A leaked, unfinalized cover for DC Comics’ Heroes in Crisis #7 by artist Clay Mann sparked controversy on social media Friday as upset fans used the hashtag #SavePoisonIvy to voice their criticisms of the art.
The image in question shows Batman villain Poison Ivy dead and bloody on the floor, a victim of the mystery murderer responsible for the mass superhero killing that incited the Heroes in Crisis story. While some fans are voicing their outrage that Poison Ivy is dead and are using the hashtag to ask creative team Mann and writer Tom King to spare her life, others are more upset with the sexual depiction of Poison Ivy’s dead body.
IGN spoke to a DC employee with knowledge of the situation, who said the art in question was an unfinished cover that was never given final editorial approval and was not intended to be made public. How the art leaked is currently being investigated by DC. A new version of that same art drawn by Mann was recolored to change the tone of the image to be more reflective of the contents of the comic and will be used to solicit Heroes in Crisis #7 to retailers in next week’s retailer catalog, although it’s marked as “Not Final Art,” meaning the final cover for that issue may wind up being completely different. You can view both versions of the art below.
Source: IGN.com DC Responds to #SavePoisonIvy Controversy With New Art