Comics for children: “Arcana”, a divinatory fantasy that plays the Harry Potter card

For this very gripping learning story, Serena Blasco was inspired by her passion for tarot and imagined a magical, luminous and fascinating world, above which the shadow of the young wizard of Hogwarts hovers. From 10 years old.

Fauna is the happiest of teenagers: she has just been appointed to become an apprentice to a Major Arcana, the High Priestess. She therefore joins her school, which focuses on the divinatory arts and full self-awareness, and there meets other young people with different abilities and dreams, who will study for five years in order to serve the twenty-two Arcana and safeguard the balance. of the world. But she will especially fall on Flora, who looks like her like two drops of water, and who was chosen by the terrifying Arcanum of Death…

Don’t panic: if you don’t know anything about tarot, this first volume is quite accessible. Because the author Serena Blasco, known for her comic book adaptation of the novels Enola Holmes, by Nancy Springer, and passionate about tarot, takes all her time to lay the foundations of the mythology of the arcana, major and minor: their symbolism is embodied in magicians and magicians, queens and warriors, and we very quickly go beyond the classic card game to enter an amazing yet familiar fantasy world. Surprising, because the imagination – literary as well as iconographic – of the divinatory arts opens up a very wide field for the constitution of a solid and original universe. Familiar, because the structure of the story borrows from classic initiatory novels, of which Harry Potter would be the most immediate inspiration here: two adopted children, endowed with extraordinary powers, go to study in a magical academy, while being the target of dark forces… The kinship is obvious, but is not embarrassing because it allows young readers to cling to the wire of a dense album. Better still, Arcana stands out by highlighting girls rather than boys (we would almost look for them!), and this simple bias is good.

Runes, pendulums and amulets

Arcane stands out by highlighting female characters. A bias that feels good!

Bamboo/Drakoo

With a large pagination (120 pages), this first volume therefore takes its ease to build its complex world with beautiful illustrated explanatory pages, around the Arcana, of course, but also on the mapping of places, the power of crystals , the advantages and disadvantages of the various divination tools (runes, pendulums, amulets, etc.). Fortunately, the author does not fall into pure esotericism and always keeps an eye on the thread of her saga, which will span four volumes. Without knocking down all its cards, of course, but this opening volume still has its share of twists. And a real pleasure for the eyes: because if we can blame him for a certain stiffness of movements and faces with imprecise expressions, the varied composition of the pages, the watercolor coloring and the general design are enough to captivate.

Arcana, volume 1, The Coven of the tarot, by Serena Blasco (Bamboo/Drakoo)

Arcana, volume 1, The Coven of the tarot, by Serena Blasco (Bamboo/Drakoo)

Bamboo/Drakoo

We wish to thank the writer of this write-up for this amazing content

Comics for children: “Arcana”, a divinatory fantasy that plays the Harry Potter card


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