Broken Frontier

After reaching a milestone with the publication of Tarot – Witch of the Black Rose, Broken Frontier caught up with Jim Balent and Holly Golightly to talk about the highs and the lows of the past twenty-five issues.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Tarot has just passed its 25th issue. How did it feel reaching such a landmark in the publication of the comic? Did you think you would reach that far? And how does it feel to have hit it?
JIM BALENT: Proud, surprised, the feeling of "I told you this could work!" A feeling of responsibility to the readers. So, altogether I would say it was a myriad of feelings.
Let me just explain this a bit better: when I first started Tarot, I was told by a few in the industry - the so called "People in the Know" - that I wouldn't make money and that it wouldn't see life after issue #2. Basically, it was a bad idea to start my own company and self-publish. Well, here I am at issue #25 and beyond. I don't say this with spite or vengeance. I say it out of 'if you have a dream just do it, don't listen to the naysayers, just be honest in your creations and treat your readers with respect and not like an open wallet that you can fleece.'

BF: Why did you decide that Witchcraft was what you wanted to focus on when first coming up with the idea?
JB: Witchcraft has always fascinated me. The more I read, the more I wanted to know. It was the perfect blend of mythology and reality. For years I had Tarot in the back of my mind just waiting for the chance to let her out. However, I wanted my comic to be different from the superhero witch comics. If my character was going to be a witch then she would have all the prejudice that came with that title in the modern world. I did not want to water her theology down and just have her shoot lighting bolts just to politically correct the book to sell more copies. I knew I had a great responsibility to make sure my witch heroine lived up to the morals and codes of witches today. One of the first decisions I had to make was if Tarot was going to be a voice of witches, then I didn't want her to be from any one tradition. In witchcraft there are many traditions and to peg her into one of those traditions would have only given her one voice.  Keeping her open to all traditions gives her the voice of many in the craft.

BF: What kind of reception did you receive when you first started publishing this comic? Both from the industry at large and from the fans?
JB: The fans loved it whether they were witches or not, they were and still are a great support and inspiration. I have great respect for the readers, the ones that have followed me for years and the ones that just picked up my book yesterday. I feel a great responsibility with each page I draw and write to give the readers their bang for their money. Without them, I and the comic industry would not exist. I thank them every time I see them at cons and listen to their personal stories. They are not moneybags, even though the corporate comic companies view them so. They are part of the Broadsword family I will not dishonour them with gimmicks. I don't water down my stories or my art to make the book acceptable to everyone and I believe they respect that.
In short, I don't treat them as immature. As for the rest of your question, the industry and storeowners were happy to get a new #1. For the most part they are supportive but there are a few that will over look the wants of their customers and not order it because they are either offended over the nudity in the book or because its a positive book about witchcraft. This is something that I knew was going to happen but I am still shocked when I hear about it. I guess I felt that we as adults would have reached a point in our life and education to accept other religions and not to view the nude body as something dirty and evil. But I am wrong.

BF: Following the series from Issue 1, I can see a development in your art style and willingness to push boundaries, is this from a perceived idea that you needed to start slowly introducing your readers to the comic and what you wanted to do with it? Or is this a growth from you as a creator?
JB: It is a bit of both. Looking back, the first four issues are more "mainstream" if you will. That was a reflection on certain "In the Know" people filling my head with doubt. The entertainment value was there. The educational value was there. The action in the book was there and the sensuality of the book was there too... somewhat. It wasn't until issue #5 that I felt more at ease with expressing the sexual side of witchcraft. Nudity and fertility play a big part in the craft. And that was not being portrayed as much as I thought it should in the book. I thought it was important to start showing full nudity and to show that being nude and sexuality is not viewed as a bad thing in the craft. I realize that some traditions in witchcraft do not include nudity in their spells or rituals. That is fine. Working skyclad is not mandatory. However I do have a problem with so called witches who say that nudity and sexuality have nothing to do with the craft. These people are watering down the craft so that their religion would be less scary to the PC community. These people, who are trying to sell books, are trying desperately to be accepted. All they are doing is hurting themselves and the Craft.

BF: From a small-press point of view, how hard has it been to sustain a comic that is contrary to the current atmosphere in America?
JB: From any point of view it is hard. We have a BIG BIG problem in the United States. For some reason we can show a guy getting his brains shot out but we can't show a nude woman getting into a bath. Janet Jackson shows a breast and America freaks out! I have taken a lot of heat from the industry and the "People in the know" because I draw woman so voluptuous. They believe there is an acceptable size to a breast and that nudity is still pornographic. What they are really saying is that if your shape does not fit our standards of acceptability then your body type is unacceptable. I have a problem with that! I have many female readers of every shape and size who have followed me throughout the years and have praised me for showing a full figure woman in a positive strong role. Those female readers know that I am not saying that they should look like Tarot. I am saying they can be proud and strong with any body type even if society tries to deem it and make it immoral. Society/America/the comic industry are sending a bad message to women by telling them they are a joke or just a sexual object if they exceed certain body measurements. They should remember that there are women out there that do look like my drawings and that they have feelings too.

