Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy: A 6 Issue Mini By Jody Houser and Adriana Melo

[batnbreakfast]

It makes me miss Mother Panic

[kjn]

Some thoughts on #2.

Sadly, the art doesn't work for me. It's beautifully drawn, but lifeless. I'm not sure if it's the colouring or the linework, but it simply doesn't work for me, except for some very few frames. One example of that is when we see only Ivy's eyes in frame two on page 5, but that is undercut by that the emotional content of the previous frame is totally the opposite, and there is no signal on what caused the shift in Ivy's attitude.

Ivy continues to be a tabula rasa and struggling with both powers, body, and memory after the events of Heroes in Crisis. But at least the comic is aware of this, and Harley is throughout depicted as someone who will literally go through fire to help her. And the comic continues to call out the stupidity of that comic. Or in Harley's words:

Dunno if I really trust the good guys to not muck things up again. Not after Sanctuary.

spoilers:

In the end, Harley decides to seek the help of the Mad Hatter, who we find out in the last frame has been conspiring with Floronic Man.

end of spoilers

Plotwise, it's nothing special, but Harley's care for Ivy really shines through, even when she feels that everyone else have abandoned them.

[kjn]

No discussion about #2, and nothing yet for #3?

Fun to see Poison Ivy go She-Hulk. And "a disturbance in the green"? Heh. But I think DC still is scared of showing Harley and Ivy as a real couple, and the comic is poorer for it. It feels like it's holding Houser's writing back. But she is making it very clear that even if Ivy and Harley might not understand each other perfectly, the other is clearly the most important thing in their world.

It's also a nice touch how Ivy's clothing here is organic and constantly changing with her mood and situation.

However, I'm not feeling the art. It has a static and plasticy feeling that I think is poorly suited for both of them, especially Ivy, and I'm not sure it really manages to support the emotional beats that Houser sets up. The only piece where I think the art really supported the narrative was when Harley had been stepford-ised by the Mad Hatter.

So it's an OK issue, but it doesn't really lead anywhere or tell anything new.

[kjn]

I'm kinda bummed that there haven't been more discussion about this mini. I just read #4, but I think I want to take a step back and discuss all of the issues so far, and why I think this mini is doing a disservice to Harley Quinn and (especially) Poison Ivy.

Basically, Harley and Ivy head out into the desert in an attempt to escape Floronic Man, and pause at Dinosaur World, where they encounter some D-list villains. After defeating the D-list villain and escaping an ambush from Floronic Man, they ride off into the sunset again.

First is the art. It continues to feel more static than fluid, and more plastic than organic. I'm not sure if it's the colouring or the linework or the both in combination, but it's neither selling the action nor the emotional interplay to me, especially with Ivy. Not even in the issue's high point, after Ivy had found out how Floronic Man managed to track them.

There is nothing wrong with Houser's narration and dialogue, but it also feels like Houser has to write an Ivy that is not to her liking—and given what DC did with Ivy in Heroes in Crisis, I can certainly sympathise. So when the artwork largely fails to get the emotional beats needed, the script feels hollow.

But I think the big problem from a plot perspective is that this has largely been structured as a road trip. Now, a road trip is a classic plot device, but its episodic nature is not really suited to the theme of redemption or self-discovery that especially Ivy needs right now. Houser does her best, but it feels like she has to write with at least one hand tied behind her back, and got the job to fix some of the worst plotlines and character decisions DC has taken.

[cranger]

I dropped it after the second issue as I had similar opinions on it at that point, without pointing fingers, I do not think the art helped the writing or vice versa, but I do lean towards different (not even necessarily better) art would have helped.

[kjn]

Preview for #6 was posted real early.

Not sure what to think about this, but sadly I have no real hopes on how this mini will conclude now.

[Confuzzled]

Preview for #6 was posted real early.

Uhm... I've got so many questions.

[millernumber1]

There is nothing wrong with Houser's narration and dialogue, but it also feels like Houser has to write an Ivy that is not to her liking—and given what DC did with Ivy in Heroes in Crisis, I can certainly sympathise. So when the artwork largely fails to get the emotional beats needed, the script feels hollow.

