Poison Ivy : Official Logos

It's hard to believe that it's been 14 years since the release of the Batman: Poison Ivy (1997) one-shot. A comic book offering that gave us the first glimpse of the now standard "Poison Ivy" character and merchandise logo.

There have been a few variations of what could be considered a Poison Ivy logo but these only existed on the pages of DC comic books. At this point in time there was practically no Ivy related products to be found.

The earliest attempt at branding for Poison Ivy was this logo that appeared in an issue of DC Comics Secret Origins (1989). This same style is also seen in one of Poison Ivy's earlier Who's Who entries (1990). It's not terrible but it looks very outdated. This was released during the time when DC was still playing up the Poison Ivy as druid theme. A sneaky elf-like fantasy creature with a fairy tale logo to match. Quaint but not for me.

It took the greater part of a decade until Poison Ivy would finally be given a logo that evoked her sexy and forbidding nature. The aforementioned one-shot featuring the new logo was released in 1997 to coincide with the promotion of "Batman & Robin". Each main character was given a book containing an origin story along with a new logo.

I really like this effort. It's modern, slick, and has a touch of menace. The organic and thorny shape are killer. When you lay your eyes upon this logo you immediately know the person in question is dangerous.

Since its inception it has been used in comic books, on t-shirts, collectables, and more.

However, the marketing department also released a secondary logo that is more kid-friendly (for lack of a better term). This logo often appears on toys and dolls marketed specifically to younger consumers. You will mostly see this style on merchandise featuring the animated versions of Poison Ivy. It's a bit more whimsical and fun with an ivy leaf detail substituting for the dot.

I think it's great that DC now wants to promote this character in such a way that they felt she deserved her own logos. This elevates Poison Ivy to an upper tier status in the DC Universe especially in regards to collectables.

I'm sure that in the coming years we may see a revamped take on Poison Ivy's branding that includes logo redesign. Especially considering the character is undergoing a makeover in late 2011.

And there you have it!

Posted in: Comics,Merchandise