< comics/x >
THE RAINBOW ORCHID Part One
(£4.00 ppd from Garen Ewing / King Rat Press / 57A Heathcote Drive / East Grinstead / West Sussex RH19 1NB / ENGLAND. Web:
www.kingratpress.co.uk)
Review by Tim O'Neil
There’s no question in my mind that Garen Ewing can draw, and he can draw a far sight better than many of his peers in the worldwide indie comics scene. I am left wondering, however, if it's even fair to judge something like
The Rainbow Orchid as an indie book, because it's quite obvious that Mr. Ewing has his mind on more lucrative prospects.
The Rainbow Orchid is a boy’s adventure yarn set in the deep shadow of Hergé’s Tintin. Ewing showcases a deep understanding for both the form and function of his pages. Much as with Hergé, you will never be confused by Ewing’s layouts or panel compositions. His linework, a fusion of the aforementioned Hergé with Rick Geary’s more labored ink-line, succeeds in imbuing the story with a distinctive and historically plausible air.
However, while there is much to recommend Ewing as an up-and-coming creator, there is ultimately little to recommend
The Rainbow Orchid on its own merits. There’s just enough wrong with the book to safely support my assumption that this is still the work of a journeyman. The plot is overly elaborate, the figurework, while competent, remains somewhat amateurish in places, and the printing, while decent, is simply not good enough to transfer the deep and clean blacks Ewing obviously intended. This is the work of someone with a lot of talent, but his journey isn’t over.
Based on the evidence of
The Rainbow Orchid, the next five or ten years will make Ewing a creator to watch. I predict that if he can keep up a steady rate of production he will easily outgrow the problems presented herein. I would be greatly surprised if the coming years did not see him graduate to the full-size album format he clearly longs to achieve. On that day we shall hail Ewing’s arrival, but that day is yet to come.
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