“Do What Thou Wilt Shall be the Whole of the Law.”
I look forward to New York Comic Con every year. As a steady worker who rarely finds time for vacation, this event has often been my closest opportunity for relaxation over the past several years. Lately, I’ve been leaning more into unconventional invitations—such as sneaking off to see the stage show *The Shark is Broken,* interviewing Max Brooks about his Minecraft books, or speaking with David Dastmalchian about his newest graphic novel.
I delight when I receive an invitation that piques my interest for a property I’d never even heard of before, and I usually get a few each year. One such invitation recently introduced me to Cynthia Von Buhler’s *MINKY WOODCOCK: THE GIRL CALLED CTHULHU,* currently available from Hard Case Crime/Titan Comics.
At first, I was unfamiliar with the author, the title, and even the imprint when I got an invite to a NYCC afterparty aboard the Frying Pan Boat at Pier 66. An open bar, an expansive food spread, and complimentary black velvet capes? Of course I said yes.
The boat itself is a remarkable relic reclaimed from the sea—dredged from the bottom of the ocean and restored into a floating nightclub. By the time I arrived, the capes had all been claimed, but I enjoyed the gathering all the same.
I found Cynthia Von Buhler holding court at the head of the boat, her head adorned with horns, her own luxurious cape billowing to the ground. She offered me a reading from a single tarot card. I accepted, and she drew The Swords.
Curious, I asked about its orientation. Her eyebrows rose. “It’s different if it’s upside down versus right side up, right?” I said. She asked how I knew that, and I reminded her—it’s in her book. Apparently, my swords were oriented in a way that bodes well for me, though a change is coming, whether I want it or not.
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### Discovering MINKY WOODCOCK
*MINKY WOODCOCK: THE GIRL CALLED CTHULHU* is the third collected adventure of its titular heroine—though I wasn’t aware of this when reading or interviewing Cynthia. Before being branded an eldritch horror, Miss Woodcock had also *HANDCUFFED HOUDINI* and *ELECTRIFIED TESLA.* Having not read those earlier adventures, I only knew what I gleaned from this book; since then, I’ve learned that much of it is fairly self-contained.
In layman’s terms, Minky Woodcock is a sexy Forrest Gump. She traipses through history, brushing against notable figures and inadvertently inspiring them to their greatest legacies. I offered this armchair Cliff Note to another partygoer aboard the Frying Pan, who agreed after a brief reflection. We both acknowledged, however, that the comparison was reductive.
Minky Woodcock is singular, empowered, emboldened, and unbridled. Shouldering the weight of her listless actor brother and absent father, she embroils herself in the cases of Woodcock & Son Private Investigation.
In this installment, Minky is visited by Aleister Crowley, who asks for her help clearing his name from the slander of one Bettie May, who accuses him of killing her husband. Her investigation leads her straight to the hip of Gladys Michael, a new fast friend, as they confront the Tiger Woman, Bettie May.
Dodging death, they encounter legendary figures like H. P. Lovecraft, Josephine Baker, Ian Fleming, and trigger-happy soldiers engaged in World War II derring-do.
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### An Evening at Von Buhler’s Loft
As the Frying Pan Boat party wrapped, I was invited to an afterparty at Cynthia Von Buhler’s loft. Another open bar awaited alongside a lively discussion of the art lining her walls—many pieces of which were her own creations.
Cynthia isn’t just the author of the *Minky Woodcock* series but also its principal illustrator. Her artwork is hand-painted and largely based on human models, most notably Pearls Daily as Minky Woodcock. Seeing these works up close deepened my appreciation for her artistic talents.
After too many drinks, we sat on von Buhler’s opium bed to discuss *MINKY WOODCOCK: THE GIRL CALLED CTHULHU.* Normally, I’d share a video interview here for you to enjoy, but we were both far too inebriated for that, so you’ll have to settle for a cleaned-up transcription instead.
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### Interview with Cynthia Von Buhler
**Eric McClanahan:** So, we’re talking about *Minky Woodcock: The Girl Called Cthulhu.* Where did the idea for this book come from?
**Cynthia Von Buhler:** That’s an interesting question. Originally, I wanted to do something about Ian Fleming and how he was a very interesting character. I envisioned Minky working one of her cases, running into him while he was working for the government, and coming up with ideas for how to end World War II. I told the publisher this, and they said, “Oh,” because Titan Comics had just taken on Ian Fleming’s entire bibliography and were going to produce graphic novels of his works. They didn’t really want to do something else with Fleming at the time. I was told he could be in the book but couldn’t be the primary focus, as I had envisioned.
