#poison ivy: cycle of life and death

[harlequin-eldritchkin]

Death is inevitable.

From decay brings life.

This life brings variance.

Variance includes deadly poisons.

And holistic cures.

Death doesn't have an agenda.

It neither loves nor hates us.

It just is and does what it does.

Part sorrow and part beauty.

Death, like life, is just nature.

Source: Poison Ivy: The Virtuous Cycle

[shyjusticewarrior]

Characters I Want To Appear In Poison Ivy (2022-Current)

Hazel, Rose, and Thorn

Red Hood

Miracle Molly

The Gardener- I know Bella has appeared in flashbacks in earlier issues, but I'd love to see some closure for her and Ivy.

[tomoleary]

Clay Mann - Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death #6 (2006)

Source

[xanthezhou]

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death #1

[belletra]

newly obsessed with poison ivy, she's my everything 🌱💚

[violetmoondaughter]

Many are the faces of the Hellenic God Dionysus, but the duality of his nature is sometimes connected with two specific plants associated to the god. Dionysus relates to many plants such as Fig, Oak, Pine, Vine and Ivy, these two are specifically connected with two opposite faces of the god. 

Grapevine starts its annual growth cycle in spring with bud break. During spring and summer, the plant grows and after flowering the vine sets the fruits that are usually harvested in early autumn. Following the first frost the leaves begin to fall as the vine starts to enter its winter dormancy period. The following spring, the cycle begins again. Following the same annual cycle Dionysus is seen as a god that is reborn every spring, bringing during the hot season prosperity and abundance before disappearing in winter. Grapevine grows thanks to the hot weather and humidity and so it represents the warm fertilizing humidity power of the god. Grape is used to create wine which is the drink sacred to Dionysus because of its ability to release mental faculties.  

Ivy on the other hand, blossoms in the autumn when the vines are harvested and bears fruit in the spring. As an evergreen plant, ivy needs cold weather and humidity to grow and flower.  Ivy vines crawl as snakes and in the myth, ivy appeared soon after the birth of Dionysus to shelter the child from the flames that burned the mother's body. To its freshness was attributed the virtue of dispelling the ardor of wine, so Dionysus was believed to have commanded his worshippers to crown themselves with it. Ivy, in contrast to the vine that bore fruit bearing vitality and exaltation, produced a poison that sterilized and had medicinal virtues that were refreshingly depurative and narcotic. The plant is also connected with thunder and lightning and was believed to have the power to protect from lightning and cure sore throat and cough. 

Thus these two plants sacred to Dionysus are contrasted with each other in an eloquent contrast: the vine, drunk with light, is a child of heat and returns the rays of the sun by warming, with its libation, bodies and souls, while the ivy shows itself to be cold in nature; indeed the sterility and uselessness of its first sprouts recall night and death. 

Their affinity is rooted in the very essence of the dual-figured god, whose nature is expressed from the earth by means of them: light and darkness, warmth and coldness, intoxication of life and breath of death that withers everything; the multiplicity of the Dionysian aspects struggling with each other and yet conjoined with each other is manifested here in vegetal form, stands in struggle with itself and prodigiously transitions from one form into the other. 

Dionysus rules over all moist and hot creatures whose symbol would also be wine, as a hot and moist substance. In wine, heat is made ardor drink of fire that overwhelms everything, that ignites the soul and the body. But the moist heat is contrasted with the moist cold that as a Dionysian element, is manifested in ivy, a plant that greens even in winter when the Dionysian festivals take place.

[zahri-melitor]

I’m tired of boring samey suggestions for comics runs to start people on. Here are 6 comic stories I bet plenty of you have never read, require very little context, and that I rate highly as far too much fun:-

Batman/Wildcat: are you in the mood for Bruce Wayne and Ted Grant tracking down an gambling ring over illegal cage fights and ending up in one with a bunch of villains, set in late 90s DC comics? Do you want it to be charming, silly, and full of people getting punched? Have I got the story for you.

Black Canary & Zatanna: Bloodspell: There’s a curse on a group of women Dinah knows that were hired to knock over a casino. Dinah investigates and gets Zatanna to help her sort out what’s happened. It’s a heist story meets magic.

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death: Ivy gets a job at a scientific lab and attempts to give up crime, while also growing a gaggle of fast-aging plant!Sim babies in her giant flowers. Yes. Really.

Arsenal 1998: Vandal Savage, the ultimate ancestor of Roy Harper, tries to kidnap Lian Harper for scientific experimentation. Roy and Dinah STRONGLY object. Famous for being the first time Lian Harper is actually a character not just a poppet in arms.

