''Minky Woodcock'' is a fictional

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

series created by writer-artist

Cynthia von Buhler Cynthia von Buhler (; born Cynthia Carrozza, 1964) is an American artist, author, playwright, performer, and producer. Early life Cynthia von Buhler was born Cynthia Carrozza and raised in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the middle child in an ...

. The title character is a private detective who has appeared in two

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

published by

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

Hard Case Crime Hard Case Crime is an American imprint of hardboiled crime novels founded in 2004 by Charles Ardai (also the founder of the Internet service Juno Online Services) and Max Phillips. The series recreates, in editorial form and content, the flavor o ...

imprint and a theatrical show. The storylines feature sizeable appearances from historical figures such as

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

Creation

Von Buhler researched the death of Houdini and based the story on true crime evidence. She found Houdini a "fascinating character", and admitted to taking some liberties, stating she "added a little S&M innuendo to the storyline and book title." Von Buhler was relatively new to comics, her only previous work in the medium being working on ''

Evelyn Evelyn Evelyn Evelyn are a fictional musical duo created by Amanda Palmer (of The Dresden Dolls) and Jason Webley. According to the backstory provided by Palmer and Webley, the duo consists of conjoined twin sisters (aka "Eva" and "Lyn"), Evelyn and Ev ...

'' for

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

. Von Buhler made the character

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

in reference to her own

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

. The author often visited Metairie Cemetery for inspiration. From the start Buhler envisioned the series as both a comic and a stage show, modelling many of the characters on real-life actors she was acquainted with from previous theatre work, particularly

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

performers. Minky Woodcock was visually modelled on entertainer

Pearls Daily Pearls Daily (born Brianna Hurley) is an American actress, dancer, burlesque artist, filmmaker, and model. She has credits in theatre, film, television, and commercials. Career Daily began her career under the name Brianna Hurley, and made one ...

, who also posed for alternate photo covers of some issues; Bess Houdini was drawn after

Robyn Adele Anderson Robyn Adele Anderson (born February 19, 1989) is an American singer and stage actress based in New York City. She is a cast member and featured artist for Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox with over 250 million YouTube views on her music videos. ...

; Miss La Chatte was drawn from Delysia La Chatte; and Margery on

Veronica Varlow Veronica Varlow is a burlesque dancer, pin-up model, actress, producer, and performance artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She was the owner of the former internet boutique Danger Dame, which specialized in clothing inspired by burlesque, cabaret ...

Publishing history

The first issue of ''Minky Woodcock - The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini'' was published in November 2018, and von Buhler threw a lavish launch party attended by many of those involved in the series' creation, including many of the models

David W. Mack David W. Mack is an American comic book artist and writer, known for his creator-owned series ''Kabuki'' and for co-creating with Joe Quesada the Marvel Comics superhero Echo. Early life Mack graduated from Ludlow High School in 1990, where h ...

and Robert McGinnis were among the cover artists for the series. Von Buhler was interviewed alongside Daily and

founder

Charles Ardai Charles Ardai (born 1969) is an American entrepreneur, businessperson, and writer of award winning crime fiction and mysteries. He is founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels. He is also an early employe ...

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a f ...

in 2018. After the four-issue mini-series concluded, Titan collected it as a single hardback volume. In a sequel was announced soon afterwards, initially planned to concern the death of Olive Thomas and named as ''Minky Woodcock: They Die Fast on Broadway!''. However, the second mini-series would not appear until 2021, now pairing Minky with

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

as she felt it had been covered before, and implied the Olive Thomas storyline would instead become a third series.

Plot

Minky is the daughter of famed private detective Benedict Woodcock, reputed to be the inspiration for

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

. Her mother drowned when she was young and her brother - Benedict Jr or simply Bennie - has no interest in being a detective, instead wanting a career in dance; nevertheless he is part of the Benedict & Son agency. Mindy, a devoted fan of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

(with a pet

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

named after the author), very much wants to be a detective but is instead the agency's secretary - much to her displeasure.

