Interview: Poison Ivy Gets All New LGBTQ+ Origin In ‘Thorns’

Poison Ivy is starring in a new young adult graphic novel called Poison Ivy: Thorns. The story reimagines the longtime DC villain’s origin in a new and exciting way while further exploring her queerness. Written by Kody Keplinger (The Duff) with art by Sara Kipin (Trese), Poison Ivy: Thorns will show how Pamela Isley’s upbringing really impacted who she would become later in life.

Described as a “Gothic horror twist to the classic character,” Poison Ivy: Thorns follows Pamela and her mysterious home life. She’ll meet Alice Oh, who is one of the first people Pamela allows to take a closer look at her real life and struggles. The book will explore the secrets of Pamela’s family, her finding love at a young age, and how she became Poison Ivy in the first place. We spoke to Keplinger about the book, which is coming out this week.

What was it like to work on a beloved DC character and create an all-new origin for her?

Poison Ivy has been my favorite comic book character since I was a kid – I’ve always loved everything about her, from her attitude to her design, and getting to write for her was a dream come true! DC gave me a lot of freedom with the story, and I wanted to do sort of a modern gothic reimagining of how Pamela Isley becomes Poison Ivy. I pulled some inspiration from past origin stories, but I also had a lot of fun getting to explore this character I love and putting a new twist on her story.

What can readers expect from this version of Pamela that’s different from others?

There’s a lot that’s the same – Pamela is still bisexual, still passionate about the environment, and still *not* a hero. But I think some readers may be surprised by the place she starts from. She starts the story feeling uneasy, hiding behind her hair, keeping big secrets. And throughout the book, we get to see how she grows to stand up for herself and for the things she cares about – even if she does it in…not so ethical ways. This also isn’t a Harley and Iv story. I love the Harley and Ivy ship! But for this story, we wanted Pamela to take center stage, for this to be all her own. So don’t expect any other familiar faces in this book. There are some new characters, but at its core, this is an Ivy-centric story!

What made Sara the perfect artist to draw this book?And what was it like to draw a tale set in the DC Universe?

Holy crap, Sara’s art really, really brought this book to life! The illustrations really lean into the dark, moody, gothic environments. And the character designs were just so, so perfect for this story. Seeing Sara’s version of Ivy was probably the most exciting part of the process for me, honestly. And then seeing the whole book come together was surreal and fantastic. I sincerely could not imagine any other artist capturing this story the way Sara was able to. There are some heavy themes in this book from dealing with grief, misogyny, and environmental activism.

Why was it important to tell the story with these themes?

A major theme I wanted to explore in this story was the entitlement some men feel they have over the female bodies in their lives – whether that’s romantic, sexual, or familial entitlement. It felt like a natural thing to explore with Poison Ivy, a character who, in other iterations, has often used the way people (especially men) view her body as a weapon to be wielded against them. But while Poison Ivy is a fictional character, this is a very real thing girls, women, and really anyone femme-presenting deals with. And that pervasive misogyny can cause a lot of damage. I wanted to explore that from a few angles.

How exciting was it to give Pamela a new romantic partner in Alice and explore her sexuality/queerness? 

It seems to be the perfect time with Pride Month to get this story in the hands of readers who might be struggling with the same questions as Ivy. One thing I knew from the minute I made the pitch to tell a Poison Ivy story is that there would be a queer romance. Ivy is bisexual in the canon, and I had absolutely no intention of changing that, especially as a queer woman myself. I knew her love interest would be a new character and coming up with Alice was so much fun. She’s a loyal, funny goth girl who might be in over her head in this gothic story. Alice knows she’s a lesbian, and Pamela knows she’s bisexual. The story is less about them discovering these things and more about the connection they build in a very complicated, twisted situation. Basically, I wanted to write a story where the queerness of the characters was not the conflict because being queer in real life already has so much of that. Sometimes, it’s nice to read a story where the conflicts come from creepy plants, mad scientists, and spooky houses, but two girls still get to kiss and hold hands.

How important was it to keep Pamela’s villainous tendencies (even when well-intentioned) a part of this story?

In my first drafts of the pitch, Pamela was a bit softer. I wasn’t sure how dark I would be able to go. Luckily, DC encouraged me to lean into the darkest parts of the Poison Ivy character. As a fan, my favorite thing about Poison Ivy has always been that, even when she’s doing something terrible, you can kind of understand her point? It’s what makes her a great villain and a terrifying one. In the very first scene of the book, it’s made clear that – though her intent is good – Pamela’s method of problem-solving might be … let’s go with “unethical.” As the story progresses, you see how that escalates, where she may have learned these behaviors from, and how she feels about the path they take her down. I was so glad to have the freedom to really let Pamela be the dark, messy, fascinating character I’ve always loved her for being.

What do you hope readers take away from the story?

First and foremost, I hope readers enjoy the story. That’s always my main goal when I write anything: to entertain. If the themes I explored in the story resonate with readers or get them thinking about topics maybe they hadn’t before, or start conversations they hadn’t thought to have before…. really, for me, that’s just icing on the cake.

Poison Ivy: Thorns is in comic and book stores on Tuesday!

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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