The Tarot Café: First Book

Hi guys! How's everything going in that life?

¡Hola chicos! ¿Cómo va todo en esa vida?

I know I've been dissapeared but as you already know, was for a good reason. Didn't you join the joint reading yet? I wanna see those names in my mail, so do it!

Sé que he estado desparecido últimamente, pero como ya saben, fue por una buena razón. ¿No se unieron a la lectura conjunta? Quiero ver esos nombres en mi correo, ¡así que háganlo!

Lately I've been reading many mangas and comics, so I'll be posting many reviews and more often than before; let's begin with the first one! :D

Últimamente he leído muchos mangas y cómics, así que estaré publicando más reseñas que antes y más a menudo; ¡empecemos con el primero! :D 

Read it in Spanish here.

Leer en español aquí.

Get a blender, mix divination with the Tarot cards, immortality, paranormal genre and A LOT of magic creatures, decorate it with some gothic drawing, some action, and you’ll get the first manhwa I read: The Tarot Café. To make it clear: Manhwas are the comics/mangas from South Korea.

We’re gonna meet Pamela, an immortal psychic that uses the cards to discover the past, present and future of her clients, those who enter to her café, most of them magical creatures: speaking cats, vampires, fairies, alchemists, and some humans too.

As usual, they have the B&W style, not even a grey scale. I’ve never liked it so   much, but with the style of the art and the story, I think it was the best option. It has that strange, old air that feels fresh at the same time.

The first story, “A Wish-Fulfilling Cat,” was very entertaining, creative, and introduced Pamela very well, the way the story will be performed; I don’t know how, but it had a charming that couldn’t be denied and make you keep reading until the end.

I felt as if the characters wanted more space to tell their story, as if some scenes were erased so it used less pages, and it’s a shame because it would have been a wonderful experience to get to know them deeper.

The second story, “Eternal Beauty,” was better than that, if you like dark stories. Darker, more romantic, more gothic, with a stronger plotline and better constructed characters. Tragic and sweet at the same time, with a fastest pace; I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone told me it was based in a XIX century romance.

This time, the space was enough and I enjoyed so much it became my second favorite story; very well created, developed and with human characters. You could even feel their pain passing the pages!

The third, “A Fairy,” was a great contemporary retelling of Cinderella’s story, very funny, I should say, and entertaining as well. I didn’t like it as much as the second because of the chick-lit tone it had, but it’s versatility where a writer’s greatness resides.

At this point, it becomes crystal clear we’re in front of an anthology-story book; think in a darker, gothic version of AHS without the blood and the sex, something less commercial and much more artistic.

The fourth and final story’s my favorite, “A Heartless Princess, an Alchemist and a Jester (Part I)” It had everything a gothic love story should have and even more. It was pleasant to read it and I’d do it again with no doubt!

The medieval touch and the contrast with the actual world was a great part. Despite the author doesn’t explore the alchemy as we’d have liked, she deepens about the two primal human feelings, how they work and how they can change a person faster than you can imagine: Love and Hate.

Each one of them touches a different theme that we all like: not corresponded love, immortality, kindness and what is it really a true love. They way Sang-Sun Park uses them is really original, beautiful and very poetic, if you think more about it.

When it comes to the graphics, I’d say they weren’t of my likes, but, once you get deep in the plots and its characters, it doesn’t really bother you, and if you like it, you’ll love it even more because it’s very stylized with a lot of care in every line.

As for the reading in general, is very fast, you can easily start and finishing it in the same day; I did so, and whoever my like Poe’s creations, will feel the same about it, maybe in a weaker way for the “pink scenes”, but like it anyway.

Greetings and hugs!

¡Un saludo y un abrazo!