I almost missed this, the past week. The newest issue (#139) of one of the longest-running independent comic-book series of the modern era (a fact that isn’t recognized enough) came out.

It starts off with Tarot being summoned to “the realm beyond the mist” by the ancient Goddess who made her the sword maiden in the first place years ago. Of course Tarot is naked, which Jim Balent helpfully shows her from the front and the back, as she ascends the magical stairs to meet with the giant purple deity (who is also naked). The goddess informs Tarot of an evil being, a swordsman created eons ago by a lesser god, who escaped from oblivion and will be arriving in the modern world to seek revenge on the goddess by killing Tarot, her champion. She gives Tarot a new sword which should be powerful enough to kill this being, and as Tarot leaves she finds a new version of her costume ready for her, which she puts up and then randomly fights off two green trolls who appear out of nowhere.

Meanwhile, we see this swordsman, who appears as a three-horned black skeleton in a cloak attacking Raven in her private spell room, looking for Tarot. They fight it out a bit, during which Raven’s clothes are ripped off, exposing her breasts, but he’s too powerful for her and leaves her bloodied and bruised, when Tarot arrives and vows revenge, ending this issue on a cliffhanger.

There’s also a subplot of Jon out in the streets of New York in his Skeleton Man guise, following up on the costumed criminal who’s behind a string of corpse-cutting who was introduced in issue #134. This adventure also ends on a cliffhanger.

This is a great issue of action, drama, and copious amounts of female nudity that regular fans of this series have come to expect and love.

Available on AMAZON and via JIMBALENTSTUDIOS.COM