Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini. by Cynthia von Buhler. Titan Comics. 2018. 112pp. $24.99
Having reviewed the Tesla book, it only makes sense for me to go back and review the Houdini book, the first in Cynthia von Buhler’s Minky Woodcock crime noir series. I like how von Buhler gives both men the treatment by exposing their peculiarities and destructive tendencies. In the case of Houdini, he was hell bent on demolishing the industry of seances, spiritualism and fortune telling. That kind of intense zeal triggers deadly enemies. Our story begins when, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, one of spiritualism’s biggest defenders, wishes to enlist the detective agency of Woodcock & Son to get to the bottom of Houdini’s own supposed magical powers.
From Murray Hill to Park Avenue to Montreal.
The only problem is that Minky Woodcock is the only one available and not exactly Sir Arthur’s first choice. Be that as it may, Minky manages to not only ingratiate herself with Doyle but with Houdini and his wife, Bess. Minky gets in so deep that she’s even trading places with the most notorious of seance mavens, Margery of Boston, who is famous for presiding nude over her events and emitting mysterious protoplasmic fumes from her body. Margery has a way of intruding into personal spaces that her collaborators find intoxicating. All except for Minky, who easily sees through Margery’s scam.
It’s a delight to have gone back and read this first book in the series as I appreciate all the more von Buhler’s storytelling and artwork. If it’s not clear by now, this book is for mature readers, starting with older and wiser teens. This is in the best tradition of pulp fiction with its own sense of discretion, most interested in achieving a light entertainment. That brings to mind master illustrator Robert McGinnis, known for his iconic movie posters (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Odd Couple and James Bond), who provides the cover art for the first single issue to the Houdini story. And, with that image, in all its wildly vintage sensibility, you get a quick idea of the marvelously retro content you will find inside. So, if that’s your cup of tea, then you’ve found a very special blend.
