Story and Art by Jim Balent
“Temple of the Fallen Mermaids” part 1″
Tarot finds the long lost and fabled “Temple of the Fallen Mermaids” in search of a sacred relic so that she can help save the witches. The downside to all this is that the Mermaid Queen is really ticked off because a group of magi pirates were just there and tried to loot the temple of its sacred relics. The downside to all this is that the Mermaid Queen almost died after the magi pirates tied her to a slab of stone so that she could rot in the sun. The upside to all this is that the Mermaid Queen escapes, just as Tarot is arriving at the temple. While the Mermaid Queen and Tarot are having it out in an awesome multi page fight scene Tarot tries to be convincing that she is not there to loot the temple, rather to work out some form of accommodation with the Mermaid Queen. Well you know how this is going to end, not good for Tarot.
Tarot is knocked unconscious during the fight and wakes to find herself hung in shark tank (read number 71 to work out how she got out of that mess) while the Mermaid Queen is nowhere to be seen. As the Mermaid Queen said, only the sea will work out if Tarot is being honest or not, and the only way to do that is to survive being hung by chains in shark infested waters.
Good cliffhanger for this smaller story line, and if you are picking up the series here there are going to be issues with understanding continuity. Lots of good gratuitous nudity throughout so be aware that this is a mature audiences comic book. There is also a save the oceans portion to the story line in that the Mermaid Queen is really ticked off about medical waste in the ocean and what that is doing to the mermaid culture. Nothing wrong with a little moralizing while watching two nearly naked people fighting it out with swords. Tarot really tries to convince the Mermaid Queen that this is not her fault, these are not her people, but then she gets knocked out.
Overall what I would expect from Tarot, so the standard five of five stars on this one. Interesting story line and a departure for the character, this really does not read or feel like the standard Tarot story, and that in its own way is pretty amazing. Very enjoyable and worth picking up a physical copy, although Broadsword Studios has started doing day and date digital as well. No matter how you pick this up, it is worth getting.