BF: How hard has it been dealing with organisations that see it as their crusade to stamp out anything seen as 'amoral' or have you managed to avoid that kind of attention?
JB: Not just organizations but companies have refused to print my mugs, my backdrop or carry my T-shirts in their stores because it had the word "Witch" in the title. They claim they are a family company and that the word witch is promoting an undesirable life style. Yet these same companies print and sell shirts and mugs that say "porn star". I don't have any problem with porn stars. I have the problem with the companies pretending not to be bigots and rejecting me only because my product portrays witches in a positive light. I have also been confronted by certain conservative religious groups at shows and they all were very belligerent to me and my models because my book is pro witchcraft. They have little tolerance for any faith that is not their own and treat other people of different faiths as if they were less then human. This is very sad. It's that kind of attitude that makes zealots fly planes into buildings.

BF: There is often a great sense of fun from your comics. Is this the case? Do you find working on a small scale gives you the chance and freedoms to enjoy working in comics? Away from the political machinations that can often come with working in a larger company?
JB: There is a lot of freedom in being your own boss and owning your own comic book company. The sense of humour and fun that is injected into the stories all come from just life experiences.  It's very refreshing to see your heroes in comical moments. It happens to every one whether they are in an intimate setting or a serious one. Life is just that way and it is reflected in the books. A lot of time I am asked where do I get the ideas for my book and the truth of the matter is from my life and the friends around me.
Lucky for me, the girls who work with me at the studio, Holly, Meredith and some of the other models have great life stories. A lot of that gets mixed into the book. People would be very surprised to know how much of these stories are true, and many female readers have come up to me at shows and have told me that what happen in Tarot has also happened to them. Everything from losing their top on the beach in front of everyone to being persecuted for being a witch. So yes, humour is a big part of the comic.

BF: Tarot is pretty much the main staple of Broadsword comics; do you have any plans for any other minis, like Three Little Kittens?
JB: Yes, I have plenty of ideas but only two hands. They will be done, but I just need time. As for the Three Little Kittens, they will be making an appearance in Tarot #28 which is due out in September of 2004. I've been dying to continue their story and this will be the quickest way to bring them back. Also, the readers have been asking to see them again.

BF: How do you think working on Tarot has affected how you deal with things on a larger scale? It is a comic that explores some of the more unusual aspects of our culture, has it helped you become more liberal or is it your open-mindedness that lead to the creation of Tarot?
JB: If I had created Tarot 10-15 years ago, she might have been a very one-dimensional character. I did not have the life experience or the book knowledge about the craft to really understand the mysterious. I believe now I can see clearer. I came from a conservative background; I always thought I had an opened mind. But it wasn't until I started to read more about history and theology that the blinders slowly lifted. I will not pretend I am totally open-minded for that would mean I would be finish growing as a person and in knowledge. I would say I am more open-minded than most. I would not say I am liberal. That to me implies a political party affiliation and that would put me into a box. I have become more tolerant and less tolerant at the same time. I have a greater respect for life and it should be celebrated.
However, at the same time I believe the man who causes harm, physically or mentally, his life should be forfeited. I know this sounds grim and hypocritical, but I have seen the pain and death of cancer and life is too short to be wasted on others who want to hurt or enslave you, or to be concerned over a nipple on TV or in a comic. I believe Tarot is a door in which the reader and I enter into a world of magick and reality. If it makes the reader entertained for only a few minutes... that's fine.  If it makes the reader pick up a few books on the craft or to examine his or her beliefs then that's even better. The book isn't meant to be a preaching project to convert the masses. It is meant to entertain and educate. I interview witches in the back of every issue to help with the learning process.
To wrap it all up, the book should be fun to read and experience. If nothing else hopefully I have shown that the nude female body is nothing to be feared or something to be hidden because it is believed by some to be a dirty thing. It should be celebrated and seen, in art, in music, in the written word...in life. 

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BF: Holly, School Bites is a new mini-series to be released by Broadsword, is this an idea you have had for some time Holly? Has working for Broadsword changed your approach to writing your own comics?
HG: Not really... I drew a little vampire schoolgirl while relaxing one night and Jim thought it looked real cute and we decided to put her on a T-shirt. I was getting a lot of encouragement from him to do drawings that I liked because I was so unhappy working for 'Archie Comics’.
As for the second part of your question, all I can say is... You bet!!! [Laughs] I get to do what I want and what I need to express. I know what the end result will be since I'm there every step of the way...so I find a major satisfaction in that!

- Immelda Alty