Issue #02 - Ivy League
Scans and Review by Jim Harvey
Gotham Girls #2
Cover Date - November 2002
Written by Paul Storrie; art by Jennifer Graves and J. Bone; cover by
Shane Glines
In the hot new series based on the WB Online webtoon, the female stars
of the animated Gotham universe duke it out! Detective Renée Montoya,
investigating the theft of a mysterious chemical compound, follows the
deadly trail of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, while Ivy tries to convince
Catwoman and Batgirl that they should cooperate with her (fat chance)!
Review
This issue picks up right where we left off, and hops right back
into action with some great three way interaction between
Harley, Catwoman, and Ivy. We get the typical insane Harley
reaction (cracking Catwoman with a mallet), but Ivy is
surprisingly calm here, a nice little twist. I also like the
back story we get on Poison Ivy here, done in the sleek TNBA
style. (Is it me, or does Ivy look a lot like Dr. Lake from the
Batman Beyond episode "Meltdown" in Panel #3 on Page 3?) The
classic restaurant scene from Pretty Poison (episode available
on DVD!) looks pretty sharp in the redesigned style. I like how
Ivy tries to rationalize with Catwoman by comparing herself to
the burglar. A smart move by the plant lady.
Harley's look on the first Panel on Page 5 is hilarious! Is that
intentional? There's some great dialogue here. The "kindred
spirits" reminds me a bit of 'Anne of Green Gables'.
It's great to see Ivy using some of her plant-themed traps and
such. The homegrown pepper gas is a nice little trick from
Poison Ivy. I don't think that has ever been used before,
correct? I've always wondered if these villainesses would get
along, and now I get a pretty good answer. Then again, this is
an awkward situation, so who knows if they really would get
along. I remember Catwoman had a run in with Harley and Ivy in
The Batman Adventures #12 which didn't end good, as well!
Now, as we cut to Montoya. I must admit, this little sub-plot is
enjoyable. We finally see Montoya doing some detective work. She
is actually a detective so it's good to see her do some work.
Even though we all know where this is heading, it's great to see
her working towards it instead of just fumbling into it by sheer
luck or coincidence. "Ya Think" - heh - good line!
Then we're back in the action, which is moving fast and furious!
I love this little sequence. We got two fights going on at once,
almost chaos, and the scene is easy to read and understand.
Usually a packed slugfest is hard to make out and understand,
but it flows so nicely here. We jump from one sequence to
another without giving up pace.
And this new story that Ivy presents...well...I can't help but
be intrigued by this. Is she telling the truth, or is she just
trying to get that vial. What's in that vial! Ivy has laid
herself bare twice this issue, so this has me perplexed, and
intrigued. You're doing a good job, Paul, with this little
revelation. You're making it hard to figure out if Ivy is on the
level here. We've seen how good she can fake her way through
something to get to her goals (again, see 'Pretty Poison') so I
wouldn't be surprised if we see this again. You really have me
wondering here, Paul. Kudos to that! This really has me
anticipating the next issues, because I really want to know if
she's on the level!
The idea of the Ivy and Harley 'herding' Batgirl to Robinson
Park was genius. Ivy is incredibly smart, so I thought a little
trick like this would be within her power. Just a cool little
trick thrown in which leads to Harley acquiring the vial.
And then there's the great art, which continues it's level of
excellence presented in the first issue. I would love to see
Jennifer Graves on these boards so I can congratulate her on her
great work on the series. The artwork really accommodates and
enhances the artwork. It meshes together perfectly.
I especially like Grave's depiction of Ivy. It's a bit of a mix
between the B:TAS and TNBA style. We get some great curves on
her body, but the same sharp design from the new look. Grave's
depiction of Poison Ivy on the first Panel on Page 16 gives her
this innocence that we've never seen for her. She looks almost
vulnerable here, and it's so bizarre. Graves also continues to
present us with killer depictions of Harley and Catwoman. Her
Batgirl just continues to blow my mind. I love how she's drawn
in this series. She looks just absolutely perfect.
My only complaint about this issue is that Tim Harkins is not
lettering, but Phil Felix. I prefer Harkins over Felix because
Harkins provides that classic lettering look that only he can
provide. Hopefully he'll be back for issue #3.
I can't help but gush about this series. It's been a long time
since I've had an animated comic to just gush over, and it's
hard to resist. I'm loving this stuff here!
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