The Rainbow Orchid
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The Rainbow Orchid is a comic book written and drawn by Garen Ewing, and the first of a planned series of Julius Chancer books. It is set in the 1920s and follows the adventures of Julius Chancer and his expedition to discover the legendary 'Rainbow Orchid' in the forests of northern India before an evil rival expedition. It is, as yet, unfinished, but has already achieved critical acclaim and a large fan-following.
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[edit] Plot
The Rainbow Orchid is set in the 1920s and follows the adventures of Julius Chancer, a young adventurer working for the collector of antiquities Sir Alfred Catesby-Grey. Julius becomes embroiled in an adventure when he comes to the aid of the young film star Lily Lawrence. They travel to northern India to find the legendary 'Rainbow Orchid' before the mercenaries of the evil tycoon Urkaz Grope can, and to claim the legendary trembling sword of Tybalt Stone.
[edit] Main Characters
The book's main characters:
- Julius Chancer ~ The young, slightly camp adventurer under the employ of Sir Alfred.
- Sir Alfred Catesby-Grey ~ A traditional gentlemen who has set himself up as 'Ancient & Historical Research' to get money to fund his collection. But he's far more interested in the antiquities than the money!
- Sir Reginald Pritchard Lawrence ~ The 15th earl of Baggall, who owns half of Staffordshire, he is the holder of the trembling sword of Tybalt Stone. Unfortunately he has a weakness for the bottle...
- Lily Lawrence ~ A young film star who is intent on saving her father and his reputation.
- Nathaniel Crumpole ~ A rather rounded film director and manager of Lily Lawrence.
- William Pickle ~ The nosy reporter, willing to stop at nothing to get his next scoop.
- Urkaz Grope ~ The evil tycoon intent on getting his hands on the trembling sword of Tybalt Stone.
- Evelyn Crow ~ Grope's evil henchman, she is willing to do anything, even commit murder, to carry out her orders.
- Box ~ The largest and most brutish of Grope's henchmen.
[edit] Structure of the Book
It is made up of three parts, each containing four or five episodes. In all it should be around 120 pages long, longer than most other ligne claire comics.
[edit] History of the Book
In 1997 there was a three page preview of The Rainbow Orchid in Cherokee Comics' magazine Imagineers. But the actual comic was first seen in 2002 when it began serialisation in BAM! magazine. When the first part was finished it was published in black and white. It quickly sold out. Ever since then, it has been available online, with new parts being added as they are created.
[edit] Inspirations
Ewing has noted several comics as inspirations, all of them drawn in ligne claire like The Rainbow Orchid: Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin, Edgar P. Jacobs's Blake and Mortimer and Yves Chaland's Freddy Lombard. He also likens it to the works of the writers Jules Verne, Rider Haggard and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
[edit] Critical Acclaim
The Rainbow Orchid has received considerable critical acclaim considering that it is not yet finished. It won the Fool Britannia Small Press Comic of the Year 2003, and was the UK National Comic Awards nominee finalist 2004 in two categories.
- "The characters are real, the setting is authentic, and this opening chapter hints at many plot strands. It's got depth, charm and real polish." - TRS2
- "..the story is a thoroughly charming slice of nostalgia-tinged British adventurism." - Unified Review Theory
- "..a genuine joy to read.." - The Real Mainstream
- "It is not just ambitious but it works and with élan. The different levels of the story and their attendant styles lend a tremendous feeling of depth to the whole book.." - Zum
[edit] Prequels
Two short stories set before the events in The Rainbow Orchid have been created, each looking at the earlier lives of certain characters.
The Girdle of Polly Hipple is four pages long and looks at the first reporting job of William Pickle. It first appeared in Twelve, a comic strip anthology from Accent UK. This comic had 12 differant stories from 12 differant people, each story being based around one of the 12 tasks of Hercules.
The Sword of Truth is six pages long and looks at the early career of Lily Lawrence. It first appeared in The Girly Comic issue 5 in May 2004. It tells the story of how two men struggle for Lily's attention on her first stage appearance.
[edit] Sequels
Ewing has said that he hopes that this will be the first in a series of Julius Chancer books. He plans to set the next one entirely in Britain.
