Speaking about Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #103

Cover A

I started reading the indie comic Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose last year, and I’ve become a huge fan since then. Each issue has giving me something, a different and good lesson, along with great stories and amazing artwork, which is also filled with a high voltage of erotic scenarios. 

Tarot has become a project I’m more than eager to support and follow until it is done, may it be after many years! Its most recent issue, Tarot #103, follows a simple yet powerful script and idea, with an incredibly dynamic pace, light and easy to understand. Jim Balent, the creator, writer and artist, is also not afraid of using controversial ideas such as the inaction of the Divine in unfair situations. 

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose has created its own mythology, but this issue expands it by adding a new creature and group to the world where the story is set: the Nameless Ones, a coven that is more than clear with their intentions, their point of view about the Gods and how they should be treated. You will also be surprised with the way things turn to be this time. I’m a strong believer that words are way more powerful than actions, in most of the cases, and this idea is loud and clear for the issue, exploring a different, passive  and effective side of Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose. 

Cover B

Contrary to the script, the art of this comic is pure marvel. The level of detail is as high as it can be, and the many different elements for each panel is worth a look, with some of them even adding more information about the plot with their own symbols and meanings. Feelings, emotions and thoughts are graphically reflected in many pages, with a semiotic meaning behind all of them, some obvious, others more hidden. I can also say that Tarot recovers her original dark fantasy look and matches it with its most recent moral-intended subliminal messages. 

You’ll be able to find that there’s hardly a single scene with one more present than the other, but both aspects are nicely used to be in perfect harmony. Also, Balent has taken a new step in the comic series: Jon Webb, the male protagonist, shows his private parts for the very first time, not as explicit as the female characters, but there’s nothing in there censoring male anatomy, which I consider to be good inclusive content for male readers of Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose.

As always, this comic deserves the best score. I haven’t find anything bothering on it and considering this a independent comic published by a small company, that says a lot about its quality and high standards. Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose, is published by Broadsword Comics, with script and art from president Jim Balent, and colours and lettering by Vice President Holly Golightly. Visit their website to buy this and other issues.

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