Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini

Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini
Writing and art by: Cynthia von Buhler
Published by: Titan Comics

Review by Rhian Dixon

It’s not often a Graphic Novel will make me double take. With the amount of comics and e-mails I receive from different artists and writers etc it takes something special to make me want to write a feature or a review (fun fact: I’m not very good at writing comic and book reviews so I never write them) however this was a graphic novel that I couldn’t let anyone else have. I wanted to write this feature and by damn I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it! Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Mindy Woodcock: The Girl who Handcuffed Houdini.

Synopsis
Unappreciated at her father’s agency, the fabulous, rabbit-loving Minky Woodcock straps on her gumshoes in order to uncover a magical mystery involving the world-famous escape artist, Harry Houdini.

I fell in love with our protagonist Minky Woodcock! Girl takes not shit from anyone! I wouldn’t want to mess with her. Most sultry female characters in comics, or Graphic Novels are never usually portrayed with soo much spunk! Of course this isn’t suitable for the kiddies but for us grown-up girls, especially those of us with a more active albeit peculiar, sexual appetite, this is a graphic novel we can definitely sink our teeth into!

Another aspect that drew me to this graphic novel was the artwork. It’s unsettling, but I couldn’t look away. It’s dark with it’s limited colours but beautiful in it’s own unique way. I’ve never seen artwork quite like it. When I first saw the artwork it almost looked layered, art on top of art and I loved it! The artwork suits the storyline perfectly, the way they’ve been drawn is exactly how you would picture them. It’s seductive and theatrical which is exactly what the artist is like.

Cynthia Von Buhler, or Countess Von Buhler is famous for her amazing, circus-themed parties as well as her unusual theatrical event and her artwork. Whilst also doing all of the above she is also the creator of a theatre piece which is currently running in New York which is based around the events of Minky Woodcock and apparently (I hope I’ve read this right) but it includes real-life escapology, seances and scenes which take place over three stories of a luscious, Prohibition-era speakeasy. She is also known as a painter, sculptor, illustrator, author, musician and everything else I’ve mentioned above. What an amazing artist.

Lastly, I love love LOVE the mix of fiction and non-fiction, it reminded me of the Flashman series. Even though Minky Woodcock is an entirely fictional storyline, it is based solely on real-life events eg when Harry Houdini booked two hotels rooms in Montreal.

Unique, interesting with some amazing pieces, Minky Woodcock will have you hungry for more!! I cannot wait for the next instalment!