Rainbow Orchid [Paperback]

Garen Ewing (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140524853X
• ISBN-13: 978-1405248532
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #562,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Garen's love of drawing and writing goes back to when he was very young, and had to spend a lot of time in hospital, so his mum supplied him with plenty of comics to read, and pencils and blank paper to draw with, and he's been making comics ever since! Other jobs have included working at a mushroom farm, an airport hotel, a software company and doing loads and loads of illustrations for books, magazines, t-shirts, theatres and newspapers. He's been the editor of a local entertainments guide (5D) and a comic strip anthology (Cosmorama). He's adapted Shakespeare's The Tempest into a comic and is the writer and artist behind The Rainbow Orchid. He's an expert on the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878-1880, he's half Scottish, one-sixteenth Romany Gypsy and plays bass guitar and does karate (though not at the same time).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming throwback is a good start..., October 24, 2009

By 

J. Shurin "carnivore" (London) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rainbow Orchid (Paperback)

A blatant throwback (homage, perhaps) to the Tintin/Asterix era - but hot off the presses, and from an English-speaking country, no less.

Garen Ewing's new series, The Adventures of Julius Chancer, is an auspicious start. The brave young Chancer is suddenly entangled in the search for a legendary orchid -a genial (if pompous) British lord has inadvertently gambled his family legacy against a sinister flower collector, and Chancer needs to bail him out. He scampers about the English landscape with an equally fearless actress in tow. The art is extremely reminiscent of the Tintin volumes, as it captures that same charming air of innocence.

If anything, this volume is too short. It also may be a tiny bit juvenile, but that doesn't make it any less fun. A quick read, but an engrossing one. Ewing's next two volumes are keenly awaited.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tintin Knockoff, September 8, 2009

By 

Lutz Braum "budding writer" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rainbow Orchid (Paperback)

I bought this based on a review in either the NY Times or New Yorker - either way, the review praised the action, the old-fashioned scenery, the clear line drawing - everything about it was supposed to be wonderful. And to some extent I agree - it's nice to see a comic steeped in the 20s or 30s, without computers or superpowers, and the story was compelling. But the more i read, the more I had to compare it to my Tintin books, and they still rule! Plus, only volume one exists, and leaves you hanging for more, with no sign when the next volume will be published (I checked the website, and there's no hint). That can be pretty frustrating to a young reader, so I'd advise you to wait until the next 2 installments are available, and then buy all three.