Lutes graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration in 1991. As Houdini prepares for a death-defying leap into the icy Charles River in Boston, biographer Jason Lutes and artist Nick Bertozzi reveal Houdini's life and influence: from the anti-Semitism Houdini fought all his life, to the adulation of the American public from his hounding by the press, to his loving relationship with his wife Bess from his egoism to his insecurity from his public persona-to the secret behind his most amazing trick! And it's all in graphic form, so it's fresh, original, and unlike anything previously published about this most fascinating of American showmen.'-Provided by publisher.Jason Lutes was born in New Jersey in 1967 and grew up reading American superhero and western comics until a trip to France at age nine introduced him to the world of 'bandes dessinées.' In the late 1970s he discovered Heavy Metal magazine and the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, both of which proved major influences on his creative development. This is a snapshot of Houdini's life, centering on one of his most famous feats. 'Harry Houdini mesmerized a generation of Americans when he was alive, and continues to do so over ninety years since his death.

As Houdini prepares for a death-defying leap into the icy Charles River in Boston, biographer Jason Lutes and artist Nick Bertozzi reveal Houdini's life and influence: from the anti-Semitism Houdini fought all his life, to the adulation of the American public from his hounding by the press, to his loving relationship.

Houdini the handcuff king