Batman’s All-Star journey through his classic villain’s roster brings him to Pamela Isley, but is there anything new to be discovered about a fifty year old character? Read on to find out in our review, which contains minor spoilers
Written by Scott Snyder
Illustrated by Tula Lotay, Francesco Francavilla‘Poison Promises’! Step aside, gentlemen-Poison Ivy is about to steal the spotlight in Batman’s continuing rogues gallery road trip. Scott Snyder teams up with mega-talent Tula Lotay to reimagine the Dark Knight’s most seductive villain.
The second part of ‘Ends of the Earth’ carries with it some threads of the larger storyline of the series, with a more direct link to the first part of this second arc, but otherwise it’s a relatively standalone story. Much like last issue, we open with Batman walking towards the reader out of the haze. Narratively he’s walking towards the ‘villain’ of the piece, so Scott Snyder wishes to subconsciously put us in Poison Ivy’s position from the start, making the intent clear: this is a book where our emotional connection, our point of view is not with Batman, but with Ivy herself.
This is one of the more empathetic stories about Poison Ivy to date, going so far as to tweak her origin ever so slightly in order to make her more sympathetic and understandable. There’s also a redesign of her costume that’s less gravity-defyingly demeaning yet still iconic, and this sums up Ivy as a whole throughout the issue thanks to Tula Lotay’s art. The sexual side is still there, but it’s only touched on. When it is directly mentioned it’s within a natural context. Instead, the issue is proof that a character like Ivy doesn’t need to be overtly sexualised in order to appear powerful or in control. She’s intoxicating but not exploitative, a testament to the stunning linework. The tropes of Poison Ivy are all here, but she’s a more rounded, competent, complex character than perhaps we’ve seen in awhile. Snyder obviously loves these characters, and is clearly delighting in shining the spotlight on them in ways he didn’t get around to in his run on the New 52 “Batman” series.
There’s a dreamlike quality to the coloring that is utterly unique to Lotay. The colors exist as tonal waves over the panels, working independent of anything on the page rather than adhering to the linework, yet they’re so narratively important, adding a literal and figurative depth to what’s being conveyed in the story. There are two consecutive panels – close-ups of Ivy’s face – that are essentially the same panel, however there’s a completely different palette, a different coloring style and because of that, a vastly different feel and intention. One is Ivy in the here and now, the other is a character deep in thoughts of the past, surrounded by memories and a touch of something darker.
Lotay’s page composition is a little more structured than her previous work, with only a moment near the end where vines break out of the panels, and one near the start where the borders tilt and skew to reflect the nauseous unease of Ivy’s drugs kicking in. Perhaps this adherence to form is a consequence of dealing with the more straightforward superhero world that “All-Star Batman” inhabits, but more likely it’s a reflection of the strict, scientific structure of Ivy’s work, again putting us in her position by creating for the reader a formalised view of the world. This feeling is most effectively illustrated with a style of framing narrative that travels in a different direction temporally to reflect the journey Pamela’s research takes: panels intersect the main story, starting at the end of a seemingly non-sequitur narrative and counting backwards, uncovering the truth like rings of a tree, until a final page that is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful.
The second story in this issue is a short chapter of ‘The Cursed Wheel’. A tightly focused character study that follows Duke Thomas struggling to find his purpose, his reason for fighting the good fight. The essence of this struggle is perfectly captured in a single four-panel page that echoes back to a similar moment in Bruce Wayne’s early life. Here, Duke sits in the study, searching for purpose, but is denied the same life-altering moment of a bat crashing through the window. Instead he is left to stare out of the unbroken window, as lost as before. This is still an effective scene even if you’re not aware of the history, thanks to Francavilla’s structure and pacing of the page, but the narrative shorthand is really powerful in such a short scene.
Continued belowThe deep, boldly defined colors lend a pulpy, noir feel perfectly suited to Batman but even more so to a story with such dark thoughts. It stands in stark contrast to Lotay’s art in the main story, but that only makes it more effective, casting characters in moody shadows while still making great use of color to really pop off the page. It’s a compliment to the story that you’re left wanting more, and there’s no doubt that as an entire issue you get a lot of value for money, however the complex character beats found in the backup story will no doubt read better once all the chapters are collected.
Overall this issue serves many functions: firstly it provides fresh and intricate character studies of two characters in Batman’s cast; secondly it serves to progress not only the plot of this arc but the overarching narrative of the series, and lastly it’s a fantastic, prestige quality Batman book that, thanks to the superb art on display, is worth every penny of its price tag.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – A gorgeous issue that manages to find new things to say about a classic character.
