This treatment didn't make the Orchid a superstar, but it did perk up reader interest in her. The story was collected into graphic novel form in 1991, and remains in print. By the time it was over, readers had finally learned what was behind The Black Orchid. The quest, ultimately successful, tied her in with Swamp Thing, a couple of Batman villains, and a few other aspects of the DC Universe. the new Black Orchid) and her little sister (who called herself Suzy after the human they'd been developed from) for knowledge about their origin. The series concerned the search by the grown one (i.e. The first issue, dated 'Holiday 1988-89' (the odd date resulted from bringing DC's cover dates in line with the real world), set the tone by killing her off.Īlso killed were biologist Phil Sylvian (who, as it turned out, had created her as a hybrid between a deceased woman and an actual orchid plant) and all but two of her hybrid sisters, one fully mature and the other the equivalent of a child. He was joined by artist Dave McKean, with whom he'd done an earlier graphic novel, Violent Cases, for a three-issue Black Orchid mini-series. And the Orchid, whose many mysteries hadn't been explored (possibly because there wasn't enough interest in her), was the sort of character he could really make something out of. It meant he'd finally, after many tries, come up with one that somebody else wasn't already planning to use. That wasn't in use right then, and Gaiman suggested The Black Orchid, Berger, who had never heard of that one, thought he'd asked for a juvenile version of one of their oldies, perhaps a ' Blackhawk Kid', who didn't happen to exist.

She was so obscure that when DC editor Karen Berger attempted to woo up-and-coming writer Neil Gaiman ( Miracleman, Medieval Spawn) by offering him any DC character

Please contribute to its necessary financial support.Īs of the middle-to-late 1980s, The Black Orchid, who debuted in 1973 and almost immediately began spiraling down to near-oblivion, was about as obscure a superhero as DC Comics had, at least among those that had been seen at all during the lifetimes of most comic book readers, and almost as obscure as this one. If this site is enjoyable or useful to you, Creators: Neil Gaiman (writer) and Dave McKean (artist)

Black orchid by neil gaiman