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.
No comments:
Post a Comment