The Rainbow Orchid

 It's funny, dear reader, I could have sworn that I had actually written about The Rainbow Orchid before, back in the earliest days of this blog, even. However, a quick search only yielded one result and that was this post. Still, better late than never, right?

I first discovered The Rainbow Orchid in the later years of the 00's, when its creator Garen Ewing serialized it, one strip at the time on his web-page. 

Seeing as how was and still am, a fan of classic European comics, such as Tintin and Blake & Mortimer, The Rainbow Orchid did not need much to charm me and I eventually ended up buying the three albums that make up the story directly from Ewing, as they came out. As a result, The Rainbow Orchid is the only comic I own that's signed by its creator.

The Rainbow Orchid begins in England, in the 1920's. It is here that we meet our hero, Julius Chancer, working as an assistant for historical researcher Sir Alfred Cathesby-Grey.They are approached by Lord Lawrence and his movie-star daughter, Lily. Lawrence, as it turns out, is in a bit of a pickle: He has foolishly made a bet with mysterious businessman Urkaz Grope, regarding a flower-competition and now, stands to lose everything. In order to beat Grope's super-rare black orchid, Lawrence needs an even rarer flower, namely the fabled Rainbow Orchid; mentioned by the Greek Philosopher thousands of years ago and last rumored to have been located in India by an acquaintance of Sir Alfred's. In order to save Lord Lawrence from dishonor and ruin, Julius and Lily sets of to find the Rainbow Orchid, accompanied by the latter's American agent, Nathaniel Crumpole. 

Meanwhile, Grope, having discovered their plans, sends a group of thugs, led by the devious Evelyn Crow to make sure that the Rainbow Orchid is never found...

The Rainbow Orchid is a truly first-rate adventure comic, containing everything that one could possibly want out of a comic in the genre: Danger, humor, excitement, lost civilizations, conspiracies, etc. Its cast of characters are engaging and play their roles well, with the heroes being likable and easy to root for (even if one of them have a tendency to fall into the 'bumbling sidekick' role). As far as I'm concerned though, the stand-out character of the comic is Evelyn Crow; resourceful, ruthless and resilient, she's a fantastic villain, definitely one of my favorites.

I must admit that I haven't really kept up with Garen Ewing's work post The Rainbow Orchid. I know that he has made at least one more comic starring Julius Chancer, but I haven't read it. Though this is mainly because its only been published in serialized form in a British children's comic-book. Be that as it may, even if I never read another thing from Ewing's pen (though hopefully, I will), The Rainbow Orchid will always have a place of honor in my library, as one of the finest example of its kind I can think of.