Thursday, September 27, 2012

Comic Review: Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose #76


            It is my opinion that many comic books these days take themselves way to seriously.  This, I would like to label the “Frank Miller Syndrome” after the legendary author of The Dark Knight Returns.  His take on Batman basically paved the way for the superhero companies to do away with anything truly goofy in their catalogues.  Because of this, we have been subjected to crossover after horrible crossover and the further alienation of children when it comes to superhero comics.  Sure, there are certain superhero comics aimed at kids (mostly ones based on cartoon series) but the ratio used to be completely flipped, with the majority of comics ok for kids to read and a few titles with more mature themes.
By mature themes I do not necessarily mean sex and violence either.  The subject matter in something like Marvel’s Civil War storyline is something that may be a little too over the top for children.  Shit, If my first issue was something from that time instead of a John Romita Jr. Uncanny X-Men comic where it was Cyclops and Cable versus the X-Cutioner that had just broke into the mansion (oh 90’s, I miss you) then I may not have continued on my current path.
Okay, the point of that rant is that I am constantly on the lookout for comics that don’t take themselves too seriously.  Comics that are well done, by talented creators that know that their medium is one that is specially suited for children are my holy grail.  I found that in The Goon, as Eric Powell is a master of crafting a beautiful story while keeping it fun at the same time and not taking himself or his medium too seriously.  From previous reviews of Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose, I thought that I would be able to find another such comic.

Cover:
            Let’s be fair, comparing anything to The Goon, and any artist to Powell is ridiculous to begin with.  But I will say this for Jim Balent.  That guy can draw!  Much as Powell has his colorist supreme in Dave Stewart, Balent’s pairing with Holly Golightly on colors is a match made in twisted naked girl heaven.  They complement each other so well that it almost looks like one person does the whole thing (which is honestly what you want, especially in a creator owned book).  The cover itself is a beautiful example of this harmony between the two.  The figure of Tarot is beautifully rendered, however what I really like about the cover is the hands that are grasping at her.  The fact that the hands are used similarly to negative space (as they are colored the same as the background) adds a phenomenal design element to the piece itself that I really want to try myself.  There is even a slight narrative quality to the cover as it mirrors some of the later scenes in the book.  The white logo and text against the dark background is the perfect choice as well.  This is how covers should be set up.

10/10-  Even though Tarot is topless on the cover, any offending bits are obscured, so it is just as safe to display as any other superhero book out there.  The quality of the cover itself, from design to execution is top notch.  One of my favorites of the year for sure.

Story:
            I was hoping that there would be something here that would set this book apart from the other superhero led books that clutter the shelves of the local comic shops.  Sure, this one had not only well drawn comic girls, but naked ones at that (which came as kind of a surprise, I thought there would be a tit here or there but Balent goes all out).  What I was really hoping was that the writing would push this over the top, into something that I would want to pick up every week, or at least in trade.  Balent falls into the same decompressioned, vague trap that has swallowed two complete companies (Marvel and DC) at this point.  There are basically two characters fighting throughout the entirety of the book, Tarot and a Faery.  I don’t know if the Faery has a name because it is never said, and honestly, if the book had a different title, I wouldn’t even know that Tarot is the other character (and at this point I’m guessing) because her name is never said.  In an entire book that has he main character on pretty much every page, her name is not said once.  The action is interesting but the story devolves too far into porny-fanboy lipservice to be taken as anything but that.  Maybe that is what it is and has been for the last 75 issues, I’m not sure.  The review that I saw, that actually prompted me to hunt down an issue had a Gatling gun bra and Barack Obama, so naturally I was pretty excited.  But this issue didn’t do it for me.  It was devoid of all but the very skeleton of a plot and didn’t do much with that.

1/10-  If the book was going to be anything but porn, it would have to have a good story.  This had the story that you would expect from a porn.

Art:
            Everything negative that I said about the story, flip that around for the art, because it is downright gorgeous.  I am a little concerned with the future back problems that Tarot will have based on the size of her chest, but other than that the art is well done.  Unfortunately there is not one page that I can share here.  Something about including lady parts on the same url as a talking shrimp restaurateur just doesn’t sit right with me.  I will say though that everything that I said about the cover is true for the interior as well.  Where I dislike the pace of the comic because nothing really happens, it does pave the way for Balent to draw so pretty pictures.  Even the flashback sequence which is rendered in shaded pencil is phenomenal.  The coloring by Golightly is top notch throughout and she really sets herself apart as one of the better colorists I have seen.  I would love to see what she does over someone else’s artwork just to see how much is her and how much is Balent, but they are an incredible art team nonetheless.

9/10- I’ve already said all I can about the art.  Great job all around.

Overall: 5/10- If you are looking for a pretty book full of naked women, then this is the one for you.  If you are looking for substance to go with your cheesecake, better keep searching.

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