Poison Ivy #46 // Review
Janet didn’t expect Gotham City to collapse on that particular day. (If she HAD expected as much, she would have worn better shoes.) Nevertheless, she’s on an important errand for the Mayot’s Office and she’s going to need all the help of she’s going to be able to help save the city in Poison Ivy #46. Writer G. Willow Wilson begins to reach the end of her fourth year with Dr, Paneka Isley in an issue that doesn’t feature a direct appearance by the title character. The story comes to the page courtesy of artist Leandro Fernandez. and colorist Arif Prianto.
Janet isn’t going alone. She’s there with Juhi: her adversary in the mayor’s office. The mayor’s special enforcers are beginning to get a little bit aggressive. And honestly they might be getting a little bit out of her control, but so is she. The mayor’s paranoia is getting away from her and she’s going to need some sort of a serious grounding force in order to get her back town to Earth and that’s going to involve going to a place called Throatcutter Hill. It sounds a lot worse than it is. They need to go there to contact the one person who can save the city: Harley Quinn. What’s the worst that could happen?
It’s not often that a title character fails to show-up for an issue of their own series. As rare an occurrence as it is, it’s almost NEVER the case that such an issue is anyting other than a major disappointment. Thankfully, WIlson is some kind of genius and she’s able to make an issue that doesn’t feature the main character of the series...actually completely centered around her in a very satisfying way. Janet and Juhi make for an interesting pair on a journey across a particularly dangerous Gotham City in another issue graced by some characteristically witty Wilson dialogue.
Fernandez creates a rich texture to the streets of Gotham City. Janet and Juhi make their way out to Throatcutter Hill. The personality of Gotham City has been so throughly examined over the decades, but the overall look and visual reality of the place isn’t always given a whole lot of attention. Fernandez does a good job of giving Gotham City a very specific look under the leadership of Poison Ivy, who has already completely fallen out of favor. The drama making its way through the concrete, graffiti and foliage feels remarkably well. defined as well.
If there HAS to be an issue of Poison Ivy that doesn’t feature Poison Ivy, it’s a good choice to have it happen practically four years into the series when she’s essentially a demagogue in charge of the government of one of the largest cities in the nation. The fact that Janet and Juhi are really cool characters doesn’t hurt either. They wouldn’t work really well on their own in their own title, but it’s kind of cool that Wilson has enough confidence in them to center an entire issue around them.
