cover image Major Arcana

Major Arcana

John Pistelli. Belt, $24.95 trade paper (340p) ISBN 978-1-953368-92-8

Pistelli (The Ecstasy of Michaela) offers a digressive and morbid campus novel about a legendary comic book writer turned professor and his student’s suicide. Jacob Morrow, a freshman, kills himself in public view on campus, apparently at the behest of a mysterious young woman who records the act on her smartphone. Both were students in an English course taught by Simon Magnus, a thinly veiled Alan Moore (Magnus’s Moore-like work includes Marsh Man and Ratman). Following Jacob’s death, Magnus is confronted by the boy’s mother, Jessica. From there, Pistelli alternates Jessica’s flashbacks to Jacob’s upbringing with the tale of Magnus’s rise to fame, and his past relationships with women. The mysterious young woman who filmed the suicide is revealed to be Ash del Greco, who may be Magnus’s daughter, and who has a side hustle offering positive affirmations to those who desperately want to improve their lives. Pistelli’s dive into comic book lore is deep and satisfying. Unfortunately, his own plot comes up short, especially when he leans on magical realism to explain such far-fetched elements as one character’s resurrection from the dead and another character’s virgin pregnancy. Still, diehard comics fans will appreciate this. (Apr.)
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