Arkham Manor: Wayne Manor gets turned over to Arkham Asylum to hold the patients. Bruce goes undercover as a patient to solve a murder mystery. Goofy plots involving various villains ensue.

Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia: okay this one is cheating, but if you haven’t read the Hiketeia you really should. A young woman in trouble uses an ancient Greek ritual to bind Diana to be her teacher and protector. Bruce comes to hunt her down for her crimes. Diana is sworn to intervene. Bruce ends up eating a lot of dirt.

[unadulteratedsoulsweets]

A DC X DP #19 Our Pharaoh, Your Duke

Imagine dis…

I kept reading about Tucker as a reincarnation of a powerful Pharoh from the Ancient civilization of Egypt and he wouldn’t stop reincarnating as long as people kept making and improving tablets. I don’t know if that is part of the canon or if that episode in DP is just another Sam and Undergrowth situation.

Anyway, just a thought is passing by…

….

Tucker was enjoying his afterlife with his spouses, Danny Phantom the High Ghost King in the Infinite Realm, and Sam Manson the heir and apprentice to the Ancient of Nature Undergrowth. All three of them were enjoying a rare day off that over-laps each other’s schedules. Tucker became the high leader also known as The Pharaoh in the Egyptian section of the Infinite Realms when the old ruler wished to pass on and when he was able to prove himself to be powerful enough to protect his section in the Realms as well as wise enough to lead them to prosperity. Add the fact that he is married to the High King and bump up other ghosts’ attitudes toward him as he is one of the official consorts of the new King.

The trio was just in a middle of a picnic when Tucker started to feel dizzy accompanied by a headache. Both of Tucker’s partners look at him with worry and concern in their eyes, as Tucker is about to reassure them that he was fine when darkness suddenly invaded his eyes.

…

Tucker is so sure that he has his reincarnation in control but the fact that he suddenly had clarity after months in the standard of his new body. Tucker felt panic fill him, A powerful entity or not every time he reincarnates, he forgets his life before and during his time in the Infinite Realms to not disrupt the normal flow of events, he only recovers his original memories when he was in the brink of death or something is need to change.

He also is worried about whatever his spouse would do as he remembered being in their presence when he was forcibly reincarnated. But by the looks of it, whoever did target him knew nothing about the complexity of the cycle thus having his memories with him along with some abilities that were muted to something more discreet. Tucker was just glad that it was him instead of his spouse.

…

As a child, Tucker no wait his new name is Duke Thomas, took it upon himself to explore this new world as it is taking his spouses a while to find him, which led him to believe that this universe may be part of a small sector of which Clockwork cannot interfere due to the delicate relationship between time and its citizens. Tucker was ecstatic when he had seen the futuristic appeal around him but felt disappointed when he had a need that only the rich and those who have connections can own them. He felt his eyes widen at the mention of aliens and other world beings and people around seemingly saving the world daily, not because of the heroes his lovely husband is an interdimensional/universal Hero and King, but because it has aliens which made him think about the opportunities of bragging rights to his husband the moment, they reunited.

When Tucker/Duke took notice of the city that his parents decided to call home, he was already thinking about his wife’s reactions will be, it seems she will either fall in love with the architecture that screams everything goth and the amount of gargoyle around each building or joins a rogue named poisoned Ivy to her crusade towards nature. It also seems that some of his powers mutated that seems to focus on his eyes, to accommodate this new universe or is it to accommodate this new body, he wondered.

As he was growing up, he began to have doubts about his so-called ordinary family as Danny’s luck rubbed them off the moment they all said I do at the altar. He just hopes that it is something he can handle future he could handle. There have been rules and laws about protecting people with power that were later named as Meta humans, he breath a sigh of relief when he saw no mention of the Infinite Realms from all data base.

…

When Bruce took him into his ward it took everything in Tucker/Duke to not scream fruit loop at the billionaire much more when he discovered a hidden base below his mansion’s basement, he doesn’t know that if Bruce is an upgrade is a degrade at the fury persona. It just never occurred to him that one day he will be a daytime vigilante like the origins of his husband. Honestly, he can’t help but have a new profound respect for his husband when he was just starting, he may be in the daytime schedule but it still took time to adjust. He also had a family of an experienced team from the start yet Danny has only him, Sam, and his sister as safety nets, he is so going to spoil Danny the moment they all saw each other.

