Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose
Encyclopedia
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose is an American
comic book
, written and drawn by Jim Balent
with coloring and lettering by Holly Golightly and published by Broadsword Comics
since 1999.
It is the story of Tarot, a warrior witch, and her family, friends and lovers. The comic generally features stories of fantasy action and adventure interspersed with frequent scenes of nudity
.
As well as the comic narrative, each issue is backed up with interviews with actual witches and Wicca
n practitioners, and guides for casting fan-submitted spells.
reading, Scrying
, Cerimonial Magic or potion making.
propaganda, rarely appearing and when appearing they do under surreal and mystical ways. The Wiccan God and Goddess are embodiements of the dualism of the universe, two opposing and needed forces.
is a real and very powerful force. According to the Goddess magick is created by the union of all things, because all things are interconected, nothing, no matter how small, can be separeted from everything, similar to the Gaia Hypothesis
.
s, fairies
, elves
and Gorgons are very real but they live in a magical dimension apart from the real world. This dimension, referred to as the Realm Beyond the Mist, is a place of enchantment where magickal by humans (referred to as Commoners). Some magickal beings, such as dragons, see their imposed exile as humiliating and that magical creatures should band together to destroy humanity.
Tarot's magickal name stems from her psychic connection to tarot cards, which allow her brief glimpses of important events, warnings, and connections to her loved ones despite distance. She was granted the title and responsibility of Swordmaiden to the Goddess after passing a series of trials (of both physical and magickal combat). As part of her position, she wears enchanted armor, including a horned mask.
Tarot has a winged cat familiar named Pooka
, and two lovers, Jon Webb and Boo Cat. Tarot is charged by the gods to protect mankind from threats, such as the Dragon Witch, sorcerers, terrorists, and even her own sister. Her constant role is to battle forces that upset or endanger the balance of mankind and the realms of magick, and to gently encourage mankind to accept magick instead of lashing against it.
Recently, Tarot has been reminded of the promise made to the Dragon Witches, to create a safe haven in the world of man for all magickal beings who have been forced into the Lands of Mist due to man's intolerance. Among these creatures, the Dragon Witches are the fiercest, proudest, and strongest, and conflicts with them have repeatedly led to serious harm done to Tarot.
Her skin is permanently moonlight blue-white, due to her allegiance with dark magic, and she has a snakelike skeletal tattoo covering her body. For a short time she had an apprentice named Willowry, who stole a necromancy scroll; she was punished by Raven Hex, who turned her into a willow tree. She is easily annoyed by fairies, and distrusts humans, giving them little leeway. It has been hinted that if she were to actually declare war on the mortal world she could easily raise an army from amongst the supernatural
beings, though after the debacle with the Dragon Witch this assurance remains to be seen. She has had one known lover in the course of the series, Azure, who betrayed her in pursuit of power.
Her general distrust and dislike of non-magickal humans stems from the bullying she suffered as a child, and her close ties with her father (whose attempts to protect her from attacks led to his demise).
He prefers isolation, and protects his cemetery from looters and vandals by wearing a skeletal costume and frightening away, or outright attacking, trespassers. He goes by aliases such as the Skeleton Man, Graveyard Guardian, and Fright Knight. He is quite capable in a fight, even being able to outrun a group of angry dragon
s, although he is still only human, without any over-all magical talents whatsoever. As a sort of running gag, he is frequently rendered incapacitated, drunk, drugged, bewitched, or unconscious, and then taken advantage of by any number of women in his vicinity. He is quick with witty quips and puns in nearly every issue. It has been implied that he will have a child with Tarot in the future. He proposed to Tarot after taking her and her family to Hawaii, but she turned him down due to the danger her position created for him. Deeply arachnophobic, and has a loyal ghost-dog named Wraith.
He recently reclaimed his cemetery from a powerful wraith-like spirit, following a brutal beating by a group of demonic thralls dressed like nuns. After a brief convalescence with the Fluffy Witch Coven, Jon returned and defeated the usurper and his thralls, rescuing Crypt Chick from Hell itself.
