The Rainbow Orchid

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The Rainbow Orchid is a comic written and drawn by Garen Ewing, the first of a series of Julius Chancer books. It is set in the 1920s and follows Chancer's expedition to discover the mythical 'Rainbow Orchid'. Starting in England, the adventure takes the characters first to France, then Karachi in India and into the Indus Valley. Although currently incomplete, it has already received critical acclaim and a large fan-following.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Main Characters 3 Sample Pages 4 Publishing History of the Book 5 Inspirations 6 Critical Acclaim 7 Prequels 8 Sequels 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Plot

Julius Chancer, young assistant to the historical researcher Sir Alfred Catesby-Grey, becomes embroiled in an adventure to discover the lost Rainbow Orchid, largely due to the machinations of scheming Daily News reporter William Pickle. He is accompanied by silent film actress Lily Lawrence, her American agent Nathaniel Crumpole, and Tayaut, a French stunt-pilot. The search for the orchid is opposed by the devious Evelyn Crow, right hand associate to scheming businessman Urkaz Grope.

The adventure takes them into the unknown regions of Northern India, bringing them into contact with a culture descended from the soldiers of Alexander the Great, and a lost world which may be hiding the secrets of a forgotten super-weapon.

[edit] Main Characters

The book's main characters:

• Julius Chancer ~ The young, slightly camp adventurer in the employ of Sir Alfred.
• Sir Alfred Catesby-Grey ~ An historical researcher, antiquarian to the King, and ex-director of the secretive Empire Survey Branch.
• 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 silent film star who is intent on saving her father and his reputation.
• Nathaniel Crumpole ~ Agent of Lily Lawrence and wannabe film director.
• 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. In choosing this name, Ewing was inspired by Dickens' Uriah Heep.
• Evelyn Crow ~ Grope's right hand associate. Clever, devious, subtle and she doesn't give up.
• Box ~ The largest and most brutish of Grope's henchmen.
• Tayaut ~ Former Hollywood stunt-pilot, now with his own acrobatic flying circus. Tayaut is French for Tally-ho!^[1]

[edit] Sample Pages

Sample page from The Rainbow Orchid: Part 1, Page 35

Sample page from The Rainbow Orchid: Part 1, Page 48

[edit] Publishing History of the Book

In 1997 a three page preview of The Rainbow Orchid appeared in Cherokee Comics' magazine Imagineers. Regular serialisation began in 2002 in BAM! magazine. When the first part was complete it was published as a black and white collection which sold out within months (the last copy was sold on eBay after some frantic last-minute bidding for £79). Since then, work-in-progress (including a French translation) of the rest of the book has been available to view online. When completed, The Rainbow Orchid will be published as a single album, in the style of European ligne claire comics, from which it takes much inspiration.

[edit] Inspirations

Ewing has cited several comics as inspirations^[2], most of them drawn in the ligne claire style: Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin, Edgar P. Jacobs's Blake and Mortimer and Yves Chaland's Freddy Lombard. The story has its roots in the lost world adventure fiction of writers such as Rider Haggard, Jules Verne and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

[edit] Critical Acclaim

The Rainbow Orchid has received considerable critical acclaim. It was shortlisted for a UK National Comic Awards 2004 in two categories, Best Indepdendent Comic and Best New Talent^[3]. It was also named Fool Britannia Webcomic of the Year 2006^[4] (for the online preview) and Fool Britannia Small Press Comic of the Year 2003 by Silver Bullet Comics.

• "This is a spectacular work... the art is wonderfully attractive but what impressed me the most was the slow-burning, exquisitely constructed plot." - Comics International^[5]
• "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^[6]
• "..the story is a thoroughly charming slice of nostalgia-tinged British adventurism." - Unified Review Theory^[7]
• "..a genuine joy to read.." - The Real Mainstream^[8]
• "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^[9]
• "...unbelievably excellent..." - Bryan Talbot

[edit] Prequels

Two short stories set before the events in The Rainbow Orchid have appeared in print, 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 different stories from 12 different creators, each story being based around one of the 12 tasks of Hercules.

The Sword of Truth is six pages long and looks at an event in the early career of Lily Lawrence. It first appeared in The Girly Comic issue 5 in May 2004. It tells the story of two actors struggling for Lily's affections 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.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Garen Ewing interview