Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Electrified Tesla #2

Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Electrified Tesla #2

Titan Comics/Hard Case Crime 2021

By Cynthia Von Buhler

Lettered by Jim Campbell

This series is rated Adults Only

DISCLAIMER: graphic sexuality

Private investigator Minky Woodcock becomes involved in the affairs of maverick genius and reclusive pigeon-fancier, Nikola Tesla, only to discover a horrifying conspiracy involving corrupt politicians and Nazis.

I am rather fond of this series and Minky in particular because she really is a no nonsense kind of gal, living in a man’s world and yet she is far more capable than most men she meets so it’s a frustrating time for her to be alive. I also like that she’s so free and comfortable in her own skin she isn’t afraid of using her sex to her advantage. As a woman, a detective and an overall general human being she’s light-years ahead of her time. This makes what we see risque, exciting and full of surprising moments that seem occur like lighting in a storm, one after the other. Cynthia really has her hand on the pulse of what makes Minky tick and she brings that into the story in some truly magnificent ways.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development is sensational! The dialogue, the character interaction as well as how the characters act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter to really flesh them out is beautifully done. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it is able to really draw us in deeper and deeper.

I am very much enjoying the way that this is being structured and how we see the layers within the story growing, evolving and new ones emerging. This keeps the story strong, complex and engages the reader exceptionally well throughout to the last page. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is beautiful to see. There is a natural way that this flows so that the events we see occurring almost match up perfectly with the way we know the history of Tesla and that’s pretty damn sweet in its own right.

The interiors here are absolutely lovely. There’s a style that Cynthia has that really makes the book stand out. Minky is sexy, sensual and beautiful without it being gratuitously sexualised or cheap looking and that’s a fine line balancing act to do and she handles that incredibly well. The linework is beautifully rendered and with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to bring out the detail work we see is amazing. The way that backgrounds are utilised to enhance the moments as well as work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the book is marvellously rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show an insanely talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully laid down as well. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is fabulous. I love how we see the different hues within the water at the fountain because that alone demonstrates an eye for knowing how various colours make up such common elements thus demonstrating a gorgeous eye for colour.

​

This is such a stunning book. The idea is marvellous and how it’s executed so that we get the most out of the story, the characters and how the dynamic of it all plays through the pages makes Cynthia one of today’s most intriguing storytellers.