It features a hauntingly beautiful artwork from Dave McKean (and I mean seriously beautiful, I’ve never seen anything quite like it before) and a strange blend of film noir, superhero origins story, and ahead-of-its-time ecological cautionary tale. I’m not going to spoil it for you, because “Black Orchid” it’s a beautiful ride that you should definitely take now.
With this, the writers address the reader and question the very meaning of the invincible and eternal figure of the superhero(ine). It starts with a superheroine, Black Orchid, killed in the most gruesome manner. “Black Orchid” is a DC Comic, in that it takes place between the cities of Metropolis and Gotham, and features “cameos” from landmark characters of the DC universe ( Batman, Lex Luthor, Poison Ivy, Swamp Thing…) but it’s also one of the most bizarre superhero tale I’ve read. You just have to read 'American Gods’, one of the most ambitious fantasy novels I’ve read, to realize this man’s talent for words and modern myths. They’re beautiful, poetic, haunting, scary, funny, and seem to take place in world halfway between dreams and reality. And quite simply put, I just love his stories. His work, from ‘American Gods’ to ’ Coraline’ and ’ Neverwhere’ has been hugely influential in my humble approach to write stories, especially in the fantasy genre. Now, Neil Gaiman has established himself as one of my all-time favorite writers.
Just finished reading “Black Orchid” by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean.
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