The moment he laid eyes on Jason he can’t help but hiss quietly at his state. A liminal at the verge of hunger, no wonder his random outburst of anger kept getting worse each time he lost himself. With little to no materials that can handle the contaminated ectoplasm as well to turn it into a pure ectoplasm he was able to make a filter, yet it takes too much time to purify a liter of it yet reveals a small vial of a pure version. Yet it was better than nothing, whenever he was tasked to get them treats and coffee, he would always put the small vial of pre-ectoplasm into his drink which greatly improved his mood but unfortunately, he was the one who kept doing errands as Jason won’t drink anything else without his secret ingredient. Cass had already noticed him doing something to Jason’s drink but shrugged it off seeing that it was improving his mood, but he can’t help but feel that there is another shoe about to drop.

…

He was right, there was another shoe waiting to drop. You know, with his experience with Danny Tucker should have already known not to jinx things.

A group of archeologists found a new hidden tomb deep within Egypt and decided to go exploring yet the new guy on the job seemed to have done something and unleashed an endless number of Egyptian soldiers that seem to attack everything in sight. Though they are not killing anyone anyone who was sliced with their weapons is immediately teleported to a prison deep below the surface and forced to live a life of hard manual labor like a slave.

Tucker/Duke was shaken awake by Stephanie as the news of the Egyptian soldiers made their way to the mainland and the soil of the US. Much worse is that these soldiers found themselves at Gotham harbor and Batman is calling in every vigilante in Gotham to hold off the army while the JLD finds a way to undo the mess, every member of the magical side of the JL has already interrogated the new archeologist whether he had stolen something or he had disrespected someone in the site. Duke was pretty sure he heard Constantine grumble at the fact that this would be much easier if mind control magic is present but no, it just had to be neither of the common reason when an army of the dead raises themselves from the dead.

Now when Tucker/ Duke was wakened up after he had just gone and stayed awake for the past 14 hours straight due to an exam that his dumb professor insisted on having despite having no to little effect on one’s final grades as well as a case that needed his vigilante self his full attention, much to say he is not happy.

…

At the battleground, other members of the JL have already gone into Gotham to aid Batman and his associates while others were able to evacuate the civilians and now joining in the fight. Every person fighting is starting to feel hopeless as this Egyptian army kept coming back at them while their fighters are getting wary and tired at each wave they faced. As some of the people of the JL were about to succumb to what looked like their inevitable fate there come Signal in his yellow-clad suit and looked like he just crawled out of bed, climbed the Wayne tower with a megaphone in one hand, and proceeded to… scold the army?

Some of them blinked at the ridiculousness while some seem to pinch themselves at the absurdity of the situation. How Signal kept screaming at the undead army how his GPA and sleep is much more important than their so-called invasion to return the Ancient civilization of Egypt to its former glory. As jaws began to drop as all undead Egyptian soldiers seems to lower their heads in shame as they listen to Signal scold them for what looked like a half hour scolding before he heaved a deep breath and ordered the soldiers to go back where they came from and return the prisoners to the living world.

Just moments before each JL and JLD members try to reboot their respective minds at what had just transpired a crack was heard seemingly echoing throughout the ruins and a green portal began to form. There, two beings came through a black-haired woman with plants crawling up to her arms and legs with a wreath on top of her head and a white hair man with a crown floating above his head and a cape that looked like made out of stars dragged Signal by the arm and dragged him back to the portal. Now all heroes are scrambling to make sense of what had happened in a matter of minutes as well as trying to get back their youngest brother back, Duke may be older than Damian but he was the latest one to be adopted thus making him the youngest by their standards.

…

Back in the Infinite Realms Duke is quietly sleeping sandwiched and snuggled between the loves of his life while wearing his Pharaoh regalia he just can’t help but feel like he had just forgotten something.

Meh, he’ll tackle that after he had his full rest with both Sam and Danny’s arms and presence beside him.

…

PS: If someone out there wanted to continue or make a fic about this you are free to do so, don’t forget to tag me though.

[talonabraxas]

Dionysos Nicholas Kalmakoff (Russian-French, 1873–1955)

