesting to see the social changes going on beneath the surface of these stories as it is to see the evolution of Ivy’s legends and abilities. She is kind of a tall tale where each generation of writers have expanded, twisted, and grown on what comes before.
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  Diana Marie Denza

  I enjoyed this. As a very new fan of Poison Ivy (I know her best from the new Harley Quinn animated series), it was both entertaining and interesting to witness how her character developed from an extremely shallow villain obsessed with Batman to a much more complex "eco-terrorist" who occasionally teams up with other female villains and exacts vengeance on those who harm the planet. This collection provides a good starting point for those interested in learning more about the character and some pretty defining moments for her.
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  Colton

  A great collection. I never realized Poison Ivy showed up outside of Batman comics. She has a unique origin story that makes her as much a victim as a criminal, and most of the time, she is battling other criminals. The early stories are dated, but necessary to see her beginnings and growth as a character over the decades.
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  Mark Singer

  This is a collection of Batman villain Poison Ivy stories from her first appearance in 1966 up until 2013. What I found fascinating was the evolution of her character from a human with plant-like tendencies to a full-blown mutant who wants to destroy humanity.
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  Sini Vehniäinen

  You know, when you're deep into your hatred for humankind maybe it isn't the best idea to read Poison Ivy comics. Or maybe it is just the right thing to do.
  
  Feels like I'm walking on a thin, thin, line between my own origin story: is the end result Wonder Woman or Poison Ivy?
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  Madeleine

  An interesting look at the evolution of a character over several decades.
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  Emily

  Loved learning more about my cosplay character through this book. Fun to see how she's evolved over the years and in different iterations. Love her.
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  Viktória Larišová

  It got better since p. 67. Pheeewww.
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  Kayla

  A great little compendium on the basics of Poison Ivy. Basics in this case meaning a variety of first appearances and origin stories.
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  Brent

  More Poison Ivy than you can shake a... sprig at.
  Recommended.
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  Caity

  This is an interesting volume and a lot of fun for Poison Ivy fans.