Black Orchid 4 (December 1993)

3505 This issue, with all its magic, ought to work. It’s about water nymphs and forest spirits and all sorts of earth magic and it just doesn’t work. The problem is Foreman and Thompson are too literal. Thompson even paints a full page but it doesn’t help.

Foreman opens with his dumb freelance reporter from the first issue, who doesn’t do anything but bookend the story. Then Sherilyn, the hooker with the heart of gold, considers leaving Black Orchid–who’s passed out most of the issue–and go back to the real world.

Throw in a rich Greek expat with a mansion in Tennessee and a sad flashback about his romance with a water nymph and there’s nothing else to the comic. Foreman’s coy about resolving the previous series; he’s also slacking on developing Black Orchid as a character.

Thompson’s handling of the lengthy flashback is charmless.

Orchid continues to underwhelm.

CREDITS

Acts of Faith; writer, Dick Foreman; penciller, Jill Thompson; inker, Stan Woch; colorists, George Freeman and Digital Chameleon; letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Julie Rottenberg and Lou Stathis; publisher, Vertigo.

Black Orchid 3 (November 1993)

3504 Bill and Ted guest star this issue. Thankfully, Foreman only gives them a few pages. Reading his dialogue for stoners, one might guess Foreman has never gotten stoned, much less tripped.

But besides them–and the lame narration from Black Orchid’s call girl friend–it’s the best issue so far. It’s not good, as Foreman comes up with a crisis then resolves it without explaining the crisis or the resolution, but it’s better than what he was doing before.

Oddly, it’s the worst issue for the art. Thompson is a boring action artist and the setting–a forest of fungus–isn’t the most interesting in her style either. She never gets trippy, which might have helped. It’s just a lot of Black Orchid and Sherilyn (the hooker) walking around.

Foreman also hasn’t done much to define Orchid, except as a liar and manipulator. Still, the hooker isn’t likable either.

Eh.

CREDITS

The Tainted Zone; writer, Dick Foreman; penciller, Jill Thompson; inker, Stan Woch; colorist, Digital Chameleon; letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Julie Rottenberg and Lou Stathis; publisher, Vertigo.

Black Orchid 2 (October 1993)

3503 If so inclined, one could admire Foreman’s commitment with the second issue. He takes everything bad about the first issue and enhances it. Except maybe the bad narrator.

Instead, he has a bunch of villainous military industrial guys who talk a lot. No pop culture reference, which is both a surprise and maybe Foreman’s best move as a writer, but their dialogue is awful. And there’s lots of it.

There’s also a strange sequence where Black Orchid’s working girl friend is identified on the street as a working girl by some toughs. Only she’s not wearing anything provocative; it’s like Thompson refused to play into Foreman’s weak plot choice.

Black Orchid’s presence brings the comic’s only pulse. Thompson and Woch draw her better than anyone else and the mystical realism aspect is neat. Foreman doesn’t go for that angle, however; he’s committed to doing a realistic superhero comic.

He’s not.

CREDITS

Black Orchid; writer, Dick Foreman; penciller, Jill Thompson; inker, Stan Woch; colorist, Digital Chameleon; letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Julie Rottenberg, Tom Peyer and Lou Stathis; publisher, Vertigo.

Black Orchid 1 (September 1993)

3502 Weird comic. Especially for a first issue. Dick Foreman’s narrative choices don’t help it much either. He makes Black Orchid the subject of the issue, not a player. She’s an urban legend and so on; Foreman’s got a lame investigative reporter narrating and trying to find her.

There’s a lot about how great it is to drink coffee in the narration. Probably two or three hundred words. It’s sort of uncomfortable to read, it feels so amateurish and I’ve liked Foreman’s writing before.

The Jill Thompson pencils (with Stan Woch inking) are cool, but they don’t really make the issue worth it until the finish. When Black Orchid finally does have a scene, Thompson and Woch do wonders. Before her arrival, it’s just an interesting looking comic. The style’s not quite mainstream, but going for it.

For a first issue of an ongoing series, Foreman fumbles big time. Big time.

CREDITS

Sightings; writer, Dick Foreman; penciller, Jill Thompson; inker, Stan Woch; colorist, Digital Chameleon; letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Julie Rottenberg and Tom Peyer; publisher, Vertigo.

