Jeremy

the best book I've bought, each page is a delight to read, interactive and really well designed, the customer service was really good as well, responding fast and efficiently. The delivery was incredibly fast as well, it was announced that I'd receive it in 10 days but received it only 3 days after ordering! I can't recommend it enough.

 

Tommy

If you like comics or magic, you will love this! If you like both, you'll be amazed by this book. The graphics are very well made and as mentioned in other reviews, it contains quite a splash of humor every now and then. Furthermore it gives me a historical view on several topics within magic.

I definitely recommend the book if you're in to comics or the history of magic.

Cheers

 

Jeff

There are no words to to describe the uniqueness of this beautiful book.
Buy it! You’ll become grateful!

 

VI Monthly
Member

Rui

Hocus Pocus is a fun, interactive and interesting way to delve into the History of Mentalism and Spiritism.

 

Martin

Hocus Pocus is an outstanding comic for me. I grew up with Dragon Ball and now I'm a huge dc fan but I have to say that each chapter is carefully put together and the topics have a great coherence. But what makes it really outstanding is the humor. The humor is witty and everywhere. There was no page I had no small or great laugh.

 

VI Monthly
Member

Avrohom

I am one of those guys with hundreds of magic books. But we all have a special shelf, with our favorite books. The really informative ones, classic ones, and then the pretty ones. This is one of those books that will end up on that shelf. It is a gorgeous fun book which you will want to keep in mint condition. You will warn whomever reads it, probably about 10 times, to be careful. It is actually informative, pretty and will eventually become a classic!

 

John

This was such a fun and informative book! Not only are the beautiful illustrations printed on thick pages, but there are full references and bibliography!
It is a nice added touch that all the cover art from the original comic books are featured as well.

 

Jeff

As a magician and comic collector for more years than I wish to admit, I have to say that aside from the wonderful instructions, this is a truly unique book in both genres.
Highly recommend!

 

Abraham

A wonderful collection of five comics, in a beautifully presented book. If, like me, you find parapsychology and the Victorian history surrounding it to be fascinating, you will find this book excellently presented and stunningly entrancing. If, like me, you've been a subscriber to The Skeptical Inquirer and grew up with Martin Gardner and James "The Amazing" Randi, you will delight in this. I have the first four issues on my Ipad, but the printed version is the way graphic novels should be read. I am glad that Vanishing Inc. brought this to the attention of the larger magic community.

 

Stephen

Had I first encountered this book in, say, middle school, I might have found it as educational, inspirational, and indispensable as my hardback collections of Charles Addams cartoons, my Nelson Enterprises catalog, my Batman comics, my Famous Monsters of Filmland issues, and my stack of science-fiction novels. Indeed I still do. This introduction to the dark side of magic is arguably the most important book in my house.

 

Lizah

I absolutely love this book, the art is gorgeous and the story both very insightful and funny.

 

Brian

I bought these as individual issues, but I still wanted to own the collected version as well. Truly a lot of fun to read and participate in (there are magic tricks throughout the book that can happen to you while you read). The artwork is wonderful and it's highly educational as well for the magic fan. I wish there were a few more issues in the set, but this collection is a must-own for me anyway.

 

Brian

This is the most entertaining magic book I've ever read. it's informative and fun. The only thing I will say is; don't buy it based upon the free disappearing elephant trick/pdf that's included. The resolution is low so even after scaling it up in photoshop the text is not readable when you print it. Cool gesture but the main attraction is the books which again is well worth it.

 

Dmitrijs

When Vanishinc Inc releases a book, you better hurry up and buy it!
I knew that there are Richard Wisemans comics out there, but they never appealed much to me. But when these comics were taken and put in a such a gorgeous hard cover book, with all the stylish illustrations, fun facts and some interactive elements, I was amongst the first to purchase it. Don't regret. It's a great addition to collection, perfect conversation starter for both magic and non- magical friends and it just looks appealing!

 

Jim

It's official. I have a new favorite magic book. I first learned about this comic in an article in the May 2020 issue of Genii where around 10 pages of the original comic were published in full color. I was happy to see that they gave full credit to Mark Horowitz for his assistance using his incredible collection of magic themed comics. Of course, if you know Mark, his most amazing production was his son, magician Lee Asher. You might not catch it, but there is an illustration of a police line-up in the first section and one of the suspects is none other than Mark and he is even reading a comic. If you are a subscriber to Genii, you can go back into the archives and read the article. At this point only the first chapter had been released and sold out. It has the look and feel of many of the popular graphic novels. (Don't forget that The Walking Dead" started as a graphic novel.)

The whole package is present by Professor Richard Wiseman. (no, not wise guy) Richard has a website you must check out his YOutube Channel called Quirkology which is very quirky coincidentally. This has some must see videos that really are both brilliant and hilarious. https://www.youtube.com/@Quirkology

I'm sure that most of you grew up with comic as part of your life. Over the years, they really have not gotten better. Just too much politics and too many super heros. I was even fortunate to have as a roommate Dr. Toon who wrote reviews of animation for Toon Magazine. And another buddy did the lettering for the Tick comic.

When I was a kid, I used to order some really cool stuff off the back of cereal boxes then haunt the mailbox every day waiting for it to arrive. It happened again with this book, I had fallen in love with it back in the original Genii article. I never realized that I would have to wait two and a half years to get my hands on the completed project.

Apparently five comics were released, each on a different aspect of the paranormal. This tome is a compilation of all the issues under one cover. Each subject gets its own full color chapter.

Here is a little of what to expect.

