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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
This is a lovely pre-Sandman tale by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. It's about a superhero called Black Orchid. Unfortunately she dies in the opening pages, so it's really about what happens afterwards. It's quite grim, but also touching, and quite sweet in a way. Definitely worth reading.
A dark prettiness, noir combined with pro-nature movement? As ever: strange, but appealing.
Found this in my library and it's a book by Gaiman I had not heard of! Absolutely loved it. Beautiful art and a fascinating take on a superhero story, which I of course would expect nothing less from Neil Gaiman. DC fans will enjoy the nods to and guest appearances from their favorite characters, too. Highly recommend for comic book fans and of course, Neil Gaiman fans.
Okay, everyone needs to witness this for the art alone. McKean is god-tier.
So gorgeously illustrated you simply lose yourself into the lush landscapes that surround them mystery of the Black Orchid. I went into this one pretty blind, so had to retrack a few times to catch the many references to different comic 'verses, but simply stunning.
I can't find the words to express how visually pleasing I found 'Black Orchid'. The colouring is inspired: with monochromatic panels featuring hints of colour providing a startling contrast against the black and white, to pages bursting with greens and purples... It's all so beautiful.
It reads as though taken from a storyboard from a film. The scene changes are cinematically seamless, meaning you never feel disconnected from the world - it runs smoothly and sucks you in to Black Orchid's tale.
...I don't even have a vocabulary right now. I loved this.
It reads as though taken from a storyboard from a film. The scene changes are cinematically seamless, meaning you never feel disconnected from the world - it runs smoothly and sucks you in to Black Orchid's tale.
...I don't even have a vocabulary right now. I loved this.
Gaiman and McKean make a wonderful team, and never has that come through as clearly as in this book. There is a poetic style to both the writing and the visuals, in which transitions and metaphor play a heavy part. It's one of the most beautifully illustrated comic books I've ever seen, and the dialogue is touching and believable. The plot is so thoroughly unexpected, too, and it's a great ride. I took a little more time reading this comic than I normally take, because I wanted to pore over every panel for minutes at a time.
There was one little anomaly that I can't decide if I love or hate: the utter lack of sound effects. For the first few pages it was reminiscent of scenes in movies where everything goes silent and you can't hear the gunshots but they are flashing and you see the violence. But as it went along there were moments where it just took a second to figure out something simple like, "Oh, he's knocking on the door." It's interesting also because of the style of the art, which does not lend itself to sound effects in general, that it makes some sense, at least visually (it's not your usual DC comic, though of course it takes place in that world). However, I think it does lose something, especially given how onomatopoeic the dialogue is, and how frequently songs are used.
Anyway I've written way too much about that one specific thing but that's that. I still loved it.
There was one little anomaly that I can't decide if I love or hate: the utter lack of sound effects. For the first few pages it was reminiscent of scenes in movies where everything goes silent and you can't hear the gunshots but they are flashing and you see the violence. But as it went along there were moments where it just took a second to figure out something simple like, "Oh, he's knocking on the door." It's interesting also because of the style of the art, which does not lend itself to sound effects in general, that it makes some sense, at least visually (it's not your usual DC comic, though of course it takes place in that world). However, I think it does lose something, especially given how onomatopoeic the dialogue is, and how frequently songs are used.
Anyway I've written way too much about that one specific thing but that's that. I still loved it.