DC reimagines Poison Ivy as a gothic-horror antihero for new OGN

(Image credit: Sara Kipin (DC))

While DC has once again shifted Poison Ivy back to her villainous roots in the main DC line, she's a hero (or well, an 'antihero') in a new young adult OGN debuting in summer 2021.

As revealed by a listing on Penguin Random House (DC's booktrade distributor) found by Vines 'N Roses, Poison Ivy: Thorns by writer Kody Keplinger and artist Sara Kipin reimagines Pamela Isley in a 'coming of age' story.

"There's something unusual about Pamela Isley–the girl who hides behind her bright red hair. The girl who won't let anyone inside to see what's lurking behind the curtains. The girl who goes to extreme lengths to care for a few plants. Pamela Isley doesn't trust other people, especially men," reads the description from Penguin Random House. "They always want something from her. Something she's not willing to give."

This 208-page OGN will introduce a potential love interest for Poison Ivy, diverging from the classic romance with Harley Quinn she'd had in comics and animation.

"When cute goth girl Alice Oh comes into Pamela's life after an accident at the local park, she makes her feel like pulling back the curtains and letting the sunshine in," the description continues. "But there are dark secrets deep within the Isley house. Secrets Pamela's father has warned must remain hidden. Secrets that could turn deadly and destroy the one person who ever cared about Pamela, or as her mom preferred to call her…Ivy. Will Pamela open herself up to the possibilities of love, or will she forever be transformed by the thorny vines of revenge?"

Poison Ivy: Thorns will be Kody Keplinger's first OGN - or comic of any kind, for that matter - but comes from a successful career as a YA prose author. She wrote the novel Duff at age 17, and which was later adapted into a movie starring Mae Whitman. Her most recent book was Lila and Hadley.

Artist Sara Kippin illustrated the 2019 OGN Between the Water and the Woods

Poison Ivy: Thorns goes on sale on June 8, 2021.

Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are the cover stars of the upcoming Valentine's Day anthology DC Love is a Battlefield.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)