I'm really curious - what about this Ivy do you think Houser doesn't like? My personal take is that House is just an extremely limited writer, who occasionally hits one out of the park, but usually just writes very middle of the road comics.

[kjn]

I'm really curious - what about this Ivy do you think Houser doesn't like? My personal take is that House is just an extremely limited writer, who occasionally hits one out of the park, but usually just writes very middle of the road comics.

I haven't read much Houser, but I liked "Mother Panic: Gotham A.D.", and was impressed by the way she handled the Sirens there. My guess (and it's a real wild ass guess) is that Houser twigged onto that Heroes in Crisis left Poison Ivy in a really cramped spot, narratively speaking. King's implication is that she gets made clean and reformed due to violence performed against her (in effect a baptism in her own blood), but that would go against everything Poison Ivy has been about.

Now, we'll see how this thing ends, but I don't have high hopes. The twist here feels out-of-the-blue and unearned, and the plot incoherent.

[cranger]

Preview for #6 was posted real early.

Not sure what to think about this, but sadly I have no real hopes on how this mini will conclude now.

I ended up jumping back on the book. After reading that preview, I realized how little of the events of this book actually stuck with me. Then again, I don't think it is all that important. I am sure this twist is more about setting up a way for all the feelings to resolve and the two characters to walk away on different paths than to actually resolve the threat they have been facing so far.

[millernumber1]

I haven't read much Houser, but I liked "Mother Panic: Gotham A.D.", and was impressed by the way she handled the Sirens there. My guess (and it's a real wild ass guess) is that Houser twigged onto that Heroes in Crisis left Poison Ivy in a really cramped spot, narratively speaking. King's implication is that she gets made clean and reformed due to violence performed against her (in effect a baptism in her own blood), but that would go against everything Poison Ivy has been about.

Now, we'll see how this thing ends, but I don't have high hopes. The twist here feels out-of-the-blue and unearned, and the plot incoherent.

So Houser would prefer an Ivy who isn't reformed? I'm a bit confused.

[kjn]

So Houser would prefer an Ivy who isn't reformed? I'm a bit confused.

No, I think she'd prefer to write an Ivy where the idea of making her more heroic wasn't built on her being fridged.

And yeah, I agree with cranger. The events never really changed the characters or their relationships, and while one can go back and see the scenes from the other side in #2 compared to #6, it was a total lack of hints that these scenes were important or acted as foreshadowing.

[Nite-Wing]

I am so tired of Harley and Ivy breaking up
Pam is Harley's best friend before anything else
This whole situation began because Ivy took over the world and suffered an emotional trauma that was never dealt with.

This seems like an editorial mandate vs a natural story progression. DC probably said you can do whatever you want on this mini as long as you don't have a happy ending

Of course this is just a preview and I'm reacting to that if its different when the issue drops I'll take all this back

[kjn]

So the mini concluded today with #6.

When this started, I was cautiously optimistic, mainly because Houser did a stellar job with Harley and Ivy in Mother Panic: Gotham AD. But what a letdown.

First, the art, which never really managed to work for me. It had a plastic quality that worked somewhat for Harley (and was effective in a couple of frames), but I think never really worked for Ivy.

But the plotting was rather weak, the characterisation never grew or changed, and the story never managed to say anything new or interesting about Harley or Ivy, or their relation. The big reveal at the end of #5 was a deus ex machina with little support from the opening issue. And the end leaves Harley and Ivy into an even bigger lurch when it comes to their relationship, and Ivy reduced to mulch.

DC really managed to do something here. They took a character that was in a bad narrative spot after Heroes in Crisis and left her in an even worse spot.

[millernumber1]

I don't ship Harley and Ivy, but man. This series is a massive slap in the face to fans of either character, or their relationship. Talk about the absolute most cowardly creative choices to make. I don't understand how this could satisfy anyone? (And I actually liked Heroes in Crisis.)