Fantasy by John Bannon In 2005, after thirteen years since the release of his last book, Smoke and Mirrors, John Bannon released Dear Mr. Fantasy, a smaller book, about 200 pages, that he described as “a little more personal, a little more expansive, a little more conversational, and, in places, a little more stylized than a traditional magic ‘cookbook’.” (from Forward). The book was a hit, going out of print the next year even after a huge run of 2,000 copies. Screams for a reprint were everywhere, and the reviews were rave.
The book was going for over $100 on Ebay, and rumors began to surface that John was thinking of a reprint in paperback. In October 2008, John finally announced that he would be reprinting the book in hardcover in November, and, luckily for us, the writer of this review was able to get a copy of the reprint. I had read review after review of this book, and in early December, I bought the book directly from John ($35 including shipping - about the same of some one-trick DVDs on the market). It was a close call also - the book didn’t come until December 24, but I was thrilled to unwrap the book on Christmas morning. I read the entire book Christmas day and have reread sections several times since then. And since it’s the last day of Christmas break, I decided to do a review of this before school (and speech class) kicked in. Be forewarned that I have not tested any of the material yet, but when I do, I will post here with updates.
Overview: This book is golden. I would say that 100% of the material is usable in the real world. There’s no gimmicks, no gaffs, and only a few of the tricks have expansive setups (which are worth it). John goes over everything - the techniques, the presentation, and the processes he took in developing the material. Most of the material is standard - ace assemblies, cutting to the aces, triumphs, poker deals, etc. but what John does to make everything out of the ordinary is fantastic. This is material that is designed to be used in the world.
With that in mind, let’s go trick by trick. Chapter 1 - Bullet Train Iconoclastic Aces, Syncopated Aces, Interrobang Aces This is an ace assembly routine consisting of three distinct assemblies, but this isn’t the ordinary type of ace assemblies you find.
The aces assemble in unexpected moments. For example, you deal the four aces down in standard T-formation, and deal three cards onto each ace, and when you deal the cards onto the Ace of Spades, they are the aces. John talks of the timing of the assemblies and how they surprise the audience each time, and they even surprise me when I practice them. The structure of the effect is great and is worth learning.
The three assemblies are meant to go together but can be used separately. Impromptu, well-structured, surprising - a great effect. Chapter 2 - The Secrets and Mysteries of the Four Aces: The next chapter is a complete routine that starts with a completely shuffled deck and ends with four aces and a royal flush. The elements of each effect go great together to form the great conclusion.
Line of Sight: A spectator stares at one card in a fan of cards, and the performer is able to know what card they are thinking of. Not only that, but at the conclusion of the routine, you have the four aces on top of the deck. Originally created by Alain Nu, the effect uses the Steve Draun glimpse which is amazingly deceptive and never fails. You must be able to do a pressure fan, but most magicians will already have it down and can easily learn the glimpse. John also gives a great presentation which sets the effect up nicely, and the spectator shuffles the cards several times, which leads to. Final Verdict: John’s latest improvement to the “spectator cutting to the aces” theme, and it’s a killer.
Directed Verdict, the routine’s predecessor, was published in Smoke and Mirrors, and Final Verdict adds an improvement to the finding of the fourth ace. Completely hands off by the magician - the spectator can truly cut anywhere she wants. So let’s think about this: a shuffled deck, a killer mind-reading routine, and then the four aces are produced, but then.
Cull De Stack: This is not a routine, but is a way to set up the royal flush quickly and effectively for the final effect in the routine. Not like the Hofzinger culls where your fingers need to work hard, but is simple and can be used in a myriad of ways for other applications. Two Classics: John’s take on Dr.
Daley’s Last Trick and Vernon’s Twisting the Aces. You will need to have a bit of background on both of these, though John gives his handling for Last Trick.
You will need to know Twisting the Aces though, but you could always substitute another four ace trick. The point of these is to draw attention away from the stacked deck.
Beyond Fabulous The climax of the routine: the aces are lost completely in the deck - one is found using the “indicator card” ploy, one is found reversed in the deck, one is spelled to, and one is found in a procedure eliminating cards to find the ace. And then, from the four piles left over from the last procedure, the top cards are flipped over to reveal a royal flush in spaces (the Ace of Spades was the last ace found). This is John’s variation of Henry Christ’s Fabulous Four Ace Trick, and he gives a great presentation for it. Also given is Mark of the Fabulous, which is a way to modify this as a stand-alone effect without the production of the Royal Flush. So let’s recap, in this single routine, we took a borrowed, shuffled deck, did a mind reading miracle, had the spectator cut to the four aces, did an impossible transposition, had the aces flip over one by one, found the four aces under impossible conditions, and produced a Royal Flush. Not bad, not bad at all.
