Rating: 
Summary: Gaiman's graceful, introspective tale.
Review: About the same time that Neil Gaiman took a little-known hero called the Sandman and created the rich mythology of Dream and the Endless, he reinvented another obscure character, Black Orchid, a plant-based heroine with ties to the likes of Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing. In this three-part story, Gaiman gives a whole new slant to the character, replacing a standard, gimmicky vigilante with a thought-provoking new entity entirely.Gaiman's story is brilliantly and expressively told through the art of Dave McKean. McKean employs very little color in his art -- most of the characters and settings are painted in shades of grey. Orchid moves through her drab surroundings in hues of purple. Other colors accent the landscape -- glints of light, flecks of blood, shades of leaves. Black Orchid is a beautiful tale, though at times violent, and I wonder why this character has been ignored in the years since its release. She deserves to see the light of day again. Soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Everyone Has To Start Somewhere
Review: As a big fan of Neil Gaiman's novels and Sandman series, I was truly looking forward to this. Of course, as seen in the early issues of Sandman, Gaiman wasn't a natural at writing comics (but, then again, who is?) and he needed a bit of time to develope his "sea legs" so to speak. As such, this work of his was a little weak, nowhere near on par with his later efforts in works such as Mr. Punch, American Gods, The Books of Magic, Neverwhere (the novel), and, of course, Sandman. Dave McKean's artwork, though, is always a treat, so I should point out my review is focused more on Gaiman's writing for this rather than McKean's artwork.
Rating:
Summary: Everyone Has To Start Somewhere
Review: As a big fan of Neil Gaiman's novels and Sandman series, I was truly looking forward to this. Of course, as seen in the early issues of Sandman, Gaiman wasn't a natural at writing comics (but, then again, who is?) and he needed a bit of time to develope his "sea legs" so to speak. As such, this work of his was a little weak, nowhere near on par with his later efforts in works such as Mr. Punch, American Gods, The Books of Magic, Neverwhere (the novel), and, of course, Sandman. Dave McKean's artwork, though, is always a treat, so I should point out my review is focused more on Gaiman's writing for this rather than McKean's artwork.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully illustrated, strong story.
Review: BLACK ORCHID is one of Neil Gaiman's early forays into comics for DC Comics. It his revamp of a little-known
superheroine who is a hybrid of human and orchid, with the
ability to control minds with the use of scent.
As befitting to a story that utilizes a lot of flora and
fauna as metaphors, the fully-painted artwork is lush and
colorful...you almost want to reach out and touch the leaves
of a tree or smell the flowers.
Look for cameos from well-known DC characters such as Lex
Luthor, Batman, Poison Ivy, the Mad Hatter, and others.
My only complaint about the story is a rather abrupt and
somewhat unfinished ending. I'm guessing this is because
DC intended it to be the launch of the ongoing BLACK ORCHID
comic book series, which lasted for 24 issues and never
reached the heights of this story, originally a 3-part
miniseries.
Rating:
Summary: Good Beginning
Review: Black Orchid was first released at approximately the same time as Sandman #1 and was the second major work by both Gaiman and McKean after Violent Cases. As a result, it was the North American audience's first real exposure to their work. This made reading it the first time especially interesting, not knowing what to expect from the two creators, but with their current greater familiarity, the experience of reading Black Orchid is now less exciting. Also, since they did not have their reputations yet, a lot of big-name characters such as Batman and Swamp Thing make distracting cameo appearances for the obvious reason of attracting readers when they would have been better left out. McKean's artwork in this book goes for more of a photorealistic style that was more distinctive from Bill Sienkiewicz's work than Violent Cases, but is far less interesting than McKean's more recent and more surreal work, and with the exception of a few photographs is less multimedia and more straight painting. Furthermore, the scenes taking place in the city are largely black, white and gray, and not until the action moves to the jungle do you get brilliant flashes of colour. This was done purposely for dramatic effect, but also makes much of the art less interesting than usual. McKean himself said he was glad when he started painting the jungle scenes because he was getting utterly bored painting the rest. Gaiman's story itself presents an interesting contrast between modern, patriachal, business-driven society with the beauty and serenity of the natural world. The plot itself is typical of Gaiman's writing, with a great deal of build up leading the reader to expect some great, violent confrontation only to result in an almost anticlimatic ending in which clearer heads prevail and violence is largely avoided. Here this pattern works especially well to contrast the testosterone-driven action of operatives under the employ of Lex Luthor trying to capture Black Orchid for scientific dissection, including her abusive lover from her previous life, giving chase and the feminine manner in which Black Orchid resolves the situation by avoiding conflict. This story is much quieter, more idylic than most of Gaiman's more famous work, in that it doesn't confront you with obscure references and the fantastic on every page. That being said, it is not particularly thought-provoking or entertaining, but it is beautiful enough to earn a good rating.
