Summer Time Reading
![]() |
It may be the summer heat finally making its way up I-75 to Michigan or my new sense of peace that comes from any sort of 30-day regimen of psychotropic medicine, counseling, shock therapy, aversion therapy and aroma therapy.
What ever the cause, though, as I sniff my small flask of elderberry and violets, I have found a great truth. I prefer newsletters or catalogs for magic over the electronic version. Maybe you are like me, and if you are, we should form a support group and embrace right before we bang a drum and declare our freedom from negativity. We should also indulge in three of my favorite paper newsletters.
Read On . . .
Hank Lee’s EXTRA, Laflin’s Magic HAPPY MAGIC and, a new entry, FAB Magic’s THE DECEIVER, illustrate all that is good about paper versus electronic magic advertising.
The benefits of a non-computer based newsletter should be obvious to anyone who does their reading in the restroom of truck stops, McDonalds or their own home. I used to bring a mini-computer with me into the bathroom but had an unfortunate misunderstanding where others in the facility objected to me plugging the wire on one side of the area and stretching it under three stalls to get to my reading area. I think they were also upset because I was in the ladies room. (It’s cleaner and they have more stalls).
![]() |
Hank Lee asked his customers last year whether they preferred the EXTRA in paper or on the Internet. According to his research, the votes were almost dead even. In fact, in the case of IN RE HANK LEE v. ACLU, the United States Supreme Court stopped his recount of the votes before he could verify the final tally. He decided to proceed with both media.
Hank does a bang-up job with his newsletter. Each trick is described in
words that are actually written by someone at his company. Often, magic shop owners will use whatever text they receive from Fun Inc., Murphy’s or Robbins. As a consequence, you can find the same typo in the ad copy from eight different retail dealers. Hank takes it a step further.
He has line drawings produced for each effect. You won’t see the same, worn-out, over-exposed, gimmick-hiding pictures with some guy or gal with dirty fingernails holding the prop against the eight close-up pads assembled to represent a background. The drawings are true to the actual appearance of the effect and usually highlight the thing that makes the trick special.
Some of you younger kids won’t recall the days of the Tannen’s Catalog. It weighed over…
Read the rest of this entry




