Poison Ivy Appreciation 2018

[kjn]

The Poison Ivy cover has been pulled, per Tom King:

An unfinished cover for Heroes in Crisis 7 was leaked prior to going through the standard DC approval process.

I did not like the cover. I discussed the situation with DC editorial who agreed with my objections. This cover will not be used. Thank you.

[Confuzzled]

Yeah, I was taken aback by the cover as it seemed especially tacky after King constantly assuring everyone he would be more sensitive towards not just the depiction of Ivy, but also themes of trauma and violence. So it's not surprising to learn that he hadn't okayed the cover.

[kjn]

From what I posted over in the Heroes in Crisis thread:

IGN picked up DC's retreat on the cover.

IGN spoke to a DC employee with knowledge of the situation, who said the art in question was an unfinished cover that was never given final editorial approval and was not intended to be made public. How the art leaked is currently being investigated by DC. A new version of that same art drawn by Mann was recolored to change the tone of the image to be more reflective of the contents of the comic and will be used to solicit Heroes in Crisis #7 to retailers in next week’s retailer catalog, although it’s marked as “Not Final Art,” meaning the final cover for that issue may wind up being completely different.

Since the same cover is apparently being used in the catalogue, only more tastefully shaded, my guess is that this was indeed on the way to be the final cover for #7, but that someone who understood which PR disaster DC was heading towards here choose to leak it early.

[MentalManipulator]

dark times to be an Ivy fan. I hope DC makes her justice soon.

[Celgress]

dark times to be an Ivy fan. I hope DC makes her justice soon.

*sigh* Ain't that the truth...

[tako]

Since the same cover is apparently being used in the catalogue, only more tastefully shaded, my guess is that this was indeed on the way to be the final cover for #7, but that someone who understood which PR disaster DC was heading towards here choose to leak it early.

it was. like 76% was

[rosenrose]

it was. like 76% was

Hi Tako. I reverse searched the entire internet to find you and it showed this forum. First of all thank you for the "leek salad". Seems like DC doesn't like veggies.
I'll agree that this indeed was the official cover. TK just tried to do some damage control but this was the cover. It was nearly done and even was coloured. Everyone with a basic knowledge of how comic covers work knows that it's a process that involves preliminary sketches, etc. This cover was almost done.

Also TK in every-single-interview and podcast her apperas constantly mentions how he is stressed about having control over everything in his books. Also look the reasons Mark Doyle was replaced by Jamie Rich. Or better read TK admitting it was his disagreement. So the "oops, how did this happened" is cringy. But working in PR and communication I understand his position. This could have been handled better though.

I feel that a lot of DC people ans especially TK and the Bat group must be very, VERY mad at you and of course Ivy fans and everyone who criticized it. So I expect at least some sort of retaliation. Who knows, perhaps Ivy will not only get murdered but raped too. Or perhaps she will turn out to be the murderer. Or worse.

The point is, there are people who want to do stuff with Ivy. But are not allowed too. How many times has Amy Chu tweeted she wants to continue her book? She said her next plot would involve cryopreservation of seeds. And from what I remember it would be Ivy out of Gotham.

Is this really the best they could think about Ivy in that book? A murder victim?

So, TAKO! What do you think will happen with Ivy? In HiC and after that.

In case TK or the rest of the gang reads this let me say this (you are CIA, you will know what to do):

pmusg whqdf jvhtr zvwyu wpndd skipg jegfw pneqz tdxje boafc idovx dhngm fxhms

[kjn]

Thoughtful attempt to reason around the Poison Ivy cover, her general history, and her role: The Writing on the Wall: Poison Ivy and HEROES IN CRISIS:

If we can accept the idea that Poison Ivy, as just one example out of the myriad of DC villains, is capable of being handled in a multi-faceted manner, I have to just ask: who thought she was more compelling as a dead figure than as anything else?

Who thought, having decided that ‘dead!’ was the most compelling means of advancing her story, that her death needed to be a cover?

Who thought, having decided that she needed to be dead and that her death needed to be zoomed in on across shelves and digital store fronts, that she also needed to be posed?

(Note I also posted this over in the Heroes in Crisis thread.)

[king81992]

dark times to be an Ivy fan. I hope DC makes her justice soon.

Its a dark time for DC comic fans in general.

[Green Ghost]

Thoughtful attempt to reason around the Poison Ivy cover, her general history, and her role: The Writing on the Wall: Poison Ivy and HEROES IN CRISIS:



(Note I also posted this over in the Heroes in Crisis thread.)

Spot on article, thanks for sharing!

When King announced that this story is about Harley I knew something bad would happen to Ivy. DC wants Harley as a full hero and Ivy was in the way and since they couldn’t agree where to go with her anyway, they killed two birds with one stone by getting rid of Ivy.
They could have get the two apart without killing Ivy of course, but they they love the shock value and knew it will get them headlines and Harley her tragic hero moment.
And this is what makes me really angry, Ivy’s just a plot device for a Harley’s journey. Her death isn’t about her, but all about Harley. She is treated like a minor character with no value on her own, even though she exist for over 50 years.

[Rac7d*]

Spot on article, thanks for sharing!

