August 2024 – In My Not So Humble Opinion

I’m a fan of the unabashedly sexy comic book series Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose written & drawn by Jim Balent and lettered & colored by Holly Golightly. The unofficial summer season is wrapping up this Labor Day weekend, so let’s take a quick look at “Ghouls Gone Wild,” a limited edition re-release of Tarot #23 and #24, originally published in late 2003.

Jon Webb, one of the supernatural guardians of Salem, receives an unexpected windfall in the form of an IRS refund. Deciding to skip out on the brutal New England winter, Jon takes his girlfriend, the sorceress Tarot, her sister Raven Hex, and their mother to Hawaii for a luxury tropical vacation.

Jon is sure that he’s finally getting away from all of the supernatural danger & intrigue that characterizes his life, although Tarot is quick to remind him that they are just as likely to encounter the magical where they are now. Her words prove to be true, as both she and Jon separately encounter dangerous mystical foes.

Meanwhile, Tarot’s friends the were-cat Boo Cat and the vampire Licorice Dust are also in Hawaii, getting ready to party it up.

“Ghouls Gone Wild” is definitely one of Balent’s wackier storylines, with plenty of comedy. He really ramps up the kinky sexcapades.

Balent also introduces a new pair of new adversaries, a squid demoness and a shark girl. He’s always had this design aesthetic wherein he has conceived pulchritudinous female characters who are an effective blending of the erotic and the horrific.

“Ghouls Gone Wild” is available for purchase through the Broadsword Comics website, along with many other issues of Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose.

Thirty years ago, in September 1994, the Marvel Action Hour made its debut with animated adaptations of longtime Marvel Comics mainstays Fantastic Four and Iron Man. The intent was clearly to replicate the success of the X-Men animated series; regrettably the writing on the Marvel Action Hour was geared towards a younger audience, and the quality of the animation was underwhelming.

However, in an interesting turn of events, Marvel Comics published two titles to tie in with these animated series, Marvel Action Hour, Featuring the Fantastic Four and Marvel Action Hour, Featuring Iron Man. Both titles adapted the animated series to comic books, in effect making them adaptations of adaptations.

The two series only ran eight issues each. But for its short run Marvel Action Hour, Featuring the Fantastic Four was a wonder to behold. Joey Cavalieri “freely adapted” the television scripts, expanding them, giving characters & events room to breathe. Six of the eight issues (and all eight covers) were illustrated by Argentine comic book artist Enrique “Quique” Alcatena. Possessing a rich, illustrative style, Alcatena did an absolutely beautiful job rendering the stories, greatly enhancing the breath & scope of events, especially the storyline involving Namor the Sub-Mariner and his undersea kingdom of Atlantis.

Here are some samples of Alcatena’s incredible artwork from Marvel Action Hour, Featuring the Fantastic Four. Looking at these, I feel it’s a pity the series did not last longer, because these were beautiful reinterpretations of the classic Stan Lee & Jack Kirby FF stories. Judging by the one panel we got of the Silver Surfer in issue #1, I have no doubt Alcatena would have produced a beautiful adaptation of the Galactus saga.