A Brief History of the Dionysos Cult

The original Rite of Dionysos is almost universally held to have been a "wine cult", concerned with the cultivation of the grapevine, and a practical, understanding of its life cycle - embodying the living god - the creation and fermentation of wine - the dead god in the underworld - and the intoxicating and disinhibiting effects of the drink itself, believed to be a possession by the god’s spirit. In the first instance the cult was not only concerned with the lore of the vine alone, but equally with all the other components of wine. It should not be forgotten that wine once more commonly included many other ingredients, herbal, floral and resinous, adding to the quality, flavour and medicinal properties of the drink. The cultivation of all these also originally came under the lore of Dionysos, making it a general vegetation cult and herbal school. Honey and bees wax were also often added to early wine, bringing with them the associations of the even older mead lore and Neolythic bee cults (whose swarms were often associated with Dionysos as pure "life-force"). Later beer, plus grain/corn, cults were also incorporated into the domain of Dionysos, particularly via his partial assimilation of the Thracian deity Sabazius. Other plants believed to be viniculturally significant were also included in the cults retinue. Thus were added ivy, once thought to negate the effects of drunkenness, and to be the opposite of the grapevine, blooming in winter rather than summer, the vine of death as opposed to the vine of life; the fig, thought to be a purgative of toxins, and the pine, a wine preservative, taken from the evergreen. Similarly the bull, from whose hollowed horns wine was once drunk, and the goat, who provided wineskins and was the natural pruner of the vine, were also included as cult animals and manifestations of Dionysos. The predators or enemies of these were equally sacred, idealised as the panther and the poisonous snake (but see also Sabazius for serpents). Naturally the mythos already associated with these elements would also accrue to Dionysos, if not already there from the start. An understanding of both the practical realities of these processes, and their wider metaphorical significance, is crucial to any attempted understanding of the later primarily symbolic Mysteries of Dionysos, with their atavistic, life-death cycles.

The place of origin of the Hellenic Dionysian Mysteries is unknown, but they almost certainly first came to Greece with the importation of wine, which is widely believed to have originated, in the West, around 6000 BC in one of two places, either in the Zagros Mountains (the borderlands of Mesopotamia and Persia, both with their own rich wine culture since then) or from the ancient wild vines on the mountain slopes of Libya / North Africa (the source of early Egyptian wine from around 2500 BC, and home of many ecstatic rites), quite probably from both. Whatever the case it appears Minoan Crete was the next link in the chain, taking wine from both the Egyptians and Phoenicians and passing it on to the Greeks by 1600 BC, who would spread it throughout their colonies. Wine probably also entered Greece over land from Asia Minor. But it was most likely in Minoan Crete that the eclectic ‘wine cult’, that would become the Dionysian Mysteries, first emerged. Gradually evolving over the centuries, absorbing more mythic material wherever it was adopted. The Dionysos Mysteries would remain powerfully syncretic, absorbing the suppressed primeval cults of all the lands they touched. It would be the Greeks who were left with the task of making sense of the eclectic mix that reached them, and of integrating it into their own mythos with their inventive tales of the journeys and adventures of Dionysos.

The basic principle beneath the original initiations, other than the seasonal death-rebirth theme supposedly common to all vegetation cults (such as the Osirian, which closely parallels the Dionysian), was one of spirit possession and atavism. This in turn was closely associated with the effects of the wine. The spirit possession involved the invocation of spirits by means of the bull roarer, followed by communal dancing to drum and pipe, with characteristic movements (such as the backward head flick) found in all trance inducing cults (represented most famously today by African Voodoo and its relatives). As in Vodoun rites, certain drum rhythms were associated with the trance state, and these rhythms are allegedly found preserved in Greek prose, particularly the Bacchae of Euripides. One classical source describes what had become of these ancient rites in the Greek countryside, where they were held high in the mountains to which ritual processions were made on certain feast days:

"Following the torches as they dipped and swayed in the darkness, they climbed mountain paths with head thrown back and eyes glazed, dancing to the beat of the drum which stirred their blood…. In the state of ekstasis or enqousiasmos, they abandoned themselves, dancing wildly…. and calling 'Euoi!' At that moment of intense rapture they became identified with the god himself…. They became filled with his spirit and acquired divine powers". Peter Hoyle, Delphi (London: 1967), p. 76.

Unlike many trance cults however, the Dionysian rites were primarily atavistic, that is the participant was possessed by animal spirits and bestial entities, rather than intelligible divinities, and may even "transform into animals". A practise preserved by the rite of the "goat and panther men" of the "heretical" Aissaoua Sufi cult of North Africa, and remembered in the satyrs and sileni of the Dionysian procession, and perhaps even the "bull man", or Minotaur, of the chthonic Minoan labyrinth. But the most desired possession was that by Dionysos himself, or his consort Ariadne, though given the primal nature of these deities this is hardly discernable beyond the degree of power manifest. This practise is represented in Greek culture by the famous Bacchanals of the Maenads, Thyiades and Bacchoi. Dionysos in this bestial manifestation is believed to preserve the archaic archetype of the "Lord of the Animals" or the "Horned Hunter", and to a certain extent also the ambiguous "Trickster" archetype. In fact his ‘religion’ tended to absorb the remnants of these archetypes from the local culture wherever it was adopted (usually into Dionysos himself, or else, if still strongly established, as a mythic accomplice, such as his favoured companion the Arcadian Pan, or the ancient Silenus). Likewise the primeval and chthonic goddesses would become associated with Ariadne, or his mother Persephone / Semele. This ritualised atavism was also associated with a ‘descent into the underworld’ of which Dionysos was lord (‘Hades and Dionysos are one and the same’, declared Heraclitus).

