Jim Balent & Holly Golightly
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose has just reached issue 75. That’s 75 bi-monthly issues over 12 ½ years without missing a deadline. Additionally the title continues to grow with distribution through out Europeand digitally world wide. As part of our month long coverage of Tarot, Broadsword ‘s Jim Balet and Holly Golightly stopped by to catch readers up on Tarot.
First Comics News: How has the digital Broadsword been doing for you?
Holly Golightly: It been so very Exciting! We have 2 very strong digital vehicles.
First is our Members Only Digital Site, www.bscDigital.com,
I’m such a tech head that creating www.bscDigital.com was a blast!
We do weekly updates that includes art that is exclusive to that site, Like pages from issues that we agreed were too intense for printing. Also Sketches and some up coming exclusive projects. There are also Videos and a chatroom for readers! So for $4.99 a month , our Readers may leisurely enjoy the full contents of our site.
The other big digital experience for our Readers is the COMICS+ app created by our friends at iVerse! The whole Tarot Library is up there as well as School Bites, 3 Kittens and my Groovy Gothy Travel Guide to Disney & Universal, ” Fears & Ears”. So you can purchase and upload any issue that interests you and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, OS or many Andriod devises!
1st: Has it brought new readers?
Holly: I can only imagine is has because Tarot is most usually in the top 10 spots of COMICS+ sales every single week!
1st: How many different languages is Tarot translated into?
Holly: Tarot and School Bites are both in English and German.
1st: Different countries have different cultural standards, do you get different reactions from German fans then American fans?
Jim Balent: When we were in Germany last October to appear at a comic convention , not only were the German fans wonderful but the fans from France, England and Norway were fantastic as well! As for “culture standards” they love exactly what we love here in the States. A good story and good art. Like any good comic, if the reader can escape or be entertained by the book that he or she is reading, then I think you appeal to every country no matter what their culture is. And I think my comic Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose does that. If I was pressed to point out a difference between our cultures it would be that the nudity in comics, art and entertainment is more accepted over there.
1st: How far in advance is Tarot planned?
Jim: It depends on the storyline. Sometimes the book is planned a year in advance and sometimes as little as three months depending on what I want to write about.
1st: There is a lot of fan interaction and cosplay with Tarot, how many submission do you get a month?
Jim: I am very proud of my readers who have supported us all these years and I am very surprised to see them dressed up as my characters. I know the costumes aren’t easy to make or to even walk around in, so when I see them at cons or when they send me photos of themselves dressed as a character from Tarot or The Three Little Kittens, it always surprises me and I make sure they get spot lighted in the back of the comic. And fan interaction happens daily through emails and facebook.
1st: For anyone who has never read Tarot, what is the coolest thing about Tarot?
Jim: The coolest thing about Tarot? I think it’s what my readers tell me. That it’s a comic that is like no other out there.
It’s a supernatural adventure that deals with Magick, Witches and the Fairy world. The book is sexy, it’s strong and it’s not watered down.
Yes there is nudity in the book and yes it is a Mature Readers book.
I love the super heroes comics and I always will but if you want something different… give Tarot, Witch of the Black Rose a try.
Holly: There are so many Cool things about Tarot! The first that comes to mind is that the wonderful art you see on the cover flows all the way through into the interiors of the Comic! Even the back pages are filled with photos of our Readers, our vacations, conventions and other enjoying content.
But don’t think that you can know Tarot just from looking at her cover…yes it is beautiful and sexy but for me Tarot is a grown up’s fantasy adventure.
All us little girls that enjoyed bedtime stories of Dragons and fairies now have a fairytale with all the wonder from our childhood but with the flavors only a grown up should enjoy.
Fantastic, fun, spicy, sexy sometimes even heartbreaking drama! Tarot is created from the heart and if you open yours you’ll see all the Magick that lives on her pages.