Jon is aware that Tarot has another love in addition to himself, though he is not dating anyone else. Although he has previously not raised concern with this, foreshadowing in recent issues indicates his growing unrest with the situation.
scroll to give her back her flesh. The attempt failed when Willowry arrogantly left the Wiccan Goddess' name out of the incantation, and was turned into a tree as punishment. Brandi, who adamantly insists on being called Crypt Chick, once even allied herself with Raven while the latter was still very much anti-mortal, but the alliance fell short when Raven refused to live up to her part of the agreement and restore Brandi to life. She has since mellowed somewhat, in large part due to Jon's having formed a band of ghosts for her to sing with. Despite showing no romantic inclinations toward Jon, Crypt Chick remains in the graveyard that he guards, and occasionally appears to assist him.
who is one of Tarot's current sexual partners. She is a saleswoman in a lingerie
store, which is where she first saw Tarot. Boo Cat often deals with the isolationistic mindsets of less-informed lycanthropes, giving the impression that she is a rare creature. She is quite the exhibitionist, and exuberant about anything that seems fun. She is also fiercely loyal in protecting and nurturing Tarot and her other lover, Licorice Dust. Despite this, Boo Cat's actions are often spontaneous and self-centered.
Recently, Licorice Dust's insecurity regarding Boo's affection for Tarot has led to strife in their relationship. Typically, Boo Cat handles this by distracting Licorice Dust.
who dresses as a goth
cheerleader. Her real name is never mentioned, but she takes the name Licorice because she is "sweet, and very bad for you". Licorice is quite committed to Boo, and has no other known lovers.
Licorice started the series as a somewhat shallow character, resenting humans for their fear toward her. She has quite a bit of rage, which she has channeled into being vigilante against those who hurt women and children. Due to her vampire nature, Licorice is supernaturally strong and agile, making her a blunt instrument when enraged.
Recently, her rage has spilled over into jealousy and resentment toward Tarot, as Boo's other lover. Licorice's actions have caused a very serious schism between herself and Tarot (and Jon, who clearly dislikes her), and the impacts this will have on Licorice and Boo's relationship, as well as Tarot and Boo's relationship, are as yet unknown.
was with her daughters), but once freed she took charge of the battle.
She has a close connection with the faerie realm, and is often seen with several fae cavorting around her. She appears generally calm, congenial, and wise though has occasional moments of sexual banter with her daughters and Jon. She does not appear to have taken any lovers since the death of Tarot and Raven's father, nor is she often seen outside of the manor.
whose attempts at uncovering immortality turned him into a maddened vampire-elf. He was chained for a thousand years to keep him from destroying the human world, but he escaped by ensorcelling his elven female guards and turning them into vampires. He tried to raise an army to lead against mankind with Raven Hex as the leader, but she refused him, forcing him to use one of his vampire slaves instead.
Shortly afterwards, Azure enacted his revenge against the witches, seriously wounding Tarot's mother, and stabbing Tarot through the abdomen. Although both women survived, Tarot has apparently lost the ability to have children as a result of Azure's curse. Once she has recovered, Tarot sneaks into Azure's prison and confronts him, learning that it was he who told the Dragon Witches about Raven's gathering, and he who sent the lich
that beat Jon nearly to death. He also revealed that he did not escape his cell--something had bored its way in, allowing him to cause chaos while still in chains. While Azure is still gloating, Tarot decapitates him and puts his head in a jar of salt, effectively rendering the insane immortal brain dead.
, who is able to assume the form of a humanoid female. Like most of her kind, she hates humans because they hunted dragons in the past, calling these dragonslayers "heroes" when more often than not they were merely murderers. These dragons completely embrace Raven's more militant views, and even join Azure when they believe Raven is leading his army. But when the truth is revealed, the dragons strike at Azure; although they still believe that humans should be wiped out. It is ironic that the main dragon witch featured comes to Raven's aid, when she later attacks and seemingly kills Raven for being slighted at a meeting of the covens. However, Raven is revealed alive, albeit gravely wounded, and even the Dragon-Witch is revealed to have survived, only dying momentarily before being revived in a dragon ceremony akin to a Viking funeral
.
Currently, there is an uneasy truce between the Dragon Witches and the Black Rose coven.