The purpose of this atavism is controversial, some see it simply as a Greek saturnalian catharsis, a ritualised release of repressed elements of civilised psychology, and temporary inversion, in order to preserve it, others see it as a return to the "chaotic" sources of being and essentially a reaction against civilisation, while yet others regard it as a magical connection with chthonic powers. It is likely all of these applied in different manifestations of the cult. Like wine, Dionysos had a different flavour in different regions, reflecting their mythical and cultural soil, or "Terroir", and appeared under different names in neighbouring countries (or so claimed the Greeks).

The fact that these effects were attributed in part to Greek wines, that were barely 15% proof, has led many, including Robert Graves, to conclude some of its additives were of an hallucinogenic nature. This is certainly supported by suggestions of a "magic potion" associated with the Dionysos rites, said to include poison ivy, and by the known use of datura, henbane and belladona by shamans in this region, as well as the alleged use of "kykeon" (probably ergot ale), and possibly fly agaric mushrooms, within the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries. Dionysos was most probably regarded as the patron of all consciousness altering substances in Roman times, and potion making paraphenalia have been found in the ruins of Bacchic temples (with the potions, and "poisons", of the Bacchants also featuring in Roman smear campaigns against them). The sacraments used probably varied with the intentions of the Mysteries at any one time, but remained central to all but the most domesticated of the Bacchic sects, as did the associated shamanic idea of stepping outside of an ordered world into something more fundamental.

This primitive Dionysianism survived well into late classical times times on remote Greek islands, and in the wilds of Thrace and Macedonia, but elsewhere was soon adapted to a more "civilised" culture. A spectrum of such sects was to be found across the Greek world, but the height of domesticated kind was to be found at Athens, where atavistic possession became dramatic masked ritual within the Bacchic Thiasos (Greek coven or lodge), seeding the emergence of acting and theatre in the West (crafts also sacred to Dionysos, particularly at the great tragedy and comedy competitions in ancient Athens. From Tragedos, 'Goat Song', Death? And from Komos, 'Revelry'). The ethos of the rites also seems to have become slightly less atavistic and more liberative and sensual in Classical Greece, and a place where the repressions and inequalities of civilised culture could be evaded, albeit temporarily. Thus many of its initiates tended to be women or slaves, the most repressed classes in Greek society, from whom its "leadership" was often drawn, in a typical inversion of normal society. This inversion in fact became a theme of the Dionysian Mysteries, and the Thiasos a place where even kings and rulers could throw off the pressures of rule and convention, and live in carefree, natural equality with commoners for a while. Thus the Mysteries of Dionysos would be adopted by figures as diverse as Alexander the Great, popular monarchs such as Mark Anthony, and rebellious slaves such as Spartacus, all of whom were initiated, and all of whom considered themselves embodiments of Dionysos, interpreting his "liberation" in different ways. But perhaps the most famous of all initiates were the anonymous Maenads, or "wild women", who led the orgiastic rites of Dionysos and became possessed by his frenzy, or the more sensual Thyiades, who raved in the hills. While relatively tamed on the mainland by late Classical times, there still seem to have been outbreaks (or rumours of outbreaks) of primal Dionysianism in Greece, often associated with "foreign influences", the cult itself being seen as originating outside Greek civilisation. These outbreaks were both feared as potentially socially disruptive and envied with great fascination, one such incident inspiring the Euripides' play, the Bacchae.

The Hellenic world, after Alexander’s conquest, spread the cult of Dionysos internationally, to Egyptian Alexandria, where he was associated with Osiris (eventually merging with him as Serapis); to Palestine, where he was associated with the Baals, and even the Adonai of the Jews (who had Dionysos imposed on them by the Hellenes); and most far flung of all, to India, where he became associated with Shiva. These various connections all fed back to the Aegean, where the cult became increasingly complex and cosmopolitan. This would also led to a breakaway mystical form of Dionysianism that would become part of the more philosophical Orphic and Pythagorean Mysteries (where Dionysos was effectively seen as the creative Primal Chaos before creation, beyond all manifest duality, as well as the paradoxical, dynamic balancing force still active within it, the ‘King of the World’, whose final liberation included not only that from orderly civilisation but from the natural world itself!), a move in sharp contrast with the earthy and irrational primitive rite of Dionysos, that in some places still existed alongside it (reflecting a similar pattern to the evolution of Shivaic cults). A complex evolution still not fully understood.

