Tony DeZuniga's Black Orchid
May. 11th, 2012 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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scans_dailyIf you follow the comics news sites, you've probably already heard about the untimely death of legendary artist Tony DeZuniga:
http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/05/11/ri
DeZuniga was probably known best as the co-creator of Jonah Hex, and for his work on Conan the Barbarian. But my personal favorite was the decidedly off-beat superheroine he created with writer Shelly Mayer: The Black Orchid.
What made the Black Orchid unique was that the stories never mentioned her true identity or origins. She was super-strong, bulletproof, and could fly, but we weren't told how. Here's a typical story from ADVENTURE COMICS #429, 1973:
(5 pages from a 15-page story)
The target, a rich scumbag named Barry DeMorte, thinks the Black Orchid saved him because she's attracted to him: "Chicks just can't resist power!" But the truth is, she wants to help the shooter, a ship's captain named Sam Hendricks. She knows why he's after DeMorte, and knows that he's not really a killer.
One foggy night, Hendricks was piloting a freighter carrying a cargo of valuable antiques. They picked up a castaway, a woman named Mala, who claimed that she jumped ship to get away from the "drunken degenerates" on a nearby yacht.
Hendricks recognized wealthy playboy Barry DeMorte before he passed out. DeMorte and Mala stole the antiques, sank the ship (with the crew still aboard), and left Hendricks alive to take the blame. The Black Orchid promises that she'll bring DeMorte to justice.
Barry DeMorte, meanwhile, is convinced that the Black Orchid is someone he knows:
While his guests are partying below decks, DeMorte prepares to attack another freighter.
The Black Orchid tears her way out of the steel net and disappears. DeMorte races back to the main salon to see if Cindy or Daphne are missing. They aren't, but Mala is. When she finally shows up, DeMorte confronts her, and she admits that she is the Black Orchid. Barry finds this a major turn-on (apparently, it's not just chicks who dig power), but before they can make any sexytimes, Mala insists that it's now his turn to prove himself. She challenges him to take out the nearby freighter single-handedly:
But when the police search DeMorte's yacht for more evidence, they find Mala tied up in her cabin, and the wig and rubber mask Black Orchid used to impersonate her. So the Orchid's true identity remained unknown (at least until Neil Gaiman got ahold of her).
Most Black Orchid stories followed a similar formula: a crook would be tricked into revealing his guilt, and then suddenly realize that someone close to him was really the Orchid in disguise, manipulating him all along. Very gimmicky, but a fun little series.
Rest in Peace, Mr. DeZuniga.
http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/05/11/ri
DeZuniga was probably known best as the co-creator of Jonah Hex, and for his work on Conan the Barbarian. But my personal favorite was the decidedly off-beat superheroine he created with writer Shelly Mayer: The Black Orchid.
What made the Black Orchid unique was that the stories never mentioned her true identity or origins. She was super-strong, bulletproof, and could fly, but we weren't told how. Here's a typical story from ADVENTURE COMICS #429, 1973:
(5 pages from a 15-page story)
The target, a rich scumbag named Barry DeMorte, thinks the Black Orchid saved him because she's attracted to him: "Chicks just can't resist power!" But the truth is, she wants to help the shooter, a ship's captain named Sam Hendricks. She knows why he's after DeMorte, and knows that he's not really a killer.
One foggy night, Hendricks was piloting a freighter carrying a cargo of valuable antiques. They picked up a castaway, a woman named Mala, who claimed that she jumped ship to get away from the "drunken degenerates" on a nearby yacht.
Hendricks recognized wealthy playboy Barry DeMorte before he passed out. DeMorte and Mala stole the antiques, sank the ship (with the crew still aboard), and left Hendricks alive to take the blame. The Black Orchid promises that she'll bring DeMorte to justice.
Barry DeMorte, meanwhile, is convinced that the Black Orchid is someone he knows:
While his guests are partying below decks, DeMorte prepares to attack another freighter.
The Black Orchid tears her way out of the steel net and disappears. DeMorte races back to the main salon to see if Cindy or Daphne are missing. They aren't, but Mala is. When she finally shows up, DeMorte confronts her, and she admits that she is the Black Orchid. Barry finds this a major turn-on (apparently, it's not just chicks who dig power), but before they can make any sexytimes, Mala insists that it's now his turn to prove himself. She challenges him to take out the nearby freighter single-handedly:
But when the police search DeMorte's yacht for more evidence, they find Mala tied up in her cabin, and the wig and rubber mask Black Orchid used to impersonate her. So the Orchid's true identity remained unknown (at least until Neil Gaiman got ahold of her).
Most Black Orchid stories followed a similar formula: a crook would be tricked into revealing his guilt, and then suddenly realize that someone close to him was really the Orchid in disguise, manipulating him all along. Very gimmicky, but a fun little series.
Rest in Peace, Mr. DeZuniga.