. As a final revenge, Tarot then casts the Iron Maiden into a lake, where presumably the Bleeding Man will be trapped and concealed indefinitely.
has appeared as a powerful recurring character, as has his wife Stephanie. Most recently, it was revealed that the two of them were guardians of the library of magick- keepers of the knowledge of all spells ever created.
has appeared in the series as the gracious Queen of Witches.
has appeared as herself in the storyline recently (with her stuffed animal familiar, Teddi). As a "Kayotic" witch, she aids Tarot in defending against the Medusa
, who seeks to wipe them both from existence in order to disempower Tarot, Tonya, and all those who are inspired by them.
convention Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose and character Raven Hex won three of the twenty-five categories in the first inaugural Project Fanboy Awards. The title Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose won the category Best Title and Best Indy Title and the character Raven Hex from the aforementioned title won the category Best Indy Villain.
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, written and drawn by Jim Balent
Jim Balent
Jim Balent is an American comic book illustrator from Pennsylvania. He is perhaps best known for his long run on Catwoman between 1993 and 1999...
with coloring and lettering by Holly Golightly and published by Broadsword Comics
BroadSword Comics
BroadSword Comics is a company formed when in 1999 Jim Balent left mainstream comics to form his own company. BroadSword publishes Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose and reprinted Vampfire, which was created, written and drawn by Balent's wife Holly Golightly who is currently also the colorist on...
since 1999.
It is the story of Tarot, a warrior witch, and her family, friends and lovers. The comic generally features stories of fantasy action and adventure interspersed with frequent scenes of nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
.
As well as the comic narrative, each issue is backed up with interviews with actual witches and Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n practitioners, and guides for casting fan-submitted spells.
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, Wicca or simply Craft is the way by which witches manipulate mystical forces. The Craft is Wicca-based, with the Threefold Law a important lesson shown in the series. Witches use diverse ways to attain supernatural powers, being TarotTarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
reading, Scrying
Scrying
Scrying is a magic practice that involves seeing things psychically in a medium, usually for purposes of obtaining spiritual visions and less often for purposes of divination or fortune-telling. The most common media used are reflective, translucent, or luminescent substances such as crystals,...
, Cerimonial Magic or potion making.
The Gods
Being most of the main characters Wiccans, the wiccan gods take a great place in the story. They appear mostly as a anti-religious intoleranceReligious intolerance
Religious intolerance is intolerance against another's religious beliefs or practices.-Definition:The mere statement on the part of a religion that its own beliefs and practices are correct and any contrary beliefs incorrect does not in itself constitute intolerance...
propaganda, rarely appearing and when appearing they do under surreal and mystical ways. The Wiccan God and Goddess are embodiements of the dualism of the universe, two opposing and needed forces.
Magick
In Tarot's Universe magickMagick
Magick is an Early Modern English spelling for magic, used in works such as the 1651 translation of De Occulta Philosophia, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, or Of Magick...
is a real and very powerful force. According to the Goddess magick is created by the union of all things, because all things are interconected, nothing, no matter how small, can be separeted from everything, similar to the Gaia Hypothesis
Gaia hypothesis
The Gaia hypothesis, also known as Gaia theory or Gaia principle, proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet.The scientific investigation of the...
.
Magickal and Mythological Beings
Beings from mythology such as DragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s, fairies
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
, elves
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
and Gorgons are very real but they live in a magical dimension apart from the real world. This dimension, referred to as the Realm Beyond the Mist, is a place of enchantment where magickal by humans (referred to as Commoners). Some magickal beings, such as dragons, see their imposed exile as humiliating and that magical creatures should band together to destroy humanity.
Tarot
Originally called Rowan, she protects her family and her craft as the Swordmaiden of the Black Rose coven. By her own admission she is not a master witch, yet still quite knowledgeable and capable with both a spell and a sword. Tarot lives with her mother, and sister Raven Hex. She takes her job very seriously, even refusing to marry because of the dangers her position poses to those closest to her.Tarot's magickal name stems from her psychic connection to tarot cards, which allow her brief glimpses of important events, warnings, and connections to her loved ones despite distance. She was granted the title and responsibility of Swordmaiden to the Goddess after passing a series of trials (of both physical and magickal combat). As part of her position, she wears enchanted armor, including a horned mask.