Rating:
Summary: Good Beginning
Review: Black Orchid was first released at approximately the same time as Sandman #1 and was the second major work by both Gaiman and McKean after Violent Cases. As a result, it was the North American audience's first real exposure to their work. This made reading it the first time especially interesting, not knowing what to expect from the two creators, but with their current greater familiarity, the experience of reading Black Orchid is now less exciting. Also, since they did not have their reputations yet, a lot of big-name characters such as Batman and Swamp Thing make distracting cameo appearances for the obvious reason of attracting readers when they would have been better left out. McKean's artwork in this book goes for more of a photorealistic style that was more distinctive from Bill Sienkiewicz's work than Violent Cases, but is far less interesting than McKean's more recent and more surreal work, and with the exception of a few photographs is less multimedia and more straight painting. Furthermore, the scenes taking place in the city are largely black, white and gray, and not until the action moves to the jungle do you get brilliant flashes of colour. This was done purposely for dramatic effect, but also makes much of the art less interesting than usual. McKean himself said he was glad when he started painting the jungle scenes because he was getting utterly bored painting the rest. Gaiman's story itself presents an interesting contrast between modern, patriachal, business-driven society with the beauty and serenity of the natural world. The plot itself is typical of Gaiman's writing, with a great deal of build up leading the reader to expect some great, violent confrontation only to result in an almost anticlimatic ending in which clearer heads prevail and violence is largely avoided. Here this pattern works especially well to contrast the testosterone-driven action of operatives under the employ of Lex Luthor trying to capture Black Orchid for scientific dissection, including her abusive lover from her previous life, giving chase and the feminine manner in which Black Orchid resolves the situation by avoiding conflict. This story is much quieter, more idylic than most of Gaiman's more famous work, in that it doesn't confront you with obscure references and the fantastic on every page. That being said, it is not particularly thought-provoking or entertaining, but it is beautiful enough to earn a good rating.
Rating: 
Summary: A Solid Story From the Protean Days of Gaiman/McKean
Review: Fans of the Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean collaboration which revolutionized the comic art form will find "Black Orchid" an interesting look back at this alliance in its infancy. The story itself is not quite as laudable on its own merits, however. Gaiman continues his early apprenticeship under Alan Moore and Rick Veitch here, and this work could be viewed as an open homage to the latter's run on "Swamp Thing." The stable of Swamp Thing characters appear here at various points and fans of this comic will undoubtedly find the tale familiar. Of greater interest is Gaiman's attempt to take an obscure DC character and breath fresh life (and a bit of the supernatural) into it. While the initial shock of how he intends "Black Orchid" to depart from the conventions of the superhero genre is spoiled by the introduction (trust me: read this LAST), it still has impact, and shows the audacity we would come to expect of Gaiman later. The rest of the tale doesn't quite hold up. Perhaps Gaiman lost steam after the breathtaking first installment and didn't know quite how to wrap it up; perhaps giving birth to The Sandman soaked up all his creative oxygen and left this story in the lurch. Regardless, the last few chapters of the story meander all over the place and resolve themselves in a wholly unsatisfactory manner. The artwork is vintage McKean and quite beautiful. The illustrator shows a great willingness to take chances with perspective and color to enhance the narrative and it is clear that McKean at this early stage possesses more confidence than Gaiman. I recommend "Black Orchid" to Gaiman & McKean fans interested in the early stages of their partnership, warts and all, and to Swamp Thing fans curious to see how the milieu is translated by the author. Otherwise, I'm afraid this is of only marginal value to comic book readers.
