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li13eo's review against another edition
3.0
I give it a 5 for the art, but overall not Gaiman's strongest text yet.
kateycakee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Love this illustrator
jrosebartoli415's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
drsldn's review against another edition
3.0
This is for the serious graphic novels reader - I admit to getting a bit lost and not quite getting all the comics-pop-culture refs. But the colours ... oh, the colours ...
labunnywtf's review against another edition
4.0
Read for Book Roast's Magical Readathon: NEWTs Exams. Subject: Muggle Studies, A Level. (Favorite Author)
It kind of boggles me that there are still so many Gaiman books I've never read. ESPECIALLY comic books. ESPECIALLY comic books illustrated by Dave McKean, a god among illustrators. I mean, I should turn in my Gaiman fan card right now.
I'd never heard of the character of Black Orchid before starting this, which should surprise exactly no one. Apparently, she's a crime-fighting plant. Her creator was part of a group of scientists who mostly went mad, including Poison fucking Ivy and Swamp Thing.
All of this makes me SUPER ASHAMED that I've a) never heard of her, and b) never read this. Seriously, self.
The art style is, predictably, FLAWLESS. Ugh, seriously, I want McKean to illustrate my life. And the story line is amazing. We start off with a familiar scene, a bunch of bad guys sitting around discussing being bad guys.
The bad guy starts off asking her questions about how she infiltrated them, then says, "Wait, I read comics, too," and effing kills her right on the spot. Hi, yes, you have my attention.
A LOT happens in this relatively small volume, but I don't feel like it's too much. Maybe if I didn't love the writing, but the illustrations. Or I loved the illustrations, but the writing is missing something. You really can't screw it up when it comes to these two, and that's what makes this comic so great.
It kind of boggles me that there are still so many Gaiman books I've never read. ESPECIALLY comic books. ESPECIALLY comic books illustrated by Dave McKean, a god among illustrators. I mean, I should turn in my Gaiman fan card right now.
I'd never heard of the character of Black Orchid before starting this, which should surprise exactly no one. Apparently, she's a crime-fighting plant. Her creator was part of a group of scientists who mostly went mad, including Poison fucking Ivy and Swamp Thing.
All of this makes me SUPER ASHAMED that I've a) never heard of her, and b) never read this. Seriously, self.
The art style is, predictably, FLAWLESS. Ugh, seriously, I want McKean to illustrate my life. And the story line is amazing. We start off with a familiar scene, a bunch of bad guys sitting around discussing being bad guys.
Spoiler
BO herself is in the same room, tied up and trying to figure out how she'll escape.The bad guy starts off asking her questions about how she infiltrated them, then says, "Wait, I read comics, too," and effing kills her right on the spot. Hi, yes, you have my attention.
A LOT happens in this relatively small volume, but I don't feel like it's too much. Maybe if I didn't love the writing, but the illustrations. Or I loved the illustrations, but the writing is missing something. You really can't screw it up when it comes to these two, and that's what makes this comic so great.
katharines's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful art work. Interesting story. I'm new to comics and graphic novels so this was different for me, but I quite enjoyed it!
unladylike's review against another edition
4.0
I'd been trying to find a printed copy of Black Orchid since I was first exposed to comic books as a young adult (via Neil Gaiman's Ultimate Sandman books), 15 years ago. I was under the impression that this was his first comic book for a U.S. publisher, but it went out of print ages ago. Apparently it was reprinted with some nice intro/afterward padding some time in the last seven years, and I stumbled upon it with excitement while shelving in my public library. Considering this was written and drawn so early in Gaiman's career, it really exceeded my expectations. It's a beautiful twist on the genre, and highly worth reading. Black Orchid fits into the Swamp Thing (and now Animal Man) mythology beautifully, and should really be more prominent in DC.
brandonadaniels's review against another edition
5.0
First reread in quite a while, and I’m surprised how much I forgot. I was spurred to do so because I’m reading (slowly) Greg Carpenter’s British Invasion. It was interesting reading this soon after a violent Cases and in the middle of a Sandman reread. Dave McKean’s work is fully formed by this point, but Gaiman is still working things out. It’s a little slow and wordy at times, but it’s still better than most comics, particularly at the time. It’s pretty amazing to see how much of a launch pad creators used to be given. The back matter is particularly interesting in the newest version of the trade.