Chapter 3 - Dead Reckoning: A bit of a sidenote before moving on to the next chapter, the next three effects and the final effect (Power of Poker) are written in a narrative format in the point of view of a friend of John’s and who John teaches the effects too. This format is great and should be used more often in magic books. Dead Reckoning: When I got the book, this was the first effect I turned to. It’s simply impossible. A spectator cuts off a portion of the deck, shuffles it, and looks at the top card.
The spec then cuts off a portion of the remaining deck, places it on top of the portion he has, and then cuts the combined packet as much as he wants. The last packet is then placed on top; there is no doubt that the card is lost in the deck. The magician then asks the spectator to silently spell out his card as the magician deals - one letter for each card, and when the spectator reaches the last letter, he is to think “Stop!”. So the dealing begins, and after dealing for a while, the magician suddenly stops dealing. The spectator freezes - the magician stopped right when he thought “Stop!”. The card left in the magician’s hands is then shown to be the spectator’s chosen card!
Wow, wow, wow. This effect is simply incredible. The location given is genius and is very effective.
The only negative is that this has a bit of an extensive setup, though this doesn’t take long to set up and is much worth it. Out of Touch: The magician upjogs five or six cards in the deck and asks the spectator to think of one. The upjogged cards are lost in the deck, and the deck is spread and the spectator is asked to touch any one. The one he touched is outjogged, and it is the card he thought of earlier. This routine is pretty good, impromptu, and clean at the end. John goes indepth into his version of a multiple shift, and a great touch force is taught as well.
Dawn Patrol: A card is selected via the procedure given in Dead Reckoning, and two black kings, which were set aside earlier, and mixed into the deck as well. After only one shuffle, the deck is spread to reveal the two black kings with one card between them, and, you guessed it, it’s the selected card. This is the only routine I can’t do in the book since it requires a perfect faro shuffle.
It is very unexpected though and is worth looking into. Chapter 4 - Degrees of Freedom The next four routines are, according to John, “not just a card trick, but a toy.” Mathematical principles are used in order to create completely impossible effects. Degrees of Freedom: The twenty high cards (royal flush of each suit) are taken from the deck and shuffled by the spectator. The magician asks the spectator what his favorite suit is - let’s say it’s spades. Some cards are then reversed by the magician and then according to the spectator’s whim so that the cards look like the product of a not-so-magical Triumph routine - face up and face down randomly. The cards are then dealt in a grid and “folded over” each other - one edge of the grid, chosen by the spectator, is “folded” over onto the other cards until the deck is in one packet. Then, the impossible - the cards are spread, and only five cards are face up - the five spades, the spectator’s favorite suit in a Royal Flush.
Completely impossible, isn’t it? There’s only one part where the magician “controls” the cards (not a sleight); pretty much everything is up to the spectator and is self-working.
You’ll fool yourself when you do this - it is amazing. I can’t wait to fry someone with this. Origami Poker: This is much like Degress of Freedom, only sixteen cards are used, and the royal flush at the end is a surprise.
I like DOF better however since it allows for more convincing phases. Perfect Stranger: I have not really looked at this, but the main effect is that sixteen different backed cards go through the DOF procedure, and you predict which cards turn up facedown at the end. I suppose that you could do this with different letters written on the backs of the cards.
Also, for math junkies out there (like me), there’s a section called “The Works” which explains the math principles which make this amazing. Chapter 5 - Impossiblia Bag Wait Until Dark: Before the trick begins, an “emergency card” is placed aside in case something goes wrong. A spectator shuffles the deck by turning some packets over and shuffling the deck so some cards are face-up, some are face-down. The magician has someone come up behind him and cover his eyes with their hands. The magician is handed the deck, and after quickly spreading the deck, he says that there are twenty-two face-down cards. The spectator counts, and there are 22 face-down cards in the deck.
The magician is handed the face down cards, and he says that there are 12 red cards. So the spectator counts, yep, there’s 12 red cards. The magician is handed the black cards, and he determines that all of them are clubs.
