This Year's Halloween Comics Begin Hitting Shelves with Broadsword's Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose 112

Last Halloween, Tarot, her husband, and her sister encountered the Spirit of Halloween in a park in Salem. Ever since that time, they have been cursed to appear as the stereotypes of their characters -- i.e. green-skinned witches, and a living skeleton man.

Now, in TAROT, WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #112, the season is upon them once more, and the three, along with their mother, plan to seek out the spirit and entreat him to return them to their original forms. But it's not going to be that easy. The spirit agrees to do so -- if he can be defeated in a game of monsters, taking place on another plane. And if he cannot -- then the entire population of Salem is to be his forever.

Tarot and company agree...and don't do so well. But this is the season of tricks and treats, and a wily opponent knows how to use both of those to her advantage.

Jim Balent's long-running fan-service series is one that doesn't take itself too seriously. The artwork is fantastic, but the plot varies from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD to GHOSTBUSTERS in its tone. I was also thrown off by the lettering of the book, particularly with the text boxes, which seemed to have apostrophes and periods scattered throughout them rather than in the places that actually ended sentences. I get the effect they were going for with the text, but it cluttered it to the point of stepping on the story -- and honestly, in comics, we don't need the text boxes to serve as adverbial dialogue tags, as was frequently done here.

One special thing to note, this issue's Broadsword Girl model is Victoria Avalor, who Critical Blast readers may recall as our June 2017 Bombshell of the Month. Victoria is looking as lovely as ever in her pinup in this month's TAROT, WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE.