![]() ![]() ![]() Nudity? Sex? Language? These are not taboos anymore in the comic world, but to actually kill a character, and in such a matter-of-fact, realistic way, that’s shocking. It is startling in its suddenness and its other-worldliness (at least for superhero comics). You know from the beginning, as stated in the introduction by Rolling Stone writer Mikal Gilmore, that something is different: the villain captures the heroine and, instead of revealing his plans to her, he kills her. ![]() Gaiman’s treatment of the superhero genre is similar to Alan Moore’s (“Swamp Thing,” “Watchman”)–much grittier, much more introspective than the usual porcelain doll pip-ups engaging in the endless slugfest. ![]() It was a whim purchase, based solely on my good impression of Gaiman from Good Omens (co-written with Terry Pratchett) and his comic series, “Sandman.” Black Orchid is a comic, and unlike “Sandman,” it is set in the superhero-populated DC Universe (Batman, Swamp Thing, and the current inhabitants of the Arkham Asylum feature prominently in the story). I picked this up for three dollars at a remainder fair in Denver while I was there for Anaconism, and read it on the plane coming home. Black Orchid, Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, DC Comics Vertigo, 1991, ISBN 0-93, $19.95 ![]()
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