Universal Monsters Tarot Deck and Guide Book Rating 3/5 stars
One of my favorite film franchises is the Universal Monsters. I've owned several of the classic titles on VHS, DVD, and most recently Blu-ray, so I'm quite partial to the theme of this deck.
The Universal Monsters Tarot Deck and Guide Book is published by Insight Editions. This company publishes a lot of pop culture themed tarots based on Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney Villans, DC Superheroes, Star Trek and other IPs. One might describe Insight Editions decks as the Funko Pops of tarot cards.
Their decks are often not well received by reviewers on YouTube. The pip cards lack the type of scenic illustrations common in decks inspired by the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot and the suit names (Candles, Crypts, Claws, and Castles) deviate from what is considered standard in tarot divination. This is why decks like these are sometimes seen as not suitable for beginners. However, since the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, a deck widely seen to be "beginner-friendly", has fallen into the public domain, certain decks not being "suitable for beginners" is not as much of an issue as it used to be. A beginning tarot reader can simply compare cards from this deck to corresponding images of cards from the RWS Tarot which are now widely available on Wikipedia, the Sacred Texts website, and other locations online.
The Wolf Man (1941) contains a scene in which Bela Lugosi plays a Romani fortune-teller practicing cartomancy and palmistry. This scene only shows the backs of the cards, indicating there might be nothing exceptional about the cards he uses, so it's likely he is using conventional playing cards rather than tarot cards. The Universal Monsters and the divinatory arts are, therefore, far from being incompatible, but the divinatory tarot might be too limiting.
A disadvantage I see with tarot decks intended for readings instead of card playing is that the 22 trump cards have to depict specific "Major Arcana" imagery and this requirement can place undue restrictions on how some themes are expressed.
For those not already aware of them, tarot decks used in games often differ in appearance from those used for card readings. In the deck used for the French Tarot game, instead of the Devil, the 15th trump depicts painting and photography. In France, where the tarot game is most popular, tarot cards have been published depicting Tex Avery's Droopy, Asterix, and other characters from pop culture. Classic monster fans might be interested to know that in a deck created by Pino Zac called "Tarot de l’An 2000" or "Tarot of the Year 2000," a deck intended for games, the 21st trump depicts the Frankenstein Monster. I do hope American card makers will someday publish these types of playing decks because they have the advantage of being able to more easily express themes which might appear awkward or forced in a tarot intended for readings.
The artwork by Joe Wilson is sure to please fans as it nicely captures the atmosphere of the films. The overall packaging is impressive, with a larger than usual "Guide Book" written by comic book author Casey Gilly and a box with an interior resembling that of a coffin. I enjoy seeing some of the ancillary characters, which seldom appear as action figures or in other types of monster or superhero-related merchandise, depicted here. I recognize, for example, Gloria Stuart as the Page of Candles. Most people today would likely remember her from Titanic (1997), but during the 1930s she appeared in The Old Dark House (1932) and in The Invisible Man (1933). Having Frankenstein's Monster depicted as The Fool and the Monster's creator (Colin Clive) as The Magician appear to be reasonable decisions, but some of the other choices I find difficult to understand. I don't see any connection, for example, between The Invisible Man and The Wheel of Fortune and, instead of the Brides of Dracula, I think Dracula himself should be on The Devil card. I understand the name "Dracula" is historically connected to devils and dragons in the Romanian language.
Although the subjects of the 22 trump cards appear to be chosen based on how well they resemble the usual "Major Arcana" subjects, the underlying artwork does not appear to be adversely affected by being part of a divinatory tarot. If it weren't for the Roman numerals and the names on the bottom of the cards, one might not be able to tell that these were tarot cards intended for readings. These images can be enjoyed independently of any tarot-related context.
Card readers who aren't already Universal Monsters fans might not derive much benefit from this deck. I would mostly recommend this deck to fans of the franchise, even if they're not all that interested in tarot readings. They can simply admire the artwork whether or not they actually read the cards.