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!
Rating: 
Summary: Black Orchid, A Woman Done By Top Two Men in Graphic Novels!
Review: I bought this before "Veils", also reviewed by me, and was very happy since this work, unlike most "comics" work, was more clearly aimed at women. I already owned much of Gaiman and McKean's work and was surprised to discover this feminist and environment oriented book among their earlier work. Also, buying it in the trade paperback version meant I wouldn't be missing any issues of the story, the typical problem when you are trying to find these as individual comics. McKean is my all-time favorite artist in "comics". He can do no wrong and I was delighted to find him doing a non-macho storyline. I wish Gaiman and McKean would go back to this type of work rather than what they are doing now in the "comics" field.
Rating:
Summary: Gaiman delivers
Review: I don't like everything that Neil Gaiman writes but I have to say that I DO like this book. Philip, an old classmate of Alec Holland (who became Swamp Thing later) has never had too many friends during his youth. He was considered a geek because most of his attention went to botanism in which he put almost all his time. One of the people who HAS been his friend during his young years is Susan, who he loved dearly. Once the time came that Susan disappeared out of Philips life he was heartbroken. Susan went on to marry a criminal, Carl, which got her killed, and Philip went back to his dream of trying to breed living 'flowerpeople', hybrids. Now, the present. After seven years in jail Carl, who blames Susan for his arrest, comes looking for Philip because he blames Philip for what went wrong between him and Susan . What he then finds in Philips basement is too stunning for words, Philip succeeded ! He calls his old employer Luthor about what he found (indeed, Superman's Luthor ) hoping to get in his grace again, but before Luthor is able to arrive Carl screws up and the whole basement is destroyed, and everything alive in it is dead, bar two creatures who got away. Than starts the quest of the two heavily confused escaped beings, Black Orchids, to find out what they are, who they are and where they belong. A quest which leads them through places like Arkham Asylum and even to the jungle-swamp of Swamp Thing himself. Meanwhile the hordes of Luthor are trying to track them down and there's also the matter of the man who has fallen from grace, Carl, who's also madly in pursuit. This book takes superhero characters (like Batman, Swamp Thing, Batman, Poison Ivy etc.), puts them in a "mature readers environment", and makes them act like deranged human beings instead of superpowered creatures. Gaiman makes them seem more 'real', more 'human' and very appropriate for an adult orientated book. Especially people who like the Alan Moore part of Saga of the Swamp Thing will have a ball with this, guarantied. A connection you'll easily make for yourself too once you've read both books. It's really good to see Gaiman get back on a person like Jason Woodrue (who is a very small player in here), ... and who would have thought of a connection between Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing (although it seems so logical once you see it). It surely isn't neccesary to have any prior knowledge of Swamp Thing to enjoy this book, it's a fine story on it's own as well. It's just once you've read the Alan Moore parts of Swamp Thing you'll appreciate a lot of things in here a lot more. It's not for you if you're looking for superhero action. If you're looking for a well-told supernatural story about human psyches, it sure is.
