Houdini Master Detective #1
Antarctic Press/ROK Comics 2019
Created by Jonathan Kendrick
Written by Jamie Alan Nicklin & Simon Mark Wheeler
Illustrated by Rafael Broseta & David Belmonte
A mystery criminal is committing a rash of diabolical crimes plaguing the city, so Scotland Yard reaches out to Harry Houdini and his wife, Bess Houdini, who are called upon by Scotland Yard to help figure out who the evil perpetrator is. But no sooner are they on the case then the villain kidnaps Bess!
I am a fan of the concept, the reality and all around execution of this story. How much fun is it to think that Harry Houdini while travelling the world, based in London (?), can use his mastery of magic and escapism to capture those who would do evil deeds? Let’s face it London alone in at this time was a cesspool and full of unsolved crimes what with Jack the Ripper and Moriarty having fun amok. There is a whole new, different, world to explore and if this issue is any indication of what they want to do with him than hell to the freakin yeah from me!
The opening here is fun as a red robed figure dressed like some sort of Colonial person is being pursued by the Constabulary. Then to see this transition into the seeing Houdini for the first time is extremely well done. These two do a magnificent job writing this and how he has structured the book so that the ebb & flow releases information and has this stellar confrontation to end the story. The pacing is excellent and the fact that we as the readers’ are along for the ride as we see what transpires and hoping beyond hope to find some clues of our own as to this devil’s identity might be. That Jamie & Simon manage to engage and involve the reader in this story is simply marvellous.
I do think that the characterisation here is rather well done. Houdini is someone I expected to be a lot more hoity toity in his demeanour and yet he’s portrayed as more of a common man, who just happens to have extraordinary skills. That we also get a nice look at Bess and Inspector Willard show who is important in Houdini’s world and are among those most trusted. So in other terms we see what you could think of as the supporting cast of characters.
At first glance I thought that the interiors might be a tad on the cartoon side of things. Then upon closer inspection I found myself rather enamoured with how they look. There is some nice utilisation of the linework through it’s varying weights which create some incredibly nice attention to detail. The buildings, the theatre and many locations in the city have that look and feel of the era and it’s glorious to behold. The characters do remind me of like James Bond Jr. (the cartoon and kids comics) but again it’s extremely well done. We see emotions, feelings and everything we need to understand the characters from their facial expressions.
The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a really nice solid eye for storytelling. Backgrounds are utilised very well and help provide us with those extra touches. The colour work is really well done too. The colour of dresses, suits and the shading are all done complete the work nicely.
There is a lot of creativity and imagination going on in this one issue that we see in the writing and the interior artwork. That it’s a one and done story is even more impressive to me as it shows control and the type of skill and talent Jamie and Simon possess. Fun light-hearted tomfoolery aside it really is a smart, interesting and well executed book.
Antarctic Press/ROK Comics 2019
Created by Jonathan Kendrick
Written by Jamie Alan Nicklin & Simon Mark Wheeler
Illustrated by Rafael Broseta & David Belmonte
A mystery criminal is committing a rash of diabolical crimes plaguing the city, so Scotland Yard reaches out to Harry Houdini and his wife, Bess Houdini, who are called upon by Scotland Yard to help figure out who the evil perpetrator is. But no sooner are they on the case then the villain kidnaps Bess!
I am a fan of the concept, the reality and all around execution of this story. How much fun is it to think that Harry Houdini while travelling the world, based in London (?), can use his mastery of magic and escapism to capture those who would do evil deeds? Let’s face it London alone in at this time was a cesspool and full of unsolved crimes what with Jack the Ripper and Moriarty having fun amok. There is a whole new, different, world to explore and if this issue is any indication of what they want to do with him than hell to the freakin yeah from me!
The opening here is fun as a red robed figure dressed like some sort of Colonial person is being pursued by the Constabulary. Then to see this transition into the seeing Houdini for the first time is extremely well done. These two do a magnificent job writing this and how he has structured the book so that the ebb & flow releases information and has this stellar confrontation to end the story. The pacing is excellent and the fact that we as the readers’ are along for the ride as we see what transpires and hoping beyond hope to find some clues of our own as to this devil’s identity might be. That Jamie & Simon manage to engage and involve the reader in this story is simply marvellous.
I do think that the characterisation here is rather well done. Houdini is someone I expected to be a lot more hoity toity in his demeanour and yet he’s portrayed as more of a common man, who just happens to have extraordinary skills. That we also get a nice look at Bess and Inspector Willard show who is important in Houdini’s world and are among those most trusted. So in other terms we see what you could think of as the supporting cast of characters.
At first glance I thought that the interiors might be a tad on the cartoon side of things. Then upon closer inspection I found myself rather enamoured with how they look. There is some nice utilisation of the linework through it’s varying weights which create some incredibly nice attention to detail. The buildings, the theatre and many locations in the city have that look and feel of the era and it’s glorious to behold. The characters do remind me of like James Bond Jr. (the cartoon and kids comics) but again it’s extremely well done. We see emotions, feelings and everything we need to understand the characters from their facial expressions.
The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a really nice solid eye for storytelling. Backgrounds are utilised very well and help provide us with those extra touches. The colour work is really well done too. The colour of dresses, suits and the shading are all done complete the work nicely.
There is a lot of creativity and imagination going on in this one issue that we see in the writing and the interior artwork. That it’s a one and done story is even more impressive to me as it shows control and the type of skill and talent Jamie and Simon possess. Fun light-hearted tomfoolery aside it really is a smart, interesting and well executed book.
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