Black Orchid 5 (January 1994)

3506 Oh, good grief. This issue ties in to Swamp Thing, with Black Orchid and Sherilyn the hooker with a heart of gold heading to Louisiana. Black Orchid, it turns out, is a Swamp Thing expert and thinks she can help him through his relationship troubles.

Foreman doesn’t even try to explain how Black Orchid knows so much about Swampy. Maybe she’s been reading the comics.

But until the lame walk through the swamp mind of Swamp Thing (he’s physically creating his thoughts out of plants), Foreman has Sherilyn narrating the issue. Except, however, when he opens it with his idiotic reporter guy.

The reporter falls victim to a laughing fit; a Joker cameo, unfortunately, does not materialize.

Thompson and Woch do okay in the swamp, but all the human scenes–Foreman centers on Sherilyn–are rather rough going. The artists being bored with the writing is never a good sign.

CREDITS

The Mind Fields, Part One; writer, Dick Foreman; pencillers, Jill Thompson and Rebecca Guay; inker, Stan Woch; colorists, George Freeman and Digital Chameleon; letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Julie Rottenberg and Lou Stathis; publisher, Vertigo.

Black Orchid 3 (January 1989)

3501 Gaiman wastes a bunch of time on the bad guys hunting the Black Orchid sisters through the rain forest. Sure, McKean paints a pretty rain forest, but it goes on for half the issue and the series is double-sized. On and on the hunt goes while the Black Orchid sisters frolic.

The issue opens and closes stronger than the middle. The evil husband character is a waste of time (why Gaiman included him is beyond me) and he even forgets one of Luthor’s minions hunting the sisters.

But there’s an awesome cameo from Swamp Thing. Gaiman writes a really funny moment for he and Abby. It’s a shame he didn’t use them more–it would have been rather amusing. And the finish is beautiful, between McKean’s art and Gaiman’s gentle look at the fantastic nature of the sisters.

It’s good–exceptional from the art standpoint–but it’s incredibly problematic.

CREDITS

Yes…; writer, Neil Gaiman; painter, Dave McKean; letterer, Todd Klein; editor, Karen Berger; publisher, DC Comics.

Black Orchid 2 (December 1988)

3500 Based on the first issue–and maybe even the first half of this issue–I wasn’t expecting much, but Gaiman writes a darn good comic here.

After wrapping up the last issue’s cliffhanger and giving Lex Luthor some unlikely page time, he sets Black Orchid and a younger Black Orchid off into the world. For a while it seems like the strange adventure of two clones. Gaiman’s only moderately successful with it–he gets better as he goes along.

But then the issue becomes more traditional superhero. Batman pops in (not particularly good writing on him though), Black Orchid goes to Arkham. There’s a lot of good cameos; it’s odd Gaiman’s weak on Batman, as he’s so good on his villains.

McKean gets all sorts of wonderful, daylight and twilight things to paint. The flying scenes are truly magnificent.

Black Orchid really comes together. Again, its successes are quite surprising.

CREDITS

Going Down…; writer, Neil Gaiman; painter, Dave McKean; letterer, Todd Klein; editor, Karen Berger; publisher, DC Comics.

Black Orchid 1 (November 1988)

3499 Black Orchid, conceptually, is a disconnect. That disconnect gets the reader to pay immediate attention. Neil Gaiman is doing a very “real life” superhero story. Sure, it’s a fantastical superhero story, but he makes Lex Luthor into a corporate villain. Bad guys kill superheroes; they don’t mess around.

But Gaiman’s got Dave McKean on the art. Although McKean’s a little too static for the talking scenes, he does this wondrous painted art. Orchid is magnificent to behold, whether McKean’s journeying through the subconscious or doing a blockbuster action scene. Really, the only awkward moments are the talking scenes. The people are fine, it’s when he’s trying to imply facial movement.

The series all hinges on Lex Luthor not tying up loose ends, which results in an abusive widower to hunt down his wife’s friend.

The titular Black Orchid barely plays a part this issue.

It’s an impressive–if problematic–comic.

CREDITS

One Thing Is Certain; writer, Neil Gaiman; painter, Dave McKean; letterer, Todd Klein; editor, Karen Berger; publisher, DC Comics.