Minor Arcana, Vol. 1
Writer / Artist: Jeff Lemire
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Publication Date: March 2025
Industry legend Jeff Lemire returns to the ongoing series format with Minor Arcana, his newest work as both writer and illustrator and his first collaboration with publisher Boom! Studios. The first five issues are collected into a trade paperback out this month. In an interview with The Beat, Lemire stated his intentions for the structure of series:
I also want to celebrate the ongoing series, and single-issue comics. I want each issue to feel special, not just like one chapter of a trade paperback.
You can feel this as you read the first collected edition of the series, and it’s incredibly refreshing. It almost feels like a comic from 20 years ago, as opposed to now — it’s fully dedicated to using the serial format of comics to its betterment, and individual story arcs or plot points take only as long as they need to. The plot focuses on the misanthropic and recovering alcoholic Theresa, who returns home after finding out her phony psychic mother has fallen ill. When Theresa has to face the fact that her family’s psychic abilities might be real after all, she has to find the will to reconcile with her mother, confront her past, and help the small town she’d spent so long running from. This is combined with an aesthetic heavily drawing from the artwork and history of Tarot Cards, and Lemire’s incredible and haunting artwork. The end result is a series that feels as magical as the subjects its exploring, a rich and emotional narrative that grabbed me hook, line and sinker.
The series covers a number of themes, including mortality, grief, getting older, love and pain. It can be quite emotionally moving, particularly the incredible third issue that concludes the first story arc ‘The Fool‘. You’d think that a series covering those themes would simply be endlessly dark and depressing, but Minor Arcana is filled with a sense of adventure, heart and mystery that elevates it beyond an exercise in venting out emotional pain. Theresa has a lot of hatred for herself and for others, but it never feels overdramatic or comical. Instead, she feels like one of the most well realised characters in Lemire’s whole career, which is impressive given his strength as a character writer. Her pain feels relatable and realistic, her attempts at reform genuine and respectable, and yet she’s still heavily flawed without ever being hateable. It’s clear that Lemire feels strongly for the character, because the work he’s put in to make her feel fleshed out pays off and results in one of the best leading characters in a currently ongoing comic and possibly the most compelling protagonist of Lemire’s career, at least for me personally.
The supernatural and magical elements of the story are handled with such care and precision it is unsurprising that the series come from an experienced professional. There’s so many moments of subtle, interesting worldbuilding and fantasy that make every issue so exciting to read, dealt out at a methodical pace that keeps the reader engaged and desperate for more. It shows a remarkable level of restraint, which only makes it more compelling and unique amongst current comic titles. When combined with the serialised structure of the book, every issue itself feels like a satisfying and relatively complete story, and thus the trade paperback feels both dense and incredibly rewarding. It reminds me of reading older Vertigo comics, where there’s an overall arching plot but any given issue is great in and of itself, telling a complete, interesting and moving story.
Artwork by Jeff LemireThe town itself of Limberlost is incredibly well realised as well. The various side characters, including Theresa’s mother, grandfather, ex-girlfriend, and the local cafe owners and police officers, are given the same level of deeply intentional and careful writing as Theresa herself. Her mother in particular is a standout, a deeply complex character detestable and sympathetic at once. You hate how she treated her daughter but you can also see the scars that made her the way she is, and it makes for an incredibly rich narrative. Given that the structure of the series revolves around Theresa helping townsfolk with their troubles, it makes sense that each of them is given a unique personality, design and set of characteristics, making each issue feel different even if a similar structure is followed. By the end of the volume, that structure is already being played with, which shows that Lemire isn’t just going to take it easy and rest on the laurels of a great opening arc. Lemire’s dialogue is witty, human and dynamic, and every conversation and bit of narration feels deliberate and thought out. It’s tremendous work, and aided by letterer Steve Wands, the book feels special. Lemire, in his interview with The Beat, stated:
I want readers to fall in love with them, and the world, and go on this journey with me.
Lemire delivers some of the best artwork of his career with the series. Initially filled with washed out and muted blues and grays, the series explodes into color as more magic enters Theresa’s life. It’s a simple trick, aided in one issue by colorist Patricio Delpeche, but it works incredibly well, utilising the potential of the visual form of comics to emotionally enrich the narrative. In general, the artwork is nothing but stupendous across the series, Lemire’s first ongoing as writer / illustrator since Sweet Tooth. His artwork may not be for everyone, but fans of his like myself will be pleasantly surprised at the way he manages to challenge his own ability and attempt to really hone in on his character expression work and fantastic sense of page layout and design. It’s incredibly exciting to see an industry legend commit to such a large scale project, and I hope he continues to both write and illustrate the series as long as its feasible to do so.
Artwork by Jeff LemireOverall, Minor Arcana, Vol. 1 is an outstanding read. Lemire has clearly put a lot of work into the series and it pays off tremendously, resulting in the most interesting and fleshed out protagonist of any comic in his whole career, some of the best artwork he’s ever delivered to the page, and a collection of moving, intimate supernatural stories that are as rewarding as they can be challenging. With the series still ongoing, there’s no better time to check it out, and be awarded with a fantastic comic that shows off the best the medium can deliver in one of the strongest series currently on the shelves. Whilst it plays with some familiar territory for Lemire, it really feels like an expertly delivered evolution, and proves that this far into his career he’s still able to surprise and move readers just as well as he always has.
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