I even had a title in mind—something like *Minky Breaking her Bonds.*
**EM:** Some fun nod.
**CvB:** Exactly. I liked the idea of Minky as almost like a female James Bond, inspiring Fleming to create the character. Have you read the book yet?
**EM:** I have.
**CvB:** Then you know that in the end, I kept all of that. Minky’s reading *THE BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES,* which is the actual source of the James Bond name. Since the title couldn’t be about Fleming, Nick—the head guy at Titan—suggested something about Lovecraft. Then his wife suggested Aleister Crowley. We were tossing names around, and I said okay, but I needed to go away for a year to do some research and find a story that tied these disparate people together, since they lived in different time periods.
The thing about Lovecraft and Crowley is that their works are similar in many ways. Their characters’ names are so alike, it felt interesting to imagine them having come into contact—and maybe they did. My storyline centers on the idea that authors helped end World War II. In the story, authors like Aleister Crowley, Ian Fleming, Basil Thompson all helped hatch Operation Mincemeat, which tricked Hitler. That’s the heart of the book—showcasing how creative people contributed to the war’s end. I don’t think anyone’s ever told that story before. There are so many books and movies about World War II, but not the idea that authors played such a vital role.
**EM:** So tell me about bringing historical characters into the book and putting words in their mouths.
**CvB:** A lot of what they say are things they actually said. I tried to capture their voice—their language—from what I found in their writings. Lovecraft was especially interesting. I hadn’t read much of his work before, only knew of it generally. He’s quite wordy. Also, he was racist and believed in genetic superiority—a sympathizer to Nazi ideology—which many dislike. I wanted to show that, but also honor his work as a writer.
There are quite a few monstrous men in this book. Even Fleming is a bit of a womanizer. Aleister Crowley, though, is funny. I find him very interesting—kind of evil, self-absorbed, narcissistic, but also amusing. Almost like he’s mocking himself.
So I brought these characters together to imagine what would happen if they did meet.
**EM:** I like that you have Aleister Crowley in this book because he embodies the idea that hedonism is evil, but your heroine Minky Woodcock also embraces hedonism in a different way. How do you draw the line between evil and hedonism?
**CvB:** That’s true. Minky is a hedonist, but she’s also a kind and complicated person. She drinks too much and gets overly involved—like with Houdini in *THE GIRL WHO HANDCUFFED HOUDINI.* She just can’t help herself. I think she’s a good person, though she can be a little slutty and has trouble controlling her impulses.
Crowley is a hedonist too. I once had a band called the Woman of Sodom, so this is familiar ground for me—sexual performances and stories are a part of my history. I see that in Minky and Crowley. He’s funny and weird. I think he’s smart but sarcastic and doesn’t take himself seriously. His ideas about semen and death? I think he was just playing with people, craving attention. I don’t see him as scary or spooky, so I didn’t depict him that way. He doesn’t scare me.
**EM:** I had a question about the book’s sexuality. It seems to align well with other titles at Hard Case Crime. Did you feel you had to elevate the sexuality to fit the imprint, or was it natural for the story?
**CvB:** I’ve known Charles Ardai of Hard Case Crime for many years. My husband introduced me. I was doing a play called *Speakeasy Dollhouse* about my grandfather, who was murdered during Prohibition and owned speakeasies. Charles came to see it, and we talked about doing a book together, but nothing felt quite right.
One day, I joked with Charles about Houdini being into S&M because he always wanted to be handcuffed and locked up. That sparked the idea for *The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini*—a private detective working a case with Houdini that turns into an affair.
That’s how it started. Then they wanted more along those lines, which led to the other books.
Tesla, being a scientist and inventor, was sexless, so I had to get creative there. But Minky is a free spirit—that’s just her character.
So no, I didn’t do it to fit the imprint; it was just natural.
**EM:** That’s all my questions. Thank you for talking with me.
**CvB:** Thank you.
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### Where to Find the Minky Woodcock Series
*MINKY WOODCOCK: THE GIRL WHO HANDCUFFED HOUDINI,* *THE GIRL WHO ELECTRIFIED TESLA,* and *THE GIRL CALLED CTHULHU* are all available as collected graphic novels through Hard Case Crime / Titan Comics.
If you like your noir with a bit of historical horror flair, you’ll be delighted by Minky Woodcock’s adventures and Cynthia Von Buhler’s exhaustive research and lively illustrations.
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