Unlike the sister-book-collection of Scarecrow, which serves as a nice progression of time for how that titular character adapted alongside Batman as the years changed, Poison Ivy is a far more modern collection, and it's fairly justified, too. Poison Ivy wasn't as central to Batman's rogues gallery until fairly recently in time. The only extremely silver-age story is the first one, which is absolutely hilarious (in a good way) in the way only an old comic book can be. The second story, while still somewhat campy, shows how the comics industry had already started to mature, and from there, you're reading a collection of modern-feeling tales. Additionally, despite what could have been very samey (what with the same character and all), the stories contain great variety, ranging from the aforementioned silliness, to darker and more serious, to a story that, plain and simply, shows an adorable side to Ivy you aren't likely to see very often. A side note: unlike Scarecrow's volume, which felt like it wasted space with the Forever Evil tie-in, none of the stories really feel wasted here. Ivy does have a FE tie-in as well, but her story actually needs no context to enjoy, and feels justified in capping off the book.
Also unlike Scarecrow, this book shows how Poison Ivy tends to really get around in the DC Universe. Not like that (technically like that, I suppose, too); Ivy branches out from just facing Batman. She goes toe-to-toe with Wonder Woman, shares a cover with Green Lantern, teams up with classic Gotham City Sirens with Catwoman and Harley Quinn, and even has several references to the Suicide Squad peppered throughout a few of the stories.
Most importantly, this collection does a great job showing the depths and nuance of a character that could very easily be flanderized or misrepresented. Don't let the almost Penthouse-esque cover fool you. Poison Ivy is an incredibly sexy character, as intended, but is also constantly juxtaposed with her horrific and nightmarish powers, leaving victims in a state very unpleasant to look at or think about, even when they do survive. And she's definitely not a one-not villainess, either; much of the book shows just how sympathetic her character is; more than once you will see the struggle she undergoes in regards to how much humanity remains.
There are a couple of small quibbles, though nothing to undo the graces of the book. You will see brief recaps along the lines of "Dr. Woodrue experimented on me and it all changed" several times, to the point it will be noticeable, but this wasn't really a problem that could have been avoided in a collection like this. Additionally, some of the art occasionally gets blurry in blotches scattered throughout, but since it was probably an issue with the scans needed for this collection, I'm not sure that anything could have been done otherwise.
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Reviews with images
Perfect Poison Ivy Comic Compilation
Poison Ivy has always been my favorite Batman villainess. I love this compilation because it adds more depth to this often simplified character. I also love that it starts from Poison Ivy's first appearance in 1966 and spans to 2013 during the "Gotham City Sirens" run (a team up of Poison Ivy, Catwomen and Harley Quinn.) The stories are taken from various writer's and the different art showcases that. If you're a Poison Ivy fan or even a follower of the DC universe I'd definitely recommend adding this collection to your library. I thoroughly enjoy having it in mine and I love seeing the evolution of this character throughout the various stories.
Top reviews from other countries
TheOneill89
Ottimo venditore! Ve lo consiglio!
Reviewed in Italy on October 12, 2019