The evolution of the Dionysian Cult continued in the Roman Empire, where the Bacchic Mysteries, as they were known here after their arrival in 200 BC, were banned for a time in Rome and forced underground, following rumours of their "corrupt" and "subversive" behaviour (In 186 B.C. the Roman senate had sought to ban the Dionysian rites throughout the Empire, and restricted their gatherings to no more than 13 people, but was never fully successful. They were revived under Julius Caesar around 50 BC, and remained in existence, along with the Bacchanalian street procession, at least until the time of Augustine (A.D. 354-430)) Those Bacchic cults that survived into late Roman times are often considered degenerate forms, tending to be either rites of empty public theatre, or private excuses for orgies and drunkenness, but it now appears a few low profile Thiasoi did remain, particularly in Southern Italy. It is not surprising that early Christians should thus equate Bacchus and his company with the Devil (despite adopting quite a few of his cult trappings themselves, most obviously the wine communion). The purest survival of the Bacchic cult is perhaps the Lent Carnival which survives in Latin countries even today.

Today people often claim the precursors of Christianity, Devil Worship and Witch Covens in the Rites of Dionysos, with probably both a little justification and much imagination.

[eyesfullofscars]

Hot take

Harley quinn is pregnant. (With Ivy's biological child)

Its the reason for her current crazy 'state' either becuase of pregnancy hormons or that she knows she missed a period, and is going crazy with guilt? confusion? becuase she's been totally monogamous with Ivy the intire time. even wearing a chastity belt.

the timeline

Its currently 2023 and they time travel to 2048. 24-25 years out into the future, where Neytiri says she is the same age as them.

We dont know Harley and Ivy's age but we do know the Joker is currently 29 (dont know why they are so young) but that means they could easily be around 24 right now. giving Harley just the window to give birth to Neytiri so she can be 24 in the year 2048 🤗

So she is either pregnant now or very soon to be.

Who is the Daddy?

They gloss over the question of who the sperm donor is. Because there is none. Ivy inpregnated Harley 🤭 unknowingly of course

and the obvious clue that Neytiri looks exactly like them.. what donor could they have used?

How?

In the Poison Ivy comic - Cycle of life and death - Ivy creates 3 children like herself, using her powers and her botanist/biologist abilities

So i quess i dont think its that much of a reach.. that they've slightly changed this story to one where Ivy's natural biology/abilities/pheremons have knocked up Harley

during all their late night lady fingering 😉

[professoruber]

Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi Reading List

Last Updated: 24/4/2024

A list I have decided to make for the purpose of compiling the various appearances so far of Maps Mizoguchi; since she is a character I like whom has also been receiving some focus as of late. I will also provide some brief description/thoughts for each one.

Gotham Academy (2014-2016) - All Issues

Maps of course first made her original appearance in the first run of Gotham Academy.

Gotham Academy: Endgame (2015) - #1

A one-shot comic which was one of several tie-ins made for the Endgame event which was going on at the time. Basically just shows what Maps and the GA crew were up to while Gotham was being overrun by Joker zombies.

Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016-2017) - All Issues

The continuation of the Gotham Academy storyline, with of course has Maps in a major role.

Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy (2016-2017)

A crossover between Gotham Academy and the Lumberjanes, which I'm pretty sure is non-canon but still probably worth checking out. I have not read it, nor the Lumberjanes comics yet, although I do intend to do both as some point (due in part to ND Stevenson being one of the authors of Lumberjanes, and me really liking the She-Ra reboot and Nimona)

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016) - #1

Maps, alongside other Gotham Academy students (including Olive, Kyle, Colton and Pom) have a brief cameo in this first issue of this run. Maps and Olive each get one line each.

Batgirl (2011—2016) - #51, #52, & Annual 4

Maps (along with Olive) also showed up briefly during the Batgirl of Burnside run. My assumption is this is due to them sharing an artist and being published concurrently. I do know what Burnside!Babs isn't everyone's cup of tea so keep that in mind, I suppose.

My Video Game Ate my Homework (2020) - #1

Maps and Olive show up behind the main characters in the first page as a cameo... and that's about it. The comic seems fun though, for the record. Mostly including this because I'm just going through the list of Maps' appearances on the DC wiki.

Batman: Black and White (2021) - #4

One of the stories in this issue has Maps appear as Robin. Non-canon but still a very neat and fun appearance by her.

Batman (2016-) - #119, #120, #121

Probably Maps' first major appearance since the end of the Gotham Academy: Second Semester. These give some additional exploration of her home life and relationship with her parents. Has her dressing up as Robin to investigation the disappearance of another student.

