I feel like we’ve skipped years, but it’s only been a couple of weeks for these sporelings, who are now in their adulthood (but really they’re only six months.) Getting back to where we left off in the previous issue, Poison Ivy is acting like an overprotective mother after saving Thorn from the experiments that were being tested on her at the laboratory. I’m not really sure where we’re supposed to stand with Poison Ivy; She has been protecting these sporelings from all of the ‘evils’ in Gotham, but because she has switched into the overprotective mother role, her work has been getting sloppy and she’s not seeing issues that are happening around her. There is still so much to understand from who’s been attempting to make it seem as if Poison Ivy is at fault for all of this, but now there is another hybrid messing with their senses – The sporelings are oblivious to this, because they’re too busy wanting to get out of the house and Poison Ivy has been ignorant of this, because she is trying to keep the sporelings in a bubble.
You instantly feel bad for the sporelings, by the way that they are treated by Poison Ivy. I can understand why Thorn wanted to go out and experience the world (she had been born back at the lab and kept locked away until they needed her tests), but she has completely taken Hazel and Rose under her wings and starts going into the leadership role with them. I thought this was interesting how they played it out, because we start off the issue with Hazel and Rose doing more of the talking and then you have hothead Thorn being persuasive to break the rules. Can we seriously blame them for wanting to go out? (I mean… I would’ve wanted to go to a different city other than Gotham, but they don’t know the difference.) As far as the story progressing, we continue to analyze the murders of Luisa, Victor and Grimley; Not really knowing that some major questions are brought up. *Refer to second spoiler below*
Girls just wanna have fun?
Along with the story, comes the artwork. They get really creative with the panel layout in the beginning ; The polaroids were a nice touch to display the developmental stages of the sporelings and the way that they have been brought up over the past couple of months. When Thorn, Hazel, and Rose were out exploring Gotham, every panel included colors that popped (mostly according to their skin tone) and made you feel part of the story – almost as if you were involved in their shenanigans.
There were three pages in the beginning that displayed Poison Ivy with the girls in a quick-sketch; We go back to that type of artwork when Poison Ivy finds the girls in Gotham. Not only did this bring the scene with the girls to be the spotlight (as they were in this issue and even when they were dancing at the gentlemen’s club had a literal spotlight), but it further introduced the role that Poison Ivy had stepped in while taking care of them.
One of the scenes where Poison Ivy actually tells Hazel, Thorn, and Rose to leave no evidence behind and we finally see them all use their powers at once. Really enjoyed this!
It’s not really a surprise that Poison Ivy ‘ground them’ and even locks them; Though, I’m not really sure how long that’s going to hold out if they were able to break away from her plant security system. The main focus of the comic book, was to find out who murdered these people in the beginning for the sporelings and we finally get a piece, when a somewhat familiar face comes around.
HOW DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!
The Good: I had fun – I really did feel connected to the sporelings and the writing only made the reader feel bad for them, wanting to ignore the fact that they did almost caused some trouble in Gotham (well, technically they did, but I didn’t feel bad for the others.) You tend to side with them and dislike the overprotective mother, Poison Ivy, even though she is only trying to look out for them due to their fast development.
The Bad: We moved away from the real issue, which are the murders and the focus on Poison Ivy, and focus on the sporelings in this entire issue. Not a big problem, because I really did have fun reading this, but they bring out some characters, like Darshan, and only used them in a couple of frames. Those panels and others throughout the comic book, could’ve been used to bring more of what had been bothering Poison Ivy (nightmares), rather than to throw it at us and expect for us to understand completely.
Recommended If:
- You enjoy a comic book where Poison Ivy is a mom.
- You’re really invested in Poison Ivy’s sporelings.
Overall: We’re going to find the real answer to our questions in the first issue, so I’m just waiting to see why they murdered Luisa and Victor to begin with. Not only this, but how long are the sporelings going to live? They are developing pretty quickly and have aged so fast, that it’s similarly connected to a plant’s life expectancy. I am already expecting to see Poison Ivy go into a deep depression when her sporelings are no longer with us (just saying.)
Score: 7/10