Tarot has a winged cat familiar named Pooka
Púca
The Púca is a creature of Celtic folklore, notably in Ireland, the West of Scotland, and Wales. It is one of the myriad fairy folk, and, like many fairy folk, is both respected and feared by those who believe in it....
, and two lovers, Jon Webb and Boo Cat. Tarot is charged by the gods to protect mankind from threats, such as the Dragon Witch, sorcerers, terrorists, and even her own sister. Her constant role is to battle forces that upset or endanger the balance of mankind and the realms of magick, and to gently encourage mankind to accept magick instead of lashing against it.
Recently, Tarot has been reminded of the promise made to the Dragon Witches, to create a safe haven in the world of man for all magickal beings who have been forced into the Lands of Mist due to man's intolerance. Among these creatures, the Dragon Witches are the fiercest, proudest, and strongest, and conflicts with them have repeatedly led to serious harm done to Tarot.
Raven Hex
Tarot's older and darker sister. She longs to create a world in which witches may live free of persecution, and has gone so far as to raise up an island from the sea where only witches may set foot. Despite her aggressive and often violent tendencies, she loves her sister and mother very much and has every intention of allowing them to live in her witches' paradise.Her skin is permanently moonlight blue-white, due to her allegiance with dark magic, and she has a snakelike skeletal tattoo covering her body. For a short time she had an apprentice named Willowry, who stole a necromancy scroll; she was punished by Raven Hex, who turned her into a willow tree. She is easily annoyed by fairies, and distrusts humans, giving them little leeway. It has been hinted that if she were to actually declare war on the mortal world she could easily raise an army from amongst the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
beings, though after the debacle with the Dragon Witch this assurance remains to be seen. She has had one known lover in the course of the series, Azure, who betrayed her in pursuit of power.
Her general distrust and dislike of non-magickal humans stems from the bullying she suffered as a child, and her close ties with her father (whose attempts to protect her from attacks led to his demise).
Jon Webb
Tarot's lover and ally, as well as a groundskeeper for an abandoned cemetery. After a near-fatal car crash, in which his lover died, Jon retained the ability to see, summon, and make corporeal the dead.He prefers isolation, and protects his cemetery from looters and vandals by wearing a skeletal costume and frightening away, or outright attacking, trespassers. He goes by aliases such as the Skeleton Man, Graveyard Guardian, and Fright Knight. He is quite capable in a fight, even being able to outrun a group of angry dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s, although he is still only human, without any over-all magical talents whatsoever. As a sort of running gag, he is frequently rendered incapacitated, drunk, drugged, bewitched, or unconscious, and then taken advantage of by any number of women in his vicinity. He is quick with witty quips and puns in nearly every issue. It has been implied that he will have a child with Tarot in the future. He proposed to Tarot after taking her and her family to Hawaii, but she turned him down due to the danger her position created for him. Deeply arachnophobic, and has a loyal ghost-dog named Wraith.
He recently reclaimed his cemetery from a powerful wraith-like spirit, following a brutal beating by a group of demonic thralls dressed like nuns. After a brief convalescence with the Fluffy Witch Coven, Jon returned and defeated the usurper and his thralls, rescuing Crypt Chick from Hell itself.
Jon is aware that Tarot has another love in addition to himself, though he is not dating anyone else. Although he has previously not raised concern with this, foreshadowing in recent issues indicates his growing unrest with the situation.
Crypt Chick
Crypt Chick, aka Brandi, is Jon's ex-girlfriend, a former singer who was killed in the crash that gave Jon his clairovoyance. She deeply resents her death and refuses to move on, going so far as to convince Raven's apprentice Willowry to steal a necromancyNecromancy
Necromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...
scroll to give her back her flesh. The attempt failed when Willowry arrogantly left the Wiccan Goddess' name out of the incantation, and was turned into a tree as punishment. Brandi, who adamantly insists on being called Crypt Chick, once even allied herself with Raven while the latter was still very much anti-mortal, but the alliance fell short when Raven refused to live up to her part of the agreement and restore Brandi to life. She has since mellowed somewhat, in large part due to Jon's having formed a band of ghosts for her to sing with. Despite showing no romantic inclinations toward Jon, Crypt Chick remains in the graveyard that he guards, and occasionally appears to assist him.
