Black Orchid Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Dave McKean

The artwork and the fact it was written by one of my favorite writers, Neil Gaiman, is what drew me to Black Orchid. I read the description:

After being viciously murdered, Susan is reborn fully grown as the Black Orchid, a hybrid of plant and human, in order to avenge her own death. Now as this demigoddess attempts to reconcile her human memories and botanical origins, she must also untangle the webs of deception and secrets that led to her murder.

Okay, I was hooked and the Black Orchid came home with me. I finished it over two weeks ago, but struggled with how to summarize it. The story is rich, dark and surreal, almost like you are floating through a poem. Though imagine my surprise during that poetic journey when I turned a page to stumble upon the cape crusader, Batman. Never saw that coming. I think fans of The Sandman and MirrorMask would enjoy the Black Orchid’s story and the psychedelic images of Dave McKean.