Minor Arcana #1 Review

 

Writer, Artist & Colorist: Jeff Lemire

Letterer: Steve Wands

Cover Artists: Jeff Lemire; Tula Lotay & Dee Cunniffe; Dustin Nguyen; David Mack; Jenny Frison; Fernando Rosales; Michael Dialynas; Kevin Wada; Soo Lee

Designers: Tom Muller & Grace Park

Editors: Maya Bollinger, Eric Harburn & Matt Gagnon

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 4, 2024

 

After years in the big city, Theresa returns to her hometown. She dreads the move, but her mother needs her. Can Theresa make this situation work? Or is it a dumpster fire that will incinerate her life? Let’s grab our Tarot decks, leap into Minor Arcana #1, and find out!

 

Story

The bus driver shouts at her. Theresa awakens from a dream. She has arrived! Theresa lumbers out and glares at Limberlost. She drags her roller bag to the local Psychic shop. But Theresa can't face her mom yet and heads to Stella’s Café for a cup of joe. The waitress invites her to sit anywhere she likes. Theresa takes a table and stares out the window at her mom’s shop. Suddenly, the waitress is getting all personal, reminding her of their High School days. Theresa can’t take this. Not now. So, there’s nothing for it. It’s time to reenter her mom’s world.

 

Nothing has changed. Theresa's mom welcomes her warmly. Then Vickie mentions that she expected Theresa yesterday. Vickie also wonders why Theresa doesn't take more pride in her appearance. Vickie dresses to impress her clients and create the supernatural aura they love. But all Theresa sees is a sham. Her mother puts on a show. Vickie preys on people's sadness in this no-hope town that most dream of escaping but never do. Theresa can't respect her mom. Suddenly, all the old frustrations and anger arise. Theresa hurries to the local tavern. But drinking will only bring a momentary escape. Besides, she is on the wagon. So, Theresa tracks down what used to satisfy her. There's nothing there for her now. Still, there is comfort in memories.

 

In Minor Arcana #1, Jeff Lemire tackles the difficulties of escaping our past. Theresa moved away, but new friends and work didn’t fill the aching void inside her. Now, her mother is sick. Vickie needs her. And according to Vickie, Limberlost needs Theresa. No preppy influencers or commercial interests are revitalizing Limberlost. In this small community, people seek connection. Theresa observed her mother with clients while growing up. So what if it is all a show? The future is a scary place. Theresa can offer them guidance. Theresa can assure mourners that their loved ones still care about them. The clients want to believe what Theresa will tell them. After all, doesn’t everyone need something to believe in?

 

Minor Arcana #1 is subtitled The Fool: Part One. But is the Fool card up or reversed? If it falls upright, the Tarot card offers the possibility of new beginnings. But if reversed, it portends folly, lack of direction, and poor judgment. Theresa’s life up ‘til now seems rooted in the reversed card. Perhaps there is still time to turn her life around.

 

Art

Theresa's cheekbones jut out, and lines surround her eyes when she frowns. The wind blows her straggly hair out of her drawn face as the slim woman drags her roller bag past barren trees and old stone and brick buildings. A church steeple rises above the thrift shop and the coin laundry. While most people Theresa passes return her frown, Kelly’s eyes glow, and a smile stretches across her face when Theresa says something Kelly wants to hear.

 

Jeff Lemire lavishes watercolors on his hand-drawn art in Minor Arcana #1. The green and blue skies press down on this town of yellow, brown, and gray buildings. Kelly's red jacket outshines Teresa's gray pants and the green stripes on her sweater. The warm brown and yellow psychic shop suggests vitality. Red neon signs glow in the windows. The drawn drapes hint at purple. But Theresa dreads entering the shop, with its red walls, purple drapes and tablecloth, and a purple lamp that shines down on a smoky yellow and brown globe.

 

Steve Wands conjures black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Frequent intonation emboldens and enlarges words. The wonky wheel’s clacking draws a passerby’s attention as Theresa heads for the house she used to call home. Yet the knocking that fills her mother’s shop could transform Theresa’s life in Minor Arcana #1. Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

A dream plagues Theresa while she sleeps. She returns to it again and again. She ran away from her hometown for as long as she could. Now, she is back in Limberlost. Theresa must face whatever her subconscious and the universe want to tell her in Minor Arcana #1. After all, life is but a dream.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.