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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
First re-read of this in close to 30 years. The story wanders but the art is probably Dave McKean’s most beautiful work. I liked the ending, which subverts the usual superhero punch-up climax (which at the time, with grim & gritty on the rise, would usually involve a bloodbath). It demonstrates why post-Crisis Lex Luthor was such a boring character though.
The illustrations were a five and the story was a three, so I've averaged a four.
I read this AND reviewed it earlier this year. Where the hell did that go?! O_o
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Peculiar and lovely. Reminiscent of the less cogent parts of Sandman, and I don't mean that in a bad way? I liked this, the art was gorgeous.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sendo BD de super-heróis no universo DC, é das coisas menos dentro da fórmula que já me passaram pela frente.
O génio de Gaiman oferece a abordagem mais literatura fantástica e menos comics (com gente como o Lex Luthor, a Poison Ivy e até o Batman a surgir numa prosaicidade fantasmagórica), mas arte de McKean faz o restante, numa materialização em falsa estaticidade do argumento de Gaiman, realça-se a beleza dos contrastes de cor para personagens e ambientes, num movimento inquieto que tudo reveste de uma pátina contemplativa.
O génio de Gaiman oferece a abordagem mais literatura fantástica e menos comics (com gente como o Lex Luthor, a Poison Ivy e até o Batman a surgir numa prosaicidade fantasmagórica), mas arte de McKean faz o restante, numa materialização em falsa estaticidade do argumento de Gaiman, realça-se a beleza dos contrastes de cor para personagens e ambientes, num movimento inquieto que tudo reveste de uma pátina contemplativa.
Neil Gaiman is frequently characterized as a writer who gallivants across a diverse array of genres (fantasy, comedy, etc.) and mediums (novels, comic books, children's books, etc.). This characterization is certainly on display in Black Orchid, a comic book that is as much a piece of art as it is a piece of genre fiction. Artist Dave McKean joins Gaiman and like his work on Grant Morrison's A Serious House on Serious Earth, his surreal blend of colors, collage, and asymmetrical lines complement (while at times complicate) Gaiman's tight narrative.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and anxiously want to return to it at some point. If I were to offer a criticism of Black Orchid it would perhaps address the smallness of the story. This is not a big, sweeping comic book arc. This criticism, however, doesn't work simply because this story works because of its small, narrow scope. In addition, it's refreshing to read a comic book with superheroes that isn't about the world ending. Some might argue that the end is frustratingly anticlimactic. Sure, to some degree it is, and by my estimation, that's a wonderful reason to read it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and anxiously want to return to it at some point. If I were to offer a criticism of Black Orchid it would perhaps address the smallness of the story. This is not a big, sweeping comic book arc. This criticism, however, doesn't work simply because this story works because of its small, narrow scope. In addition, it's refreshing to read a comic book with superheroes that isn't about the world ending. Some might argue that the end is frustratingly anticlimactic. Sure, to some degree it is, and by my estimation, that's a wonderful reason to read it.