Mind Reading -
You are introduces to someone I was not familiar with. A famous mind reader named Washington Irving Bishop and shows his act (in comic form, of course). It also tells of his tragic end. (One that Edgar Allen Poe would have loved). You are given a brief write up on muscle reading and told to try an experiment that is described. You probably will give it a shot. The next name should be more familiar. J.B. Rhine, the esp investigator from Duke University. One of his associates was named Zener and created the Zenr deck which we have all used for tricks. He finishes with a small section of Alexander, the Man who Knows. Make sure to pay attention to the backgrounds in the panels where the boys Throw in some humor and thinks you would expect to see in something like this such as picturing two men talking at a urinal.

Seances -
There is a nice section on the Fox Sisters who created a stir back in the mid-1800's by having spirits answer questions. f course, it was all fake (read the book for the explanation) but a lot of people bought into the story until the secret was revealed in 1888. You may have heard of the Davenport Brothers who made a fortune with their spirit cabinet, which is still performed today, most notably by Penn and Teller. This section finishes with another new name but who seemed to be very important ad debunking spiritualist frauds, Rose Mackenberg. Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle are also mentioned briefly. They started as great friends but that fell apart because Doyle was a true believer is spiritualism and his wife was a professional spiritualist. As we all know what Houdini did with that profession there were some hard feelings. The funny part of this was that Doyle refused to believe that Houdini's tricks were tricks. He insisted that they were real magic and that Houdini was lying when he said they wre just tricks.

Ghosts -
You get to visit Borley Rectory, the most haunted house in England.You will learn of a scientific explanation of strange noises in old houses, and, no, it isn't just old creaking boards. This is a principle I had never heard of but it was fascinating. And, of course, Pepper's Ghost made an appearance. What would the haunted mansion at Disney World would be without Pepper?

Prophecy -
You are taught a trick you have all seen. Think of a 2 digit number where both digits are odd and different from one another and draw a geometric object inside of another. Real basic stuff. You are walked through several simple tricks in your journey through the book. Of course Nostrademus is introduced and you learn the value of making predictions so vague that they can be twisted to mean pretty much anything you wish. (Make sure you check out the panel background in this section to see the four Beatles doing their Abbey road walk across the street.)You are shown a card trick featuring the Zodiac symbols and a big nod to Max Maven for the working of this one. The chapter ends with one of my favorite prognosticators, Paul the Psychic Octopus who would correctly predict the outcome of games.

Levitation -
Quite a few examples of levitation are mention. Madame Adelaide Hermann the Indain Rope Trick, Robert Houdin and John Nevil Maskelyne. Maskelyne's levitation was a huge success and everyone tried to buy the secret but he was not selling. But that sneaky Thurston hired Maskelyne's assistant, stole the trick and claimed it for his own. And one of the most amazing levitations of all time. David Copperfield's.

You are offered a few different covers that were onsidered and one will even double as A Ouija board. The Rose Mackenberg cover really brings back the old EC Comics such as "Tales from the Crypt". The art work in this section is wonderful.

And the book ends with a bonus comic section on the Davenport Seance.

This is a brilliant, beautiful book in the usual well produced style of Vanishing Inc. Usually when I review a book, I make notes as I go through it so I have something at the end to stir my memories. I tried to do it with this one but couldn't. Once I started reading, it was impossible to put down and reading through it a second time to write this up was just as much fun as the first time.

In case you haven't figured it out. This is extremely highly recommended. It is a must have but one word of warning. Don't just leave it out on the table. Your kids will steal this book and you may never see it again. Thank you Josh and Andi for allowing me to review this treasure.

 

Jeff

As I’ve said before, books by themselves are magic.
This changes everything!
As a long time lover of magic and comics, this fills an enormous empty space in two categories/communities.
Just buy it! You won’t be disappointed.

 

Paul

Fell in love with Hocus Pocus when the issues came out singularly. The team behind it perfected it, the only thing that could top it was for them all to be put together - and hey presto as if by magic, they got put together. This hardback compendium is something else—it's beautiful, it's class, it's creative, and it is a worthy addition to any bookcase. I Fell in love with it all over again. Well done to all involved for this - Paul, Haunted Magazine

 

Tyson

This book is beautiful, educational and very interactive. A must have for any fan of magic and graphic novels. I really enjoyed the free elephant in the box puzzle as well. Very pleased with the purchase!

Community questions about Hocus Pocus

Have a question about this product? It's possible others do too. Ask here and other Vanishing Inc. Magic customers will be able to respond with assistance! Alternatively, email us and we can help too.

• Warren asks: How many pages are in this book?

  • 1. Harapan answers: 179 pages
  • 2. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds: 179 pages
  • 1. Harapan answers: 179 pages

• Christopher asks: There's an interview with Richard Wiseman online, in which he mentions that the first issue of the comic came in two editions: one for laymen, and one for magicians, which included instructions for some extra interactive effects. Does the book include those instructions?

  • 1. Christopher answers: Well, since I have now purchased the book, I will answer my own question: yes, after purchase the instructions for those three extra effects are available in your downloads area.

  Post an answer to this question

• Philip asks: Is this basically a reprint of the 5 issues of Hocus Pocus magazine with some additional content?

  • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds: It is exactly that.

• Alexander asks: This book doesn't have a sewn binding, correct?

  • 1. Adrian answers: It looks case bound. There are a number of thread bound signatures but they look glued to the headband

  Post an answer to this question

• Gene asks: What is the elephant in the box puzzle ?

  • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds: A vanishing elephant printed puzzle we're giving away as an extra.

• Robert asks: Are the Comics offensive and objectional for children?

  • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds: There is nothing offensive in this book. It is purely for lovers of magic!

• Manuel asks: Lo sacarán en Español?

  • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds: This is not available in Spanish at the moment