As such, Black Orchid was a perfect tabula rasa for Gaiman and McKean’s American comics debut.

The original Black Orchid, who appeared in several 1970s DC anthology series and as an occasional guest character in other heroes’ titles, was a master-of-disguise who infiltrated criminal enterprises in so many forms that even her origin and name were canonically shrouded in mystery. The subsequent late-’80s “British invasion” of American comics and the Vertigo imprint, which changed the complexion of the comic world in the 1990s (itself following in the footsteps of Marvel’s Epic imprint, Jim Shooter’s experiment in creator-owned comics), would likely never have happened had Gaiman and McKean not been given the opportunity to produce such a revolutionary, socially and politically relevant, thought-provoking, and stunningly gorgeous three-issue series in Black Orchid. Other comics creators from the UK, including Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, and Gaiman himself would subsequently be given moribund titles and forgotten characters to revamp in the aftermath of Crisis. At this time, DC Comics, having emerged from the continuity-shaping 1985-1986 crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths, was actively seeking ways to integrate long-forgotten characters and titles into the new, unified DC universe.ĭC had already tasked Brit Alan Moore with taking over the failing title The Saga of the Swamp thing in 1983 Moore had taken the title in a mature, hallucinogenic new direction, and this success had earned him the right to “reimagine” the Charlton Comics characters to which DC had obtained the rights in the form of 12-issue maxi-series Watchmen in 1986. McKean, an illustrator and designer, had worked with Gaiman on one-off graphic novel Violent Cases in 1987, but after a meeting with editors at DC Comics, the two were tasked with creating a new limited series based on obscure 1970s DC character the Black Orchid. Gaiman, in the late 1980s probably known best for his history of Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide series ( Don’t Panic), and his novelistic collaboration with Discworld creator Terry Pratchett ( Good Omens), was a newcomer to American comics.

A little over thirty years ago, Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s Black Orchid limited series landed in comic shops.

Black orchid by neil gaiman