Black Orchid

Black Orchid is a crime fighter who has been undercover in one of Lex Luthor's organizations. Her identity is discovered and she is killed. But this is not the end of Black Orchid. Her death brings the next Black Orchid to life. The new Black Orchid is confused, and begins a search to discover who she is, and what she is suppose to be doing. Lex Luthor is trying to get control of her, and it is a race to see if the new Black Orchid can figure things out before Lex captures her and begins his experiments.

This is one of the origin stories for Black Orchid, and it was an interesting one. It caught my attention, and I will be looking into more graphic novels that star Black Orchid. I liked that a few classic comic book characters stories converged in this tale. Poison Ivy, Swamp Thing, Batman, and Luthor make appearances. There is also a visit to Arkham Asylum. It was fun to get a brief glimpse of them interacting in each other's story.

I think Gaiman did an incredible job capturing the issues of choice, right vs. wrong, and violence. The characters must deal with the choices of others--both violent and non-violent actions. The impact that the choices other people make impacts everyone in an intriguing way. Just because there are good intentions does not mean it turns out well. Some of the characters are known, so we have an idea of their role as hero or villain. Others, are somewhere in between. They are neither good nor evil, which is very interesting in this genre.

I think one of my favorite things about this book was the stunning artwork. I loved the look and the colors that were chosen. The use of color to show what was happening was well done, and added a lot to the story. The visual element was a pleasing part of this reading experience. I think it is worth reading this graphic novel just to admire the beautiful artwork.

If you like reading origin stories for heroes, I recommend reading this book.