Batgirls (2022-2023) - #11

Maps shows up here and has an adventure with Cass. This also means that Maps knows Babs, Cass and Steph. Which is neat. I do know that the portrayal of the Batgirls in Batgirls isn't everyone's cup of tea (namely portraying them as younger / less mature than they have been in the past) so that that's worth keeping in mind. Interestly, Maps' big brother Kyle has a larger role; appearing in #10, #11, #17, #18, #19 and the Annual as a possible love interest for Steph.

DC's Saved by the Belle Reve (2022) - #1 

A one-shot with several stories, including one which returns to the Gotham Academy crew and gives some information on what's happened since the end of Gotham Academy: Second Semester, along with a fun adventure.

Gotham Academy: Maps of Mystery (2023) - #1

A one-shot which acts a compilation of Batman (2016-) - #119, #120, #121, as well as Maps appearances in Batman: Black and White, and DC's Saved by the Belle Reve.

Birds of Prey (2023-) - All Issues

The newest Birds of Prey run has a surprise appearance by Maps. Which I think is a neat sign of her receiving some increased focus as of late. To get into some mild-ish spoilers... the Maps who appears is a Maps from the future. I have made a few posts/reviews of this run, which you can find on this blog, and I guess personally I am not the biggest fan of her portrayal in this comic. Still is neat to see her receive more focus. Do kinda also think it could've been neat if Present!Maps had shown up instead of Future!Maps.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2023-) - #10, #11, #12

Gotham Academy returns! As does Present!Maps. A fun ongoing story of Maps getting to team up with Batman once more.

[fantastic-nonsense]

Hi! I was looking to see if you know of many comics with Batman's villains at the lead!? (Besides Harley and Selina, who've had multiple series and are pretty easy to find). Other than the "Joker" Novel and Penguin: Pain and prejudice, i couldn't find any. Any good suggestions for Joker, Ivy, Two-Face, or any other villian from the Batman universe?

the tldr is that Ivy has several, Two-Face has a handful, the al Ghuls have a couple, and everyone else has had a couple of single issues starring them.

In general, the Batman Arkham series functions as a Batman Rogues Gallery "Greatest Hits" collection. While most of the stories collected in these trades don't feature the rogues as a protagonist, they all explore the characters and their backstories/motivations and feature them in a starring role!

On principle, I generally refuse to recommend Joker comics. Clown man has enough stuff starring him and they're generally easy enough to find without me promoting him more than he already is. Also, to be honest with you I occasionally go out of my way to avoid stuff starring him because he's frankly bored me ever since DC decided to emphasize him as a psychopathic serial killer instead of a funny villain with a clown gimmick.

However, The Joker's Five-Way Revenge (Batman vol. 1 #251) is a fun read, Joker: The Man Who Laughs and Joker's Last Laugh are both good, and Batman: The War of Jokes and Riddles is decent as well. Another fun one that's a little out of the box is Superman: Emperor Joker.

Other than that...I generally recommend the following for Ivy:

Batman Arkham: Poison Ivy (basically an 'Ivy Greatest Hits' collection)

Batman: Poison Ivy (1997)

No Man's Land (yes, it's long. No, Ivy's not a 'lead'. yes, it's also ground zero for Ivy's redemption arc and features her in a major role)

Gotham City Sirens (2009)

Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder (specifically Vol. 2, Family Tree, and Vol. 3, Rotworld: The Green Kingdom)

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016)

Poison Ivy (2021) by G. Willow Wilson (curently ongoing)

Ivy also pops up in Ram V's Catwoman (2018) run and pretty consistently in Harley's solo books after 2015.

For Two-Face (my beloved), read Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory (which function as a double feature). Then read any of the following:

Batman: Faces (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #28-30)

Batman: Two-Face (1995)

Batman Annual #14: "Eye of the Beholder"

Gotham Central, which has an extended Harvey-Renee Montoya subplot

Batman/Two-Face: "Crime and Punishment"

Batman/Two-Face: Face the Face (2006)

Two-Face: Year One (2008)

Batman and Robin (2011) 23.1: Two-Face

Detective Comics #1020-1022: “The Ugly Heart”

Two-Face: One Bad Day

And for a couple of stories that aren't Harvey-focused but feature him as a prominent antagonist...read Robin: Year One, A Lonely Place of Dying, and Batman: Prodigal.

