| Batman/Houdini: The Devil's Workshop | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofBatman/Houdini: The Devil's Workshop one-shot, art byMark Chiarello. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Elseworlds (DC Comics) |
| Format | One-shot |
| Genre | |
| No. of issues | 1 |
| Main character(s) | Batman Houdini |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Howard Chaykin John Francis Moore |
| Artist(s) | Mark Chiarello |
| Letterer(s) | Ken Bruzenak |
| Colorist(s) | Mark Chiarello |
| Editor(s) | Dennis O'Neil |
| Collected editions | |
| Batman/Houdini: The Devil's Workshop | ISBN 1-56389-113-1 |
Batman/Houdini: The Devil's Workshop is a1993Elseworldsone-shot, written byHoward Chaykin andJohn Francis Moore. Containing full-painted art byMark Chiarello, the story recounts a fictional encounter between the superheroBatman and famous escape artistHarry Houdini in early 20th century Gotham.
In the Winter of 1907, children are disappearing from the impoverished part ofGotham, known as the "Devil's Workshop". The criminal is a grinning white-faced ghoul named Jack Schadenfreude.
Meanwhile, Harry Houdini is in town for a performance and mingles with Gotham's elite. Amongst them is Bruce Wayne, from anold money background, and Elijah Montenegro, thenouveau riche, self-styled "Beef Baron". Also in town are other notables, specifically Tom Mix and Leonora Reinhardt. All the high society events are being documented for theGotham Globe by Victoria Vale.
Vale and Wayne attend Reinhardt's performance as the lead inMedea, where they meet the Baron again. They are then invited into aséance held by Reinhardt. An invitation also extended to Houdini, who has an interest in the paranormal. The séance is apparently a success, leading the three to conclude something genuinely supernatural is going on.
The abductions are traced to Montenegro's meat factory and it soon becomes apparent that everything is somehow connected.
The story is narrated by Houdini. He contrasts his own poor upbringing with that of Bruce Wayne. It also highlights Batman, as he learns a number of his skills from studying Houdini's work.
The story was published as a 64-page,prestige formatone-shot byDC Comics (ISBN 1563891131).
