Dynamite released the Vampirella tarot card deck last week, and I was able to get my hands on them, so here’s a quick review for you.
I really knew nothing about tarot cards, but when I heard these were being produced, I did a little research on them. I was surprised to find out that tarot cards are actually playing cards similar to a standard card deck used for games like poker, bridge, etc. However, over time they began to be used for divination purposes, which is what they are most associated with today, at least here in the US.
As for how the cards are used for divination, Dynamite has included a guide with instructions with each deck. It also lists the artwork for each card along with the artists name and the comic that the art originally appeared from. Unless you get the Kickstarter exclusive cards, all of the artwork is from the Warren era, and it looks great. They picked the perfect art for the box – the cover to Warren’s Vampirella #89 by Enrich. The back of the box features a sampling of four cards from the deck.
As for the cards themselves, there are 78 cards in total. On the back of each card is a black and gray design with the Vampirella bat logo in the middle. The front features a red-on-black border design with the card number at the top in roman numerals and the card name at the bottom. In the middle, of course is the artwork. The artwork looks amazing on these cards. They’re beautifully printed and absolutely do justice to the to the artworks which were created by some of the finest artists in the history of comics. Although they are much smaller than they originally appeared on Warren’s covers, the reproduction quality is much higher than those original magazines. I’m well acquainted with all of this artwork, but I still had to spend quite a bit of time admiring it anew when I opened these cards. It just looks that good.
If you’re a Vampirella fan, this deck is a must have. Whether you have any interest in tarot cards or divination is irrelevant. If you love Vampirella, go out and get these cards. They’re beautiful, and they aren’t expensive. They retail for $19.99, but you can get them for less than that from some sources. My local comic shop has them for $16.99.
Below is a list of all of the artists represented in the deck as well as some photos.
(In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that Dynamite provided me with a complimentary deck of cards in exchange for an honest review. I did, however, preorder them from my LCS as well, but I haven’t received those yet).
Artists
Enrich
Bill Hughes
Frank Frazetta
Vaugh Bode
Larry Todd
Ken Kelly
Sanjulián
Luis Ribas
Luis Dominguez
Bob Larkin
Marti Ripoll
Paul Gulacy
Estebon Maroto
Jose Gonzalez
Kim McQuaite
Jordi Longaron
Terrance Lindall
Noly Panaligan
Albert Pujolar
Jordi Penalva
Pictures
I found out about these cards in Previews, I was wholly unaware that Dynamite had ran a kick-starter for these, and thus I missed out on the Kick-starter cards and card box, which is depicted as different from the Enrich cover. Oh well. I bought 2 sets, so I can open one and ogle the cards, and keep the other sealed for my 40 year plus collection, I’ve been collecting Vampirella. Thank you for the Review, I’ll look forward to reading some of your other reviews
The extra cards in the Kickstarter set looked great too. They featured post-Warren era art. I wish I had participated, but hindsight is 20/20.