Dame Darcy Mermaid ver. 3

mydearruby

Well, I had thought of asking whether it is possible to still buy the old version as well, but then I decided I'll give this one a try first. I should just not compare the deck I have with the pictures online of the previous version, and learn to work with the one I have.

Same thing here for me too. I have mixed feelings toward the 3rd edition--both for its sepia filter and for the new images that clearly do not fit into the old ones. I wish she could have taken some time to smooth out the difference. I have to comfort myself that for a self-published deck with pop-art relish some imperfection might just add to its lure.
 

mydearruby

and honestly, I prefer the moon and the temperance in the 2nd edition! The female figures are less imposing and more suggestive with more environmental depiction!
 

mabcosmic

I had no idea she made a new version with 22 new cards. They do look better from what I can see. I am glad the inconsistent borders have been corrected.

To everyone who claims she plagiarised the deck from Tarot of the Mermaids: I wouldn't necessarily say she traced it but, redrew the images in her own comic book style. Don't forget for that the Queen of Cups is Dame Darcy herself in a mermaid outfit. I have seen the videos that were posted comparing the deck. Yes, there are many similarities to the deck. But it they have been changes made to certain images. One that comes to mine is the Queen of Pentacles being changed from a white woman to a black woman. Not to mention that if this deck were blatant plagiarism a) Why didn't she bother coping the ENTIRE deck and not just 18 cards? b) Why would she bother making the effort redrawing/"tracing" the deck, when she could just scan all of the cards, use Pixlr, Gimp, or another Photoshop-esque programme to manipulate them?

As the representative from LoScarabeo mentioned in the locked thread: The Waite-Smith was inspired by the Sola Busca deck. Would you call Pamela Colman-Smith a plagiarist for "blatantly copying" the Sola Busca deck?

It's still different enough to read as different mermaid tarot decks. Inspired from Tarot of the Mermaids? Yes? Tracing? Maybe. Blatant plagiarism? No.

Thank you for this post because it's really bothering me how she's being thrown under the bus. As far as I'm concerned, the deck is beautiful. I also wish I had half the talent she has.

I think that even if she did apologize, it would not do anything to quell the intense anger and hatred against her. It would only increase any potential legal troubles by admission of guilt and good for her for releasing the new deck on a positive note. She has a right to remain silent about any allegations against her. The Constitution protects her from self incrimination. It's called civil rights.
 

feynrir

Thank you for this post because it's really bothering me how she's being thrown under the bus. As far as I'm concerned, the deck is beautiful. I also wish I had half the talent she has.

I think that even if she did apologize, it would not do anything to quell the intense anger and hatred against her. It would only increase any potential legal troubles by admission of guilt and good for her for releasing the new deck on a positive note. She has a right to remain silent about any allegations against her. The Constitution protects her from self incrimination. It's called civil rights.

This is a good point and offers a nice balance in approaches to the situation. I have learned something, and I certainly can appreciate positivity and correction in light of new perspectives and findings.

I still disapprove of what happened though. I don't have "hatred" or "intense anger" toward her; I have never even seen the deck in person, much less owned it. I am just disappointed to hear about what I frankly consider to be plagiarism. It crosses a line for me. If it doesn't cross a line for others, so be it.
 

gregory

I like the deck a lot. I was mildly concerned, when I heard about this, that Lo Scarabeo might be concerned; as they aren't, nor am I.
 

MaeWasteland

As the Sola Busca deck was from 1491 and the Rider-Waite was published in 1909, it is not really the same issue. I am not quite sure why LoScarabeo made that particular comparison. If we wait 400 years, we can likely copy most anything.

I will be interested to see comparisons between the new and old decks though. Somewhere I had said that my initial interest was that the deck had reminded me of old maps and I'm not sure that the new cards have that look; however, it may just be my impression that is off. (In the end I just decided I wasn't a mermaid person.)

Diana

Plagiarism and copyright infringement aren't the same thing, though. Copyright infringement has a time limit, and is generally quite clearly defined. Plagiarism is a bit more wooly, particularly with artistic works as opposed to, say, factual essays. Did Clueless plagiarise Emma, or was it inspired/influenced by it? Most would say the latter. Did about half the music released in the mid/late 90s in the UK plagiarise the Beatles or was it influenced by them? Strictly speaking, none of it was similar enough to any specific bits of any specific Beatles songs to have been legally actionable, but my goodness it got boring when eeeeeeverything basically sounded like a half-forgotten (for good reason) Beatles B-side. If I submitted an essay at university with great chunks 'borrowed' from a 17th Century text with no attribution, that would be plagiarism for sure, copyright or no copyright.

I was certainly somewhat uncomfortable when I saw That Thread with all the similarities pointed out, but there are also some huge differences, not only in the fact that most of the cards bear no particular resemblance to their equivalents in the other deck, but because the art style is so different (and also quite coherent, it's not like the cards which were similar to ToM cards were in a markedly different art style to the rest of the deck.) If the creator (or at least the creator's publisher, I don't know if the artist responded) is happy that it's not plagiarism, but inspiration, then fair enough.
 

Laura Borealis

I just watched a video on YouTube comparing the old and new side-by-side. I don't have the new one yet, mine is the second edition. I thought I would like the old cards better, but it turns out most of the new ones are really appealing. They tend to be more up-close, which to me gives them more impact.

I haven't seen a list anywhere yet. I wrote them down as I watched -

Empress
Hierophant
Hermit
Temperance
Moon

Ace of Wands
Five of Wands
Seven of Wands
Eight of Wands
Ten of Wands

Ace of Pents
Two of Pents
Eight of Pents
King of Pents

Three of Cups
Four of Cups
Nine of Cups
King of Cups

Ace of Swords
Nine of Swords
Knight of Swords

I only counted 21 new cards in that video, not 22 as some here have said, so if I missed one please correct me :)

I really love the new Empress and Temperance. The new Aces are also great. Really I like almost all of the updates.

There's just one or two where I prefer the old one. For instance the Hierophant, while I love the new image, the actual Hierophant is reduced to a background element which to me detracts from the meaning. Then there's the Moon, which I totally understand needed to be changed, but I did love that mermaid-lobster crawling awkwardly out of the water. The new one seems like more of a moon worship thing than the traditional meaning, even with the octopus tentacles. But you know, it's really a subjective preference and I can live with these changes.

I was really glad to see that none of the Queens have changed! I love me some Dame Darcy Queens. And the King of Wands, I'm so glad he's still the same.

The old borders never bothered me, but it's nice that they've been evened up. I don't think the slightly darker sepia of the new version would bother me a bit. It's just a small change, from what I could tell. I mean, the ones I have already have that old parchment look.

I'm not going to rush to buy the new one, as there are some books on my wish list that I want first. But I'm sure eventually I'll pick one up. If there's a Mermaid Parade on Tybee again this year, maybe she'll be selling them there. :cool3:
 

Sigrdrifa

Well well, that new version reads like a dream. I don't know what's up with the card stock but cards tend to fall out, I haven't had to fan out the deck once so far. I say it's a keeper.
 

Sigrdrifa

Laura, thank you for mentioning the youtube video. I looked it up and you're right, there's 21 new cards. The woman in the video also mentions most of the new cards are more 'in your face' which, now she mentioned it, I notice too. The new scenes are drawn from up close instead of the distance so many of the older cards have.

I'm still no fan of the difference in brightness and blurryness, but in this comparison I also see both borders and stock have improved.
 

Laura Borealis

You're welcome :) I should have linked it before - here it is. https://youtu.be/Bs8AP4niq2I

I laughed when she said "I do love the sailors" in her delightful accent. :laugh: