POISON IVY: CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH

By Amy Chu (Author) and various illustrators

DC Comics (Publisher)

Review by Maia Bankhead

If you’re a Poison Ivy fan, you’ll love this graphic novel. Botanist Dr. Pamela “Pam” Isley is brought back to her roots (pun intended) as she balances her alter ego with her career as a botanist, despite not working well with others. Seeing herself as one that has never fit in with humanity, Isley pushes everyone away, including Harley Quinn, who grows concerned that Ivy is spending too much of her time dedicated to her plants and research. The only person that Ivy bothers to get close to is her mentor, Dr. Luisa Cruz, who gave her a second chance in the scientific field with no questions about her past. However, when Luisa dies and the research she and Ivy were working on is stolen, Ivy realizes that she just might need to call in some friends to help her solve this mystery and avenge her mentor’s death. For this research wasn’t just some average study on the life of trees … it involved combining plant and animal DNA. Amy Chu does a great job of making this series like an action-packed “story of redemption,” with each illustrator using their own unique style to match the tone, whether dark, sad, or calming.