Poison Ivy, Janet From HR, Healthcare Insurance & Genocide (Spoilers)

Bleeding Cool has been following the assorted split-personality selections at Poison Ivy’s writer DC Comics lately. With one aspect of the corporate devoted to portraying a queer heroic character seeking to save humanity, together with her greatest lady Harley Quinn. Against one other aspect devoted to restoring her Batman villain roots as an environmental terrorist, with none of that Harley Quinn nonsense getting in the way in which. To the extent that Poison Ivy was actually cut up into two beings, one a loopy warrior, the opposite a simpering idiot. All the whereas that Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn had been getting collectively – and getting married – within the Harley Quinn Animated Series, with a derivative comedian ebook persevering with the story of their relationship.

Batman author James Tynion IV had a stab at reconciling the completely different features of Poison Ivy within the mild that a lot of DC Comics editorial – together with the Poison Ivy traditionalists – had been made redundant. In his remaining Batman #117, the Poison Ivys have been mixed, she not solely didn’t destroy Gotham however saved it. Then in Gotham City Villains Anniversary Special #1 written by G Willow Wilson and drawn by Emma Rios spoke to Poison Ivy’s current scenario and future in 2022.

And all of a sudden working once more solo as an environmental terrorist or environmental  activist, relying in your viewpoint…

Using her plant manipulation energy to invade a serious polluting plant…

…taking down the polluters in chief, killing their staff…

Those who do not appear to be Harley Quinn, a minimum of. And aren’t referred to as Janet.

And promising extra tales for 2022, as we have been promised that “Poison Ivy’s story blooms in 2022”.

And that is definitely what we received, G Willow Wilson writing a Poison Ivy who was committing genocide, planning – and beginning to succeed – in wiping out all human life on the planet, together with children.  And they began dying, and Bleeding Cool dubbed her “worse than Thanos.” At the time, we requested if that might be the get out, ” That mushrooms have infected her brain, much as magic mushrooms or psilocybin, distort her perception of time, space, and self. Or how fungus can cause meningitis. Or how Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, related to the Ophiocordyceps Lamia from this story (and for that matter, Cordyceps Jones in the current X-Men comics) infects ants, controlling their body and influencing their minds to climb grass stalks to the perfect temperature to grow them into a spore host, bursting through their skin, right above the home of its fellow ants, a prisoner in its own dying body.” Which may additionally be the one rationalization for her switching from being vegan to being a carnivore. Or defending union rights whereas murdering the workforce at a mini-Amazon distribution firm. And… nicely it was kinda that. She killed and ate Jason Woodrue, the Florinic Man, which appeared a bit of cathartic and she or he began to see the surprise and glory in folks in spite of everything, and so forth.

And in right now’s Poison Ivy #8, beneath assault by certainly one of her fungal polluting now-enemies, we received to satisfy Janet once more.

And the comedian pivots to change into what somebody does for medical insurance. It’s a type of issues that appears peculiar to America, that individuals will keep in, or take, jobs they hate as a result of they can not get medical insurance with out it. It’s a regressive market transfer that inhibits financial development, and finally ends up costing recipients far extra money in the long term, although it does give insurance coverage corporations a free trip. It could also be notable that, regardless of the preponderance of British comedian ebook expertise within the business, you’ll by no means have seen a GoFundMe to pay a British comedian ebook creators medical payments.

And that is the place Janet is. she has to proceed working for a monster, and denying assist to these in want, even those that beforehand saved her life (after placing it in peril) to be able to preserve healthcare going.

What I actually like about this run of Poison Icy is the way it has switched to be extra like Swamp Thing, not simply in its use of the Green, Jason Woodrue and the remaining, however the way it has created morality – or immorality tales. Closer to the Swamp Thing origins in House Of Secrets, or comics like The Witching Hour, placing folks within the place to make selections and dwell with the results, whereas permitting the viewers to empathise with the worst selections doable – or choose them. To date that has largely been Ivy making these selections, however right here Janet will get to as nicely.

Or course there’s a twist.

But now Janet will likely be in debt to a really completely different form of monster… as Douglas Adams wrote for Arthur Dent, “Ah, this is obviously some strange use of the word safe that I wasn’t previously aware of.” And extra to come back… G Willow Wilson tweeted on New Year’s Eve “Wrote what was imagined to be an 8-web page short. Which turned into a 6 issue mini series. Which turned into the highest-selling single issue of my entire career. Which turned into a 12-issue series. Which turned into…” Ongoing? Well, there’s that reunion with Harley Quinn coming in a month’s time… as Wilson says, “And the one after that…is the one you’ve been patiently waiting for for almost a year.”

POISON IVY #8 CVR A JESSICA FONG
(W) G. Willow Wilson (A) Atagun Ilhan (CA) Jessica Fong
Poison Ivy’s journey in fracking involves an emotional head when the return of an previous buddy forces our verdant villain to confront the very actual, very human prices of her actions. Will Ivy flip over a brand new leaf or is she sticking to her plan? Retail: $3.99 In-Store Date: 1/3/2023

POISON IVY #9 CVR A JESSICA FONG
(W) G. Willow Wilson (A) Marcio Takara (CA) Jessica Fong
IT’S THE ISSUE YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! That’s proper! Ya lady Harley Quinn—physician, fashionista, heroic felony, criminally insane clown, and Poison Ivy’s girlfriend—has arrived on the West Coast to spend some high quality time together with her number-one squeeze! What form of wildly lascivious and lavishly ludicrous madcap mayhem will the DCU’s favourite couple stand up to? Featuring the return of sequence artist Marcio Takara and an assortment of totally mouthwatering variant covers by among the most delectable artists round, from iconic Harley Quinn artist Terry Dodson to incoming Harley Quinn artist Sweeney Boo, in addition to Dan Mora, Rian Gonzales, and Mindy Lee! You will not wish to miss a single little bit of it—we assure it!
Retail: $3.99 In-Store Date: 2/7/2023

POISON IVY #10 CVR A JESSICA FONG
(W) G. Willow Wilson (A) Marcio Takara (CA) Jessica Fong
Before Ivy embarks on her journey again to Gotham, our verdant villainess units her sights on a fungus-loving Hollywood movie star with a life-style model and spa that is elevating some main crimson flags on Ivy’s radar. All this as a result of poor Janet from HR needed to have some R&R earlier than the automobile trip again east! Aw jeez!
Retail: $3.99 In-Store Date: 3/7/2023