DirectDraw with VB.NET

Question

Hello.

I'm working on an editor for a game. Since I need to make a map editor, I have to use a graphics libary. The only problem is that there aren't any good ones that are suiting my needs. For example GDI+ is too slow, the new DirectX is mainly for 3D applications. Direct3D is not easy to learn and I don't want to take a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Also I don't want to force my users to install some libaries except .Net Framework and DirectX (those two are the standard for windows I suppose).

DirectDraw would be a graphic libary that would suit my needs. But there are no good tutorials for VB.NET. Could anyone point me to a good tutorial or could anyone suggest a better libary? (I'm not able to understand C# or C++ though)