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Herman W. Mudgett, more commonly known by one of his aliases, H. H. Holmes (used as a pseudonym by the late Anthony Boucher) was one of the first known serial killers in the United States. The prologue sets the scene: Chicago and the great World's Fair of 1893. The story then goes back to Mr. Holmes arrival in Chicago in 1886 and tells the story of how he became indispensable to a trusting woman, running her husband's pharmacy while he lay dying of cancer, and later, after his death, taking over the business and the building, when she disappeared. By 1888, Holmes started to build a large hotel called "The Castle" which had many strange windowless airtight rooms. He also allied himself with a strange handyman, and shortly after the hotel opened, they started supplying skeletons to the local medical schools. The story of Holmes has been told many times but never before in comic book form. The drawings are primitive and the story seems to be geared to middle school boys. This was my first "graphic novel" Geary is supposed to be preeminent in the field of true crime graphic novels. The meticulously drawn floor plans and diagrams of the interior of the castle are intriguing, but the rest of the story has been better told elsewhere. I shall give this one to my 11 year old grandson. Let's see if his impression is better than mine.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, October 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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