Rating:
Summary: Gaiman delivers
Review: I don't like everything that Neil Gaiman writes but I have to say that I DO like this book. Philip, an old classmate of Alec Holland (who became Swamp Thing later) has never had too many friends during his youth. He was considered a geek because most of his attention went to botanism in which he put almost all his time. One of the people who HAS been his friend during his young years is Susan, who he loved dearly. Once the time came that Susan disappeared out of Philips life he was heartbroken. Susan went on to marry a criminal, Carl, which got her killed, and Philip went back to his dream of trying to breed living 'flowerpeople', hybrids. Now, the present. After seven years in jail Carl, who blames Susan for his arrest, comes looking for Philip because he blames Philip for what went wrong between him and Susan . What he then finds in Philips basement is too stunning for words, Philip succeeded ! He calls his old employer Luthor about what he found (indeed, Superman's Luthor ) hoping to get in his grace again, but before Luthor is able to arrive Carl screws up and the whole basement is destroyed, and everything alive in it is dead, bar two creatures who got away. Than starts the quest of the two heavily confused escaped beings, Black Orchids, to find out what they are, who they are and where they belong. A quest which leads them through places like Arkham Asylum and even to the jungle-swamp of Swamp Thing himself. Meanwhile the hordes of Luthor are trying to track them down and there's also the matter of the man who has fallen from grace, Carl, who's also madly in pursuit. This book takes superhero characters (like Batman, Swamp Thing, Batman, Poison Ivy etc.), puts them in a "mature readers environment", and makes them act like deranged human beings instead of superpowered creatures. Gaiman makes them seem more 'real', more 'human' and very appropriate for an adult orientated book. Especially people who like the Alan Moore part of Saga of the Swamp Thing will have a ball with this, guarantied. A connection you'll easily make for yourself too once you've read both books. It's really good to see Gaiman get back on a person like Jason Woodrue (who is a very small player in here), ... and who would have thought of a connection between Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing (although it seems so logical once you see it). It surely isn't neccesary to have any prior knowledge of Swamp Thing to enjoy this book, it's a fine story on it's own as well. It's just once you've read the Alan Moore parts of Swamp Thing you'll appreciate a lot of things in here a lot more. It's not for you if you're looking for superhero action. If you're looking for a well-told supernatural story about human psyches, it sure is.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but still a journeyman work
Review: I picked this up for three dollars at a remainder fair in Denver while I was there for Anaconism, and read it on the plane coming home. It was a whim purchase, based solely on my good impression of Gaiman from Good Omens (co-written with Terry Pratchett) and his comic series, "Sandman." Black Orchid is a comic, and unlike "Sandman" for the most part, it is set in the superhero populated DC Universe (Batman, Swamp Thing, and the current inhabitants of the Arkham Asylum feature prominently in the story). Gaiman's treatment of the superhero genre is similar to Alan Moore's ("Swamp Thing," "Watchman")--much grittier, much more introspective than the usual porcelain doll pip-ups engaging in the endless slugfest. You know from the beginning, as stated in the introduction by Rolling Stone writer Mikal Gilmore, that something is different: the villain captures the heroine and, instead of revealing his plans to her, he kills her. It is startling in its suddenness and its other-worldliness (at least for superhero comics). Nudity? Sex? Language? These are not taboos anymore in the comic world, but to actually *kill* a character, and in such a matter-of-fact, realistic way, that's shocking. The rest of the book (actually a collection of three comics published in series in 1990) tries to live up to that moment, and sometimes comes close, but ultimately it isn't quite satisfying. Gaiman's willingness to find the trigger makes him someone to search out.
Rating:
Summary: Early Gaiman, and well worth a look
Review: If you're a fan of Giaman and his work on Sandman, check out this excellent reinterpretation of another DC hero. An amazing story with amazing art!
Rating:
Summary: Passable
Review: Love the artwork, but every time I read this, I just end up scratching my head. It wanders, and just doesn't get anythig interesting done. None of the sweep and scope that you expect from Gaiman. The world itself is not terribly cohesive either. It seems part Daredevil, but it isn't really. It's certainly not Sandman, or anything like that. It's just a story. Worth buying, perhaps, for completeness sake. Hardly worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Black Orchid
Review: One of the most beautiful graphic novels I have ever seen! Vivid colours and an excellent story (it's neil, of course the story is fantastic). I LOVE that the only things in the novel that are in colour are connected to Mother Earth and Nature. A brilliant statement!
Rating:
Summary: Going Down. . .
Review: One thing is Certain. . . This was one of Dave Mckean's most beautifully illustrated works for DC. Very similar to his work on the Arkham Asylum Graphic Novel. Yes...Gaiman's writing was top notch too. And I loved the way he brought in cameo appearences of other DC characters. You don't have to be familiar with the DC universe to read this though. The story is strange and wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best comics in Gaiman's career.
Review: Originally a three issue mini series it rocks the cazb
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