Poison Ivy #47 // Review
Pam has arrived at City Hall to find that there are rather a lot of people who want the mayor out of office. It is not exactly a peaceful protest. But it has exactly corrupted into complete violence. They clearly want the mayor of Gotham City out of office. The bad news about this is that Pam is the mayor of Gotham City in Poison Ivy #47. Writer G. Willow Wilson begins her completion of a huge story arc in a prelude to a major crossover event with artist Leandro Fernandez and colorist Arif Prianto. It may feel like it’s leaning-in too heavily to a Shakespearian tragedy, but it’s still a lot of fun.
Everything seems to be falling apart. Pam is doing the best she can to hold it all together. But now she's holding it together in spite of the people she's trying to help. And some of that help might actually harm many of the people who are her constituents. Many of the people who she had been hoping to trust. Things seem to be falling apart. But that doesn't mean that she can't still use what power she has to try to turn things around for everyone.
So much of what Wilson is doing here is simply finishing up an equation that she's been working on over the course of the past four years. Really it should be much more satisfying than it is. There is, however, one moment in this issue, that really makes it all worth it. Janet from H.R. has gone to ask Harley Quinn for help. It’s a complicated situation because Harley is a complicated person. Wilson manages some of the most sophisticated and nuanced characterization of Harley that's ever been written. She does it through an intercom. Harley is feeling hurt. But she also wants to help. But she needs to keep it together. So she moves into. Dr. Quinzel mode. It’s a deeply funny moment.
Fernndez matter is some really sharp moments of drama throughout the issue. The scene at Harley's intercom is given quite a bit of subtle dramatic texture without betraying the realism that makes it all work. Pam is falling apart, and Fernandez manages to summon the right emotions to the page for her as well. There's a moment where she's delivering the central conflict around which an entire multi title crossover event is going to be based. That moment is a little over the top. The drama feels fairly gouged into the page. On the whole, though, the mood and tone and pacing of the issue fuel quite well structured in the visual.
There are daggers in her back on the cover. Pamela makes reference to Julius Caesar's final words. It's a bit too obvious. That being said, it is cool seeing super villain rise to power and then a fall from grace. The fact that she has been so appealing and so relatable for so much of the run of the series makes the fall seem all more intense.Pam’s final moments at the hands of Wilson seem to be at odds with the wisdom and tenderness that Pam had built up over the course of the past four years. It's still fun, though.