Boo Cat
A female werecatWerecat
A werecat is a therianthropic creature of folklore, horror, and occultism, described as being a shape-shifter similar to a Werewolf....
who is one of Tarot's current sexual partners. She is a saleswoman in a lingerie
Lingerie
Lingerie are fashionable and possibly alluring undergarments.Lingerie usually incorporates one or more flexible, stretchy materials like Lycra, nylon , polyester, satin, lace, silk and sheer fabric which are not typically used in more functional, basic cotton undergarments.The term in the French...
store, which is where she first saw Tarot. Boo Cat often deals with the isolationistic mindsets of less-informed lycanthropes, giving the impression that she is a rare creature. She is quite the exhibitionist, and exuberant about anything that seems fun. She is also fiercely loyal in protecting and nurturing Tarot and her other lover, Licorice Dust. Despite this, Boo Cat's actions are often spontaneous and self-centered.
Recently, Licorice Dust's insecurity regarding Boo's affection for Tarot has led to strife in their relationship. Typically, Boo Cat handles this by distracting Licorice Dust.
Licorice Dust
Boo Cat's lover, a vampireVampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
who dresses as a goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
cheerleader. Her real name is never mentioned, but she takes the name Licorice because she is "sweet, and very bad for you". Licorice is quite committed to Boo, and has no other known lovers.
Licorice started the series as a somewhat shallow character, resenting humans for their fear toward her. She has quite a bit of rage, which she has channeled into being vigilante against those who hurt women and children. Due to her vampire nature, Licorice is supernaturally strong and agile, making her a blunt instrument when enraged.
Recently, her rage has spilled over into jealousy and resentment toward Tarot, as Boo's other lover. Licorice's actions have caused a very serious schism between herself and Tarot (and Jon, who clearly dislikes her), and the impacts this will have on Licorice and Boo's relationship, as well as Tarot and Boo's relationship, are as yet unknown.
Mother
Tarot and Raven's Mother, despite being a major character in several stories, has consistently remained unnamed. She cares for her daughters deeply and has joined them in several battles, most notably in the fight against Azure. She was stripped along with her daughters (as BoudicaBoudica
Boudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....
was with her daughters), but once freed she took charge of the battle.
She has a close connection with the faerie realm, and is often seen with several fae cavorting around her. She appears generally calm, congenial, and wise though has occasional moments of sexual banter with her daughters and Jon. She does not appear to have taken any lovers since the death of Tarot and Raven's father, nor is she often seen outside of the manor.
Azure
Azure is a dark elfDark elf
Dark elf may refer to:* Dökkálfar or dark elves, a type of elf in Norse mythology* Svartálfar or dark elves, a type of elf in Norse mythology* Moriquendi, a fictional race of elves in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium...
whose attempts at uncovering immortality turned him into a maddened vampire-elf. He was chained for a thousand years to keep him from destroying the human world, but he escaped by ensorcelling his elven female guards and turning them into vampires. He tried to raise an army to lead against mankind with Raven Hex as the leader, but she refused him, forcing him to use one of his vampire slaves instead.
Shortly afterwards, Azure enacted his revenge against the witches, seriously wounding Tarot's mother, and stabbing Tarot through the abdomen. Although both women survived, Tarot has apparently lost the ability to have children as a result of Azure's curse. Once she has recovered, Tarot sneaks into Azure's prison and confronts him, learning that it was he who told the Dragon Witches about Raven's gathering, and he who sent the lich
Lich
In modern fantasy fiction, a lich is a type of undead creature. Often such a creature is the result of a transformation, as a powerful magician or king striving for eternal life uses spells or rituals to bind his intellect to his animated corpse and thereby achieve a form of immortality...
that beat Jon nearly to death. He also revealed that he did not escape his cell--something had bored its way in, allowing him to cause chaos while still in chains. While Azure is still gloating, Tarot decapitates him and puts his head in a jar of salt, effectively rendering the insane immortal brain dead.
