I already wrote about G. Willow Wilson’s first bout on POISON IVY and while I loved it, Unethical Consumption takes matters further in a way that has turned me into a ride-or-die fan.
What Wilson gets about IVY is that she is so fucking pissed at the world — rightfully so, as well, we keep mindlessly exploiting all of its resources — but she still has an inexplicable empathetic core for humanity, and others can see the good in her, but she’s also so singularly focused on herself.
However! She’s still willing to murder anyone who gets in her way, and also wants to commit global genocide.
Yes, she is the actual villain in her own story. A complex villain, for sure, but still? Yeah.
While so much is that comes from her trauma, of trusting someone who then abused them and literally tore their humanity away from them — a facet of her character that Wilson doubles-down on and I very much appreciate — she is not what one would call a ‘good person’.
Obviously, this is why she and Harley Fuckin’ Quinn fit so well together. Harley? She’s an anti-villain. Ivy? Anti-hero. They both realize their own faults and they keep each other in-check, and Wilson leans heavily on that here as Harley manages to seek out Ivy on her road trip, then leaves Ivy to do what she needs to do. Harley is Ivy’s anchor, but they’re still independent people.
I especially love this bit of reflection from Ivy on Harley:
“More than anyone I know, you see the world without judgement, without expectations, without fear.
“Things that would drive other people mad, you just … take in your stride.
“Delirium doesn’t scare you.
“You can see the world behind the world.
“And you were right.
“I didn’t need to be so afraid.”
Now that is true appreciation and respect from a devoted partner, and I love to see it.
And then of course Ivy fucks her odd roommate Janet — who I’m sure is far more than the basic person presented — stating:
“Harley would understand.”
It’s clear that this isn’t just a hookup for Ivy; it’s a mistake.
(I’m still not sure whether Harley being poly is canon? I’ve just assumed she was. Is Ivy? I have no fucking idea, but I’m going along with whatever Wilson is sellin’!)
JANET: “Be a monster. Embrace the monster. But be a monster who gets between innocent people and the even bigger monsters.”
I can’t help but think of Carmen Maria Machado’s remarks regarding JENNIFER’S BODY:
“Kiss someone, fuck someone, think about fucking someone while kissing someone else. Let sex be unknowable, warm, thrilling, funny, erotic, terrifying; let sexuality be all strange currents and eddies and unknown vistas and treasures and teeth.”
Carmen Maria Machado
As with the previous volume The Virtuous Cycle, this is an absolutely fucking gorgeous work. Marcio Takara’s intricate pencils and inks are mesmerizing, even if half of it features Ivy puking. (I say that as someone who would like to go one week without reading/watching/playing something that didn’t feature vomit.)
IVY: “I’m pretty good at recognizing things I know I will regret later.
“I’m much less good at stopping myself from doing them.”
Arif Prianto’s colors are so goddamn vibrant and command attention! And Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou? Holy shit, their lettering is so inspired, especially during the drug trip that Ivy and Janet undertake which leads to one hell of an unbridled orgy. (Yes. That is a thing that happens and I do not apologize for spoiling it.)
IVY: “I can’t violate her like that. I know what it feels like, and I can’t.”
JANET: “So we all have to live with the consequences of her bad decision?!”
IVY: “NO. We all have to live with mine.”
This series is an embarrassment of riches, a complex and thorny work, and I am absolutely here for it and I can’t wait for what’s to come.
You can buy POISON IVY – Unethical Consumption via Bookshop!