Tarot: A Graphic History: Pamela Colman Smith's story of arcana, symbols & magic

by Valentina Grande, Chiara Raimondi

Little-known artist Pamela Colman-Smith was the overlooked partner in the world-famous Rider-Waite Tarot deck. This magical graphic novel reclaims her story and shows how her destiny was intertwined with the arcana she illustrated.

Pamela Colman-Smith: artist, occultist, true bohemian. Her illustrations defined the iconography of the classic tarot deck, but she is all too often forgotten.

Born in London in 1878, Colman-Smith moved to Jamaica with her parents at the age of eleven and then to New York to study art. She dropped out of college following her mother's death in 1896, and after her father died in 1899 she found herself back in London, joining the infamous Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society dedicated to the study of occultism. It was there that she met Arthur Edward Waite, with whom she created the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck that is still in print today.

This beautifully illustrated graphic history tells Colman-Smith's tale and relates it to the iconic cards she helped to create, from the Fool, the beginning of every new adventure, to the Magician, who focusses energy, to the Hanged Man, who helps us see things from a different angle, until finally we embrace the World and fulfill our destinies.

A unique take on a perennially popular subject, you'll never look at a tarot deck in the same way again.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Tarot

128 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 2025

About the author

Valentina Grande is a teacher and a radio author and host for the literary programmes McLuhan Is Here, 42 - The Answer, and Simply Salinger, airing on Radio Onda d’Urto and Radio Città Fujiko. In 2017, she wrote the script and screenplay for the graphic novel Il mio Salinger (My Salinger), BeccoGiallo editions,
published in France for Steinkis editions.
She currently lives and works in Bologna, Italy.

Reviews

[Dubzor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh, what a mess. Is it a bio of Pamela or is it "baby's introduction to tarot?" You do one much better than the other while at the same time undermining her other acheivements in life with little more than a sentence's mention.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art was great, but the storytelling was not good. This book didn’t know whether it wanted to be fiction or nonfiction; a biography or intro to tarot. Really choppy chapters and an unsatisfying ending.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!
This is such a unique and stunning graphic novel. The untold story of Pamela Colman-Smith has never been so beautiful... I can’t wait to own a physical copy upon its release!

[Summer Stark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. Very whimsical.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be a really great read for those who are just getting into tarot and its meaning/modern origins!

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've avoided working with the tarot, and I've never been drawn to the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith deck because I didn't resonate with the illustrations. After reading this book, I feel I have a greater understanding of how the cards work and the illustrations themselves. By using the structure of Smith doing readings for a group of women, the author does a great job mixing in information about the tarot and its illustrator Pamela Colman Smith. The illustrative style uses Smith's work as an inspiration and sets the mood brilliantly.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend this to anyone who is curious about tarot.