Mor-Meb-Dred,The Dragon Witch
A female dragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
, who is able to assume the form of a humanoid female. Like most of her kind, she hates humans because they hunted dragons in the past, calling these dragonslayers "heroes" when more often than not they were merely murderers. These dragons completely embrace Raven's more militant views, and even join Azure when they believe Raven is leading his army. But when the truth is revealed, the dragons strike at Azure; although they still believe that humans should be wiped out. It is ironic that the main dragon witch featured comes to Raven's aid, when she later attacks and seemingly kills Raven for being slighted at a meeting of the covens. However, Raven is revealed alive, albeit gravely wounded, and even the Dragon-Witch is revealed to have survived, only dying momentarily before being revived in a dragon ceremony akin to a Viking funeral
Viking funeral
Burial customs of Viking Age Norsemen are known both from archaeology and from historical accounts such as the Icelandic sagas, Old Norse poetry, and notably from the account of Ahmad ibn Fadlan....
.
Currently, there is an uneasy truce between the Dragon Witches and the Black Rose coven.
The Bleeding Man
A grotesque figure, his eyes seem to constantly seep blood, and he covers the upper half of his face with a burial shroud. He seems obsessed with locating an Object of Power called the Witch Key, and takes to abducting witches from all realms to find it. He sends out a volcanic rock henchman who finds Tarot and kidnaps her. He brutally and continuously tortures and rapes her for ten days. The Bleeding Man milks and consumes all of Tarot's breast milk, thinking her power may lie in them. When he does not find the Witch Key, Tarot is cast into an iron maiden to die; she eventually catches her second wind and frees her disempowered sister witches from captivity. Tarot leads a successful assault against the Bleeding Man, and manages to dismember him by cutting off his hands during a sword duel. He is trapped within the same Iron MaidenIron maiden (torture device)
An iron maiden is a torture device, consisting of an iron cabinet, with a hinged front, sufficiently tall to enclose a human being. It usually has a small closeable opening so that the torturer can interrogate the victim and torture or kill a person by piercing the body with sharp objects , while...
. As a final revenge, Tarot then casts the Iron Maiden into a lake, where presumably the Bleeding Man will be trapped and concealed indefinitely.
Guest Stars
Occasionally, background characters that are modeled after real-life Tarot fans and friends will show up in an issue (most notably the "Witch Key" story arc). These have included noted pagan celebrities as well.Raven and Stephanie Grimassi
Noted pagan author and scholar Raven GrimassiRaven Grimassi
Raven Grimassi is the pen name of an Italian-American author, publishing on the topics of Neo-paganism and witchcraft. He is perhaps best known for his popularization of Stregheria, a neopagan revival of "Italian witchcraft"....
has appeared as a powerful recurring character, as has his wife Stephanie. Most recently, it was revealed that the two of them were guardians of the library of magick- keepers of the knowledge of all spells ever created.
Fiona Horne
Wiccan priestess, model, actress, author, singer, and tv personality Fiona HorneFiona Horne
Fiona Horne is an Australian singer, rock musician, radio and television personality, actress and author. She is famous for her public promotion of Witchcraft and as the singer in Australian band Def FX...
has appeared in the series as the gracious Queen of Witches.
Tonya Kay
Actress, author, performance artist, and star of "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" Tonya KayTonya Kay
Tonya Kay is an American actress, television personality, and performance artist appearing in independent films and episodic television. Her background includes performing stunts and what she refers to as "danger arts", which consist of knife throwing and whip cracking...
has appeared as herself in the storyline recently (with her stuffed animal familiar, Teddi). As a "Kayotic" witch, she aids Tarot in defending against the Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
, who seeks to wipe them both from existence in order to disempower Tarot, Tonya, and all those who are inspired by them.
Holly Golightly
As well as being the visual inspiration for Tarot, artist/colorist Holly Golightly has appeared as the "Holly Witch", complete with chipmunk familiar Captain Paddywhack.Awards
Sunday, March 1, 2009 at the MegaConMegaCon
MegaCon, short for Mega Convention, is a large convention that caters to the comic book, sci-fi, anime, fantasy, gaming, and multi-genre community, occurring between late February and early March at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, USA.An attendee will find over of exhibit...
convention Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose and character Raven Hex won three of the twenty-five categories in the first inaugural Project Fanboy Awards. The title Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose won the category Best Title and Best Indy Title and the character Raven Hex from the aforementioned title won the category Best Indy Villain.