For the al Ghuls, apart from the Batman Arkham collections you're primarily looking for Tales of the Demon, the Demon Trilogy (Birth of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, Son of the Demon), Batman: The Chalice, and Batman Annual #26 (the prologue to Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, which is also fun). Two of Damian's Robin solos (Robin: Son of Batman (2015) and Robin (2021)) also prominently feature Talia. There are...certainly other options, if you want to read about the al Ghuls, but they're rarely well characterized in those (except Talia's LexCorp CEO arc; all hail Talia's Lexcorp CEO arc).

Clayface (the Basil Karlo version) prominently featured as a protagonist in Tynion's Detective Comics Rebirth (2016) run.

Everyone else...apart from stories where they're the prominent antagonist, there were several Villain takeover issues during the period of Batman and Robin (2011) when Damian was dead, Year of the Villain had a few issues focused on the Batman Rogues, and the One Bad Day series focuses each issue on a different Bat Rogue.

There are plenty of other stories centered on various members of Batman's Rogues Gallery, but hopefully this gives you a solid starting place!

[laultimacocacolaeneldesierto]

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016) #1 by Terry Dodson.

[poisonousquinzel]

what’re your thoughts on how Amy Chu writes Ivy?

I think Poison Ivy: A Cycle Of Life And Death is definitely one of the better Ivy comics out there, I really love it when she's able to actually put her smarts to use and well, making your own plant babies is certainly that skdjsksk

and it has this iconic moment<3

"I can't stand abusers."

cheers I'll drink to that bby!

And I appreciate that it's not one that ends up focusing on a dude (or Batman) and kinda side lining her for the sake of propping up a man / making her obsessed with a man and that's the story, ya know?

I think also Ivy's struggle with her kids and trying to protect them is understandable and I enjoy that Amy Chu allowed that to be a flaw throughout, it's not Ivy's strong suit and that's okay. She's been hurt a lot and being so fearful and protective over them, refusing to let them leave, is what she really thought they needed. I think also there's just the fact that while Ivy absolutely understands her daughters in terms of their connections with the green and whatnot, she was a human at some point. She grew up at a normal pace, she ages at a human rate. She matured at the rate most humans do, over a Long period of years. She has had time during her adult life after she got her powers to practice and get really good at controlling them.

So I get why it's hard for her to feel like the girls have had enough life experience and practice because really, for her, they Are 25 weeks old. They might age differently and stuff, but these are her babies and she only delivered them 25 weeks ago.

Really my only dislike about the writing in it is Harley tbh. I really don't like the way she's characterized in the first chapter. I do love a good Dr. Quinzel moment, but the second they're at the bar it just goes down hill with their conversation. Only part about that that I liked is obvi will always root for them beating tf outta creeps who won't stop harassing women. But she leaves at the end of that chapter and only has a phone appearance briefly at the end, so it's thankfully not So egregious that I just can't with the rest of the comic lol

[zahri-melitor]

In any case, I have now read the following n52 runs completely:-

Batgirl

Batman

Batman & Robin

Batwoman

Birds of Prey

Blue Beetle

Detective Comics

Nightwing

Batman Incorporated

Sword of Sorcery

Katana

Threshold

Green Team: Teen Trillionaires

Arkham Manor

Batman Eternal

Gotham Academy

Grayson

Gotham by Midnight

Black Canary

Prez

Robin: Son of Batman

We Are Robin

Batman & Robin Eternal

(23 titles)

I have also started reading the following titles (ignoring things I've only read for crossovers):-

Batwing

Justice League Dark

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death

(3 titles)

[poisonivysource]

Hi can you recommend me some comics? I'm new to comics but i already saw batmen:hatley&ivy, harely quinn and poison ivy, poison ivy cycle of life and death, poison ivy thorns, neil gaimen's secret origin, gotham city sirens and on-going series.(I'm still catching up pre on-going arc as you recommended) I read most famous ones. And i just wanna read some comics even if ivy isn't main character, still have good arc.

sure. here are some favorites of mine:

batman legends of the dark knight (1989) #42 & 43 “hothouse”

batman/poison ivy: cast shadows (2004)

[no man’s land]

batman: shadow of the bat (1992) #88 “fruit of the earth part 1”

batman (1940) #568 “fruit of the earth part 2”

detective comics (1937) #735 “fruit of the earth part 3”

batman: harley quinn (1999)

detective comics (1937) #751 "a walk in the park part 1"

detective comics (1937) #752 "a walk in the park part 2"

[nu52]

batgirl (2011) annual #2 “when pamela gets blue”

[rebirth]

sensation comics featuring wonder woman #31 #32

all-star batman (2016-2017) #7 “ends of the earth part 2”

new talent showcase 2017 “silent screams”

batgirl and the birds of prey (2016) #12-17 #19 #21-22