Pam is contacting Janet from HR. Pam has a favor to ask of Janet. A big one. It’s not going to be comfortable for either of them. Pam and Janet kind of have a history. (Pam blew up a chemical plant. It was a work thing. Nothing personal.) The good news is that Pam’s got something like the moral high ground: Janet’s boss is doing something really, really morally questionable. Pam and Janet find out the full extent of the immorality in Poison Ivy #8. Writer G. Willow Wilson amps up the wit in an issue that is unsettlingly brought to life by guest artist Atagun Ilhan. Colorists Arif Prianto and Ivan Plascencia add considerable atmosphere to the encounter.

It feels like an R-rated version of Little Shop of Horrors. Janet makes the observation. (Pam hates how accurate it is.) Pam’s in a compromised state. If Janet doesn’t help her out, Pam’s going to die. As she’s overcome with a wickedly debilitating condition that warps her powers, Pam can’t do a whole lot with her own body. She accompanies Janet around the complex in the form of weird shoots of vegetation that crawl around the place. It’s weird for everyone. And it’s only going to get weirder.

Wilson fuses sci-fi horror with very contemporary workplace office comedy. It’s a deliciously clever approach to what could have been a dull encounter with an evil corporate megalomaniac. Janet wants to help save the life of Pam, but she’s got concerns about her standing with her evil employer. There are issues with health insurance and an upcoming surgery. She wants to do what’s right. She’s got to choose between a boss that she doesn’t like and a plant monster that wants her dead. Before it’s over, Wilson manages to turn weird horror comedy into a touching and heartfelt drama. Very impressive stuff.

For the most part, the title character in this issue is present in a few weird vines and buds and things. That’s got to be difficult enough to carry off. In addition to that, Ilhan has the unenviable task of trying to get the readers to feel connected to a character who literally just showed up in the series. Ilhan does a remarkable job of keeping the horror balanced against a human drama that feels on some strange level like it’s a minor amplification of a totally normal workplace. It’s a delicate balance that Ilhan is managing. Prianto and Plascencia coat the visuals in a wide range of greens and various luminescences that resonate off the page.

Wilson has found a very sharp niche for Poison Ivy that rather brilliantly occupies space somewhere between drama and comedy and horror and action and heroism and...anti-heroism. The real genius is that she does all of that while delivering a coherently simple story that is totally accessible to just about any reader. Wilson has a very, very appealing relationship with Pam. It will be fun to see it develop in future issues. 

Grade: A