Zenescope Entertainment 2017
Written by Joe Brusha
Illustrated by Renato Rei
Coloured by Grostieta & Jorge Cortes
Lettered by Fabio Amelia
The mysterious Order of Tarot has emerged from the shadows with its sights set on ruling the Realms of Power. With the courts of Swords, Cups, Wands, and Pentacles at his command, the Emperor is ready to launch his assault on the Grimm Universe. And the
only thing that stands in his way is a wildcard named Talisman.
I’m torn here because the idea, see concept, behind the story is solid and it’s something that begs to be told. On the other hand Joe is all over the gosh darn place with this story. I finished it feeling more confused than ever about what’s supposed to be going on. So the opening is actually okay we see these robed and hooded individuals who wish to bring back the long forgotten Queen and King of an old castle. Then we switch to Talisman who is basically the star of the story.
That too was alright as well. Granted I would have liked to learn more about the Four and their role in this little drama. The issue isn’t new reader friendly by any stretch of the imagination as if you don’t know who these characters are or what they represent then you won’t have any further understanding of that from reading this. The background information we get comes mostly from the creepy society and their bickering with one another. This gets us to a point where we get a better understanding on a few things and where the story is heading is.
Now if the members of that council are all wearing masks, except for the woman, which I don’t understand why that is but that’s neither here nor there, have that creepy horror show quality about them that is great. However the women we see all have that Barbie doll body quality about them that is unreasonable and unrealistic, like walking in heels when wearing flats. There’s really no real reason to make them caricatures of women, sex objects etc, instead of real powerful women which would be inherently more sexy.
Talisman has to go through quite a bit here and we are introduced to a myriad of characters while that’s happening. They all kind of come out of nowhere and are so loosely tied together. I get that they all work for Tarot but I think too many ingredients without proper cooking instructions is what’s happening here. There’s so much stuff thrown at you that doesn’t seem to fit into what’s happening it’s disjointed and distracting.
I think this would have benefited from some editing, both self and editor wise where the story is concerned. There’s a lot here that isn’t necessary and just gets in the way while other parts would’ve benefited from being fleshed out more. Talisman’s relationship with Nataliya for example could’ve been explained more and made us feel like their history is real and not just made up for us here.
Joe’s what I consider an idea man, he’s got good ideas for stories it’s just being able to bring them to life on the page where he lacks ability.