Black Orchid

Black Orchid first appeared in 1973 as a DC comics superhero. In 1988, author Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane) and illustrator McKean (Arkham Asylum) came together to relaunch Black Orchid in a three-part miniseries. Black Orchid was famous for not having an origin story or a name, which Gaiman offers, explaining how and why this woman, now named Susan Linden-Thorne, became Black Orchid. Susan is no longer a metahuman, as the original series portrayed her, but a human-plant hybrid with ties to the force of nature called the Green. Making appearances in this origin story are DC superheroes including Batman, Poison Ivy, and Swamp Thing, and they are woven into the plot without feeling too forced. Black Orchid's narrative is one of redemption and beauty as well as hope despite the ugliness and horror of the so-called civilized world. Breaking with common comic and superhero tropes, Gaiman, speaking through the villain, kills the Black Orchid and prepares his readers for a "new mythology." This story is one of McKean's first illustrative successes.