When King announced that this story is about Harley I knew something bad would happen to Ivy. DC wants Harley as a full hero and Ivy was in the way and since they couldn’t agree where to go with her anyway, they killed two birds with one stone by getting rid of Ivy.
They could have get the two apart without killing Ivy of course, but they they love the shock value and knew it will get them headlines and Harley her tragic hero moment.
And this is what makes me really angry, Ivy’s just a plot device for a Harley’s journey. Her death isn’t about her, but all about Harley. She is treated like a minor character with no value on her own, even though she exist for over 50 years.

Yes and No

Ivy is i the way her history as villain is alot more destructive then burgular catwoman and abusive sidekick harley(except when she was a terrorist and blew up children). But Ivy is Batman Big female villain player never a mob boss but her history has always been of a dangerous vixen and her powers also make her difficult.

She can be allowed to be forgiven for her past crimes ...... its too much Their also her evolving physiology, as she becomes more plant and disassociates herself with humanity. She teeters between loving and tolerating harley but that is not enough to make her a hero.

[Rac7d*]

Spot on article, thanks for sharing!

When King announced that this story is about Harley I knew something bad would happen to Ivy. DC wants Harley as a full hero and Ivy was in the way and since they couldn’t agree where to go with her anyway, they killed two birds with one stone by getting rid of Ivy.
They could have get the two apart without killing Ivy of course, but they they love the shock value and knew it will get them headlines and Harley her tragic hero moment.
And this is what makes me really angry, Ivy’s just a plot device for a Harley’s journey. Her death isn’t about her, but all about Harley. She is treated like a minor character with no value on her own, even though she exist for over 50 years.

she is lois lane, mary jane watson, gwen stacey

[Green Ghost]

Yes and No

Ivy is i the way her history as villain is alot more destructive then burgular catwoman and abusive sidekick harley(except when she was a terrorist and blew up children). But Ivy is Batman Big female villain player never a mob boss but her history has always been of a dangerous vixen and her powers also make her difficult.

She can be allowed to be forgiven for her past crimes ...... its too much Their also her evolving physiology, as she becomes more plant and disassociates herself with humanity. She teeters between loving and tolerating harley but that is not enough to make her a hero.

My post wasn't about Ivy's status as villain or hero, but the mistreatment as a plot device canon-fodder to advance another character.

If you are talking abou the article, Ivy was pretty much treated as an anti-hero/anti-villain since the New52 and continuing to rebirth and did way less killing than Harley. King even erased her killing record in Batman.

And personally, I think someone who's main goal is to save the planet deserves redemption more than someone who was in love with a serial killer and still kills with a smile on her face.

she is lois lane, mary jane watson, gwen stacey

The difference with Ivy is that she was created as her own character 26 years before Harley. All 3 you mentioned where created as supporting characters for the main hero from the beginning.
Now Gwen Stacy was allowed to evolve on her own thanks to Spider-Gwen, while Ivy gets downgraded as Harley's (girl-)friend.

[lucius121]

My post wasn't about Ivy's status as villain or hero, but the mistreatment as a plot device canon-fodder to advance another character.

If you are talking abou the article, Ivy was pretty much treated as an anti-hero/anti-villain since the New52 and continuing to rebirth and did way less killing than Harley. King even erased her killing record in Batman.

And personally, I think someone who's main goal is to save the planet deserves redemption more than someone who was in love with a serial killer and still kills with a smile on her face.



The difference with Ivy is that she was created as her own character 26 years before Harley. All 3 you mentioned where created as supporting characters for the main hero from the beginning.
Now Gwen Stacy was allowed to evolve on her own thanks to Spider-Gwen, while Ivy gets downgraded as Harley's (girl-)friend.

It's the publisher who decided to kill of ivy I'm not sure why the response to this is to hate on Harley. Harley is a very popular character and her relationship with Ivy is part of what made Harley who she is, killing of Ivy is not a tool to develop Harley it's a tool to regress her, you can see this by how she has gone back to her old costume. I think this an injustice primarily to Ivy but also to Harley as well.

[Green Ghost]

It's the publisher who decided to kill of ivy I'm not sure why the response to this is to hate on Harley. Harley is a very popular character and her relationship with Ivy is part of what made Harley who she is, killing of Ivy is not a tool to develop Harley it's a tool to regress her, you can see this by how she has gone back to her old costume. I think this an injustice primarily to Ivy but also to Harley as well.

Why do you think they killed Ivy then? She has no connection to the heroes and the only one who will be effected by her death is Harley. King said that Didio gave him Harley and Booster to put through hell so they can develope. Also Harley will get her tragic hero moment as cover and I bet it will be the death of Ivy. As soon as they decided Harley needed a tragedy, Ivy was doomed.
She is just a plot device to this story about Harley and this is what makes me angry. Ivy will probably be gone for a while after HiC, while Harley will get even more comics and appearances then she has now. I don’t hate Harley as a character, I am just tired of DC pushing her as the “fourth pillar”, while other characters get burned.

Ps: I think the costume change was just fan-service. In her eulogy to Ivy she said that she should never let anybody change or hurt her, not even the Joker. So changing her costume back to something she wore when she was hurt the most doesn’t make sense if you ask me.