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Story From the Protean Days of Gaiman/McKean
Review: Fans of the Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean collaboration which revolutionized the comic art form will find "Black Orchid" an interesting look back at this alliance in its infancy. The story itself is not quite as laudable on its own merits, however. Gaiman continues his early apprenticeship under Alan Moore and Rick Veitch here, and this work could be viewed as an open homage to the latter's run on "Swamp Thing." The stable of Swamp Thing characters appear here at various points and fans of this comic will undoubtedly find the tale familiar. Of greater interest is Gaiman's attempt to take an obscure DC character and breath fresh life (and a bit of the supernatural) into it. While the initial shock of how he intends "Black Orchid" to depart from the conventions of the superhero genre is spoiled by the introduction (trust me: read this LAST), it still has impact, and shows the audacity we would come to expect of Gaiman later. The rest of the tale doesn't quite hold up. Perhaps Gaiman lost steam after the breathtaking first installment and didn't know quite how to wrap it up; perhaps giving birth to The Sandman soaked up all his creative oxygen and left this story in the lurch. Regardless, the last few chapters of the story meander all over the place and resolve themselves in a wholly unsatisfactory manner. The artwork is vintage McKean and quite beautiful. The illustrator shows a great willingness to take chances with perspective and color to enhance the narrative and it is clear that McKean at this early stage possesses more confidence than Gaiman. I recommend "Black Orchid" to Gaiman & McKean fans interested in the early stages of their partnership, warts and all, and to Swamp Thing fans curious to see how the milieu is translated by the author. Otherwise, I'm afraid this is of only marginal value to comic book readers.
Rating:
Summary: Gaiman's done better
Review: First, the good news. McKean's art is a real asset. It's varied, skilled, and very expressive. The story just didn't work for me, though. It was a little too close to the super-hero-in-spandex genre, with character crossovers from Superman, Batman, and I don't know what all else. There's a market for SHIS stories, but I'm not in it. Gaiman's done some incredible work. He's set a standard for thoughtful, unusual characters and settings. The problem is, he set the standard so high that not even he can reach that mark every time. I really expected something more mature from Gaiman and McKean - maybe next time.
Rating:
Summary: Black Orchid caused my love of Graphic Novels to bloom!
Review: I am not a DC comic fan or collector, so please bear with me in giving you this review from a non-comic owner perspective. While not a follower of the comics, I do love Neil Gaiman. This is the story of how Black Orchid comes to life and seeks out a meaning for, literally, the life given to her. She wants answers to the questions "Who am I? Why am I here?" and is desperate to find a place that she will belong. Her tale is told with cameo appearances by Batman, Swamp Thing, and Poison Ivy; and you should not miss the nightmarish visit to the Arkham Asylum where a skeletal, sleepless man spills his nightmares on the floor, and the x-ray man weeps burning tears onto the floor. She awakens as the Black Orchid in the greenhouse at Dr. Phillip Sylvian, with the memories of a woman named Susan Linden. Phil tells her about a little of her background, and tells her of those who he went to college with, without whom she would not be alive; Dr. Jason Woodrue, Pamela Isley and Alec Holland. But before he can reveal everything to her, Phil is killed and the Black Orchid is on her own. Her ex husband Carl Thorne finds out about her plant-reincarnation, and makes a visit to her, killing all but one of the smaller plants that Phil has been nurturing. Black Orchid takes the little one with her, "Suzy", to Gotham city where a tip from a friend sends her off along to Arkham Asylum to speak with Poison Ivy. Suzy is snatched by Lexcorp, but after a quick visit with Swamp Thing, Black Orchid rescues Suzy and they fly off to the Amazon Rainforest where Black Orchid can plant her seeds. But there are still those who hunt her down; her ex husband who is trying to kill her again, and the Lexcorp minions sent into the rainforest to bring her back alive so that she can be dissected. What a girl...er...plant, to do? Brief comic strip type prose does not stop Gaiman from bringing to life a fully fleshed out story, and the artwork of Dave McKean is to be applauded. Moving from shades of gray to brilliantly splashed pages of vibrant color, he paints brutality, horror, and the sereneness of nature in the same ethereal fashion. This is an excellent choice for those who are just starting to dip their toes and get their feet wet in the world of Graphic Novels. Enjoy!
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