The spectator looks through the cards, and all of them. Wait, there’s a Two of Spades. The magician then instructs the spectator to look at the emergency card - “Except the Two of Spades.” And everything is done with the magician not able to see anything! This routine is amazing and is completely self working. It uses Simon Aronson’s Shufflebored which is simple and effective. You can also do it with different numbers or cards (like 24 face down cards or 15 black cards or whatever).
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The only bad part is a setup needed, but if I get a parlor show, I think I’ll definitely use this. Last Man Standing: The standard triumph routine using the Goodwin-Jennings display to show that face up cards are really going into the face-down cards. You will fool yourself with the display the first few times you do it. I will definately use this as my Triumph. Trait Secrets: Two spectators are handed one card each, and the magician lays one card face down on the table. The spectators insert their card face up into the deck. The deck is spread, and the face-up cards are given to the spectators along with the card directly above each of the cards.
The cards are turned over and are revealed to be the mates (same value and color) of the original cards. The magician then turns over his card - it’s an ace. Each of the three packets that were formed are turned over to reveal the other three aces! When I first read this routine, I didn’t feel it was anything special, but now I’m in love with it. It’s a simpler and more magical Gemini Twins routine and is great.
Uses a bit of a setup. Chapter 5 - Lagniappe The Power of Poker: The ten card poker deal taken to new heights. The spectator determines who gets what card, but the magician will always end up with a straight flush and beats the spectator! No magician’s force, sleights, or anything. This effect by Dave Solomon is genius and will definitely go into your repertoires.
Well, that’s the entire book. Like I said at the beginning, everything in this book is usable by the common magician.
There are no difficult sleights (except the faro) used, and John gives a lot of theory and steps he took in creating the effect. Very much worth it - get it while you can! 10/10 Available from for $35 (which includes shipping in the U.S.) Also check out a free download on the site that is like the material from DMF. I still remain, Despite their most strenuous objections, A close-up kinda guy. Bill Your Thinking Cap Veteran user 361 Posts.
Easily one of the top three card books of all time. For those who don't have it, this book could change the quality of your card work for ever. Bannon weaves together a series of effects designed to be performed as an 'act'. Although each and every effect could easily stand on its own as a single, this book is a great lesson in how to assemble individual card effects into a performance. Bannon is quite frankly, genius at creating exciting card magic for laymen. Although one effect requires a perfect faro, the remainder of the sleights required to perform the magic in this book are within easy reach of any card worker. A+ material, with only a few contemporary equals in the field of card work.
Chris H Inner circle Melbourne, Australia 1364 Posts. Kadz, I have all of the books you mentioned. DMF is really interesting in that it takes 'less known' principles and exploits them.
The whole secrets & mysteries of the 4 aces thing is quite fun as well as (for me, right now, and this changes depending on my mood) Trait Secrets. Sessions left me pretty darned cold. I keep trying to see the benefit to many of the approaches but in pretty much every case, I already have a method which is either easier or, IMHO, more deceptive than the moves used in Sessions. I just didn't like it. Compare that to Approaching Magic, where many of the effects themselves didn't impressive me much (ace assemblies, for example). However, some of the greatest effects (and principles, if that is what matters) are kind of hidden away. A couple quick examples include some of the elements from the 'packet' section, which surprised me quite a bit.
Regal's approach to the ambitious card made me a fan of that kind of effect again (many ambitious card routines seem built simply to show off one's skill with a deck of cards). Some of his mentalism stuff was also quite impressive. With all that being said, I'll say that DMF excited me the most as a 'magician' and Approaching Magic is exciting me most about a performer/entertainer. Sessions never excited me, which I hate saying because people love this book, I just can't see it/feel it/understand it. Yes, my loss, I know this. Go to Bannon's site and get the downloads he offers for free if you like DMF. Lem necro555 Veteran user 342 Posts.
John Bannon “Impossibilia” Video Review Hello there! Today I am reviewing John Bannon’s Impossibilia video produced by A-1 Video.
I won this VHS on an auction on eBay, but it is also currently produced as a DVD and available in magic stores. I first came to know Bannon through “Dear Mr. Fantasy” (which I also have reviewed) and enjoy the practicality, simplicity, and amazing qualities of his magic. The video gives a great glance into how Bannon thinks and features material that, as Mike Maxwell states in the beginning, you will do.
Material from both Impossibilia and Smoke and Mirrors is provided with a few effects that are separately marketed. I’ve heard that this video is boring to some, but I believe that the material