''The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini''

In October 1926,

attempts to engage the agency to expose

, but Woodcock and son are absent on business in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Doyle believes the

escapologist Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and ot ...

and sceptic to be supernaturally gifted, using his abilities to act as a gatekeeper for the spiritual world. Minky is stunned that the creator of the logical Sherlock Holmes has such strong spiritual beliefs. He persuades her to attend a séance held by

Margery __NOTOC__ Margery is a heavily buffered, lightly populated hamlet in the Reigate and Banstead district, in the English county of Surrey. It sits on the North Downs, is bordered by the London Orbital Motorway, at a lower altitude, and its predom ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

; Minky isn't fooled by the medium's tricks and flees when Margaery attempts to molest her. She then runs into Harry Houdini's wife Bess in a speakeasy. After learning Minky is a detective and fearing a

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century The ''long nineteenth century'' i ...

threat to her husband's life, Bess hires Minky as Houdini's assistant. She joins the show for its North American tour, along with a nurse called Miss La Chatte. Houdini tells Minky of his feud with Doyle due to his regular debunking of spiritualists, and teaches her some of his feats, including the Chinese Water Torture Cell. Bess falls ill, and Harry makes a pass at Mink; she tells his wife but she is uses to his infidelities and merely cares he is kept safe. During one show Houdini's apparatus is sabotaged and he breaks his ankle. While recuperating he poses for drawings by a pair of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

students, and - after boasting of his ability to take blows to the stomach - is punched repeatedly by one J. Gordon Whitehead. He initially seems unharmed, though he later collapses during

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

with Minky. Minky believes there is more to the attack than it seems, and stays behind to investigate Whitehead, with La Chatte filling in as assistant. Investigating Whitehead's lodgings, she finds the man is an avid spiritualist. Meanwhile, Houdini collapses once again; La Chatte administers an injection meant to fight his peritonitis but it instead kills him. On the advice of her husband's agent, Bess refuses an

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

. Minky is suspected of playing a role in his death but evades the police; she is cleared when the McGill students back Whitehead's story about the punches, and Houdini's death is officially recorded as an accident. Whitehead attempts to have Minky drowned in her bath, and when that fails he and co-conspirator La Chatte try to trap her in the Chinese Water Torture Cell. She escapes and overpowers them, and they admit to being part of the pro-spiritualist

Crewe Circle William Hope (1863 – 8 March 1933) was a pioneer of so-called "spirit photography". Based in Crewe, England, he was a member of the well known Spiritualism, spiritualists group, the Crewe Circle. He died in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford ...

. Minky takes her findings to Bess but Houdini's widow reveals that as she will receive

double indemnity ''Double Indemnity'' is a 1944 American crime film noir directed by Billy Wilder, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. The screenplay was based on James M. Cain's 1943 novel of the same ...

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

if her husband's death is kept as officially being an accident. Minky returns to the agency office moments after her father and brother arrive back, stunning them by showing the substantial fee she received for her work in their absence.

''The Girl Who Electrified Tesla''

At the tail end of 1943, Bennie has finally left the agency to become a dancer. Their father, grievously ill with cancer, stubbornly refuses to rename the agency despite being hospitalised.

J. P. Morgan Jr. John Pierpont Morgan Jr. (September 7, 1867 – March 13, 1943) was an American banker, finance executive, and philanthropist. He inherited the family fortune and took over the business interests including J.P. Morgan & Co. after his father J. P ...

attempts to engage Minky's father to investigate

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

death ray The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon first theorized around the 1920s and 1930s. Around that time, notable inventors such as Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, Harry Grindell Matthews, Edwin R. Scot ...

, but settles for hiring Minky herself. She is also engaged for the same reason by John Trump, who is working in the hospital where he father is being treated. After seeing in the New Year at a lavish party hosted by

, she meets Tesla in

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The e ...

