Black Orchid (edition 2019)

I mold breaker two decades ago that is easily overlooked now that there are so many other GNs that have gone farther. Still reliant on some of the stock DC characters that could later be shed completely as GNs matured into real novels of their own.

This new edition is just beautiful. Unlike other books, I think of current Fables or even early Sandman, the artwork also breaks out of the comic book conventions to perfectly complement the story.

I still think the story is wonderful, top notch even today, and of course McKean's painted artwork is unparalleled. ( )

Still one of my favourite graphic novels of all time. It has dated more respectably (orig. pub. date 1990) than gracefully, and is not perfect by any stretch, but it's just so different. It proudly eschews the usual superhero tropes and sets off in a kinda mood piece direction, propelled by Gaiman's whimsy and McKean's sumptuous yet suffocating artwork. The characters and plot are almost incidental, although you'd have a stony heart if you're not drawn in by the tale. I quite enjoyed meeting several of the DC marquee players along the way, particularly the botanically gifted, and get an insight to some of their origin stories.

It evokes certain feelings in me, whilst reading it, that I find hard to describe. This is a gift that is common to Gaiman & McKean collaborations but feels so much more concentrated in this story. It's the feeling you get when you see a captive panther pacing the boundaries of its cage. Melancholy? Futility? Agitation? Pent-up kinetic energy?

It's probably the non-traditional story arc that creates this feeling of unspent energy - we're so used to the violent denouement in this format that we're left feeling slightly unsatisfied (this probably also explains the less than stellar reception the book got when it was first published).

Highly recommended if you like Gaiman & McKean's Death and Sandman stories and aren't expecting explosions which, funnily enough, is how the story starts. ( )

The first time I read this was when it was originally published, thirty-ish years ago and I literally remembered nothing of it. I likely picked it up because it was the same team that had done [b:Violent Cases|428658|Violent Cases|Neil Gaiman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174672498s/428658.jpg|5880439], that I remember loving at the time.

So, it's a typical Gaiman book, long on deep thoughts and short on full explanations, with a typically less-violent-than-usual ending. The writing...as I find most of Gaiman's...is very good if, at times a touch overindulgent. The art, by Dave McKean, is suitably stunning, with a mix of media to set various tones and emotions.

Overall, the story is okay, but the overall journey isn't a bad one, with some fun cameos. ( )

The idea of Black Orchid was interesting, I just didn't love her in this novel. ( )

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. I wasn't sure, at the beginning, if I would be able to follow the storyline. It took a while, but then I began to get who was who and what the characters were trying to do. The lifelike drawings of the humans sometimes made identifying the characters a bit harder than in more cartoonlike graphic novels, but their full and detailed facial features made them more lifelike and...well, gruesome. The orchid peple were great. I wouldn't mind having a few of theme right here where I live. I need some of those seeds!