. The pair strike up a rapport and he takes her back to his hotel, where Tesla tells her of the

war of the currents The war of the currents was a series of events surrounding the introduction of competing electric power transmission systems in the late 1880s and early 1890s. It grew out of two lighting systems developed in the late 1870s and early 1880s; arc ...

and his dispute with the Morgan family. The inventor introduces her to his pigeon Mirna, and tells her he believes his device will be a powerful deterrent that will prevent war; Tesla keeps the plans for the device in a secret location. Minky decides to investigate Morgan's brothers,

OSS OSS or Oss may refer to: Places * Oss, a city and municipality in the Netherlands * Osh Airport, IATA code OSS People with the name * Oss (surname), a surname Arts and entertainment * ''O.S.S.'' (film), a 1946 World War II spy film about ...

staff attached to Baker. Spotting their riverboat she fakes a rescue to get onboard and meets Baker and the Morgans. However, as soon as they are left alone with Minky the Morgans attempt to rape her, and she flees. She meets with Tesla again and drops him off, only for someone to try and run the scientist down. Minky is able to save him at the cost of her car. The police are unable to identify the driver and don't take Minky's claims of attempted murder seriously. After a meeting with Morgan Jr. she is seduced by one of his associates and is shocked to find he is a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

, and kills the man after they have sex. Minky experiences nightmares about her mother's death and narrowly escapes being killed by an electrified manhole cover. When visiting Tesla she finds he has died; the police suspect Minky is involved and imprison her. Trump bails Minky out, and she informs Baker of her beliefs that Tesla was being targeted by a Nazi conspiracy. The maid at Tesla's hotel gives her the body of Mirna to bury, and she meets up with a fortune teller named Rhonda who possesses the key to the scientist's safe deposit box. Minky narrowly avoids another attempted electrocution and the key has been stolen. Arriving late, she finds the box already open - having contained only birdseed and a framed picture of a pigeon. Later, going through her mother's things Minky finds a notebook full of case details showing she played a far greater role in Benedict's career than she previously knew. She meets up with Baker, whose OSS contacts have identified the car's driver as

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...

. The pair track him to an old laboratory of Tesla's in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

; however they are jumped by the Nazi, who ties them up and attempts to electrocute them. After advice from Tesla, Minky has taken to wearing rubber shoes and is able to save them both from death. After they escape she realises the plans for the device are hidden with Mirna and recovers them. She visits Benedict at hospital, where he confesses her mother was the real detective, and that she drowned after discovering him having sex with a mistress. Baker is able to capture Skorzeny, clearing Minky of Tesla's murder. Her father dies soon afterwards, leaving her a note simply saying "Woodcock & Daughter". Minky makes flawed copies of the plans that she gives to both Morgan Jr. and Trump. She meets up with Baker, telling her she believed Tesla committed suicide by voluntarily stopping breathing to prevent his invention getting into the wrong hands. As Minky and Baker begin to make love they burn the real plans for the ray device.

Stage

Later in 2018, Von Buhler created an

immersive theater Immersive theater differentiates itself from traditional theater by removing the stage and immersing audiences within the performance itself. Often, this is accomplished by using a specific location ('' site-specific''), allowing audiences to conv ...

version of ''Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini'' through her Speakeasy Dollhouse production company, with Daily in the title role and Houdini played by Vincent Cinque. The show played at

Theatre 80 Theatre 80 was an Off-Broadway theater located at 80 St. Mark's Place in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood. It is owned and operated by Lorcan Otway, who restored and renovated the building with his father and opened it as a theater in the ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, Von Buhler herself played Minky's stunt double for the Chinese Water Torture Cell. The show ran from October 5 to November 30. The production received positive reviews.

Collected editions

Reception

Sara Century of

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

praised the series, stating "the bizarre, surrealist imagery and excellent illustration of the book set its own unique tone".

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

was also a fan of von Buhler's art, and a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, where ...

from the author appeared on the covers for ''Mindy Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini'' #1. Johann du Plessis of GWW gave ''The Girl Who Electrified Tesla'' a perfect score, calling it "an amazing book".

References

External links

Official website
* *{{gcdb series, id=172453, title=Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Electrified Tesla American comics American comics titles Bisexuality-related fiction Comics set in Canada Comics set in New York City Comics about women Comics characters introduced in 2018 Cultural depictions of Arthur Conan Doyle Cultural depictions of Harry Houdini Cultural depictions of Josephine Baker Woodcock, Minky Woodcock, Minky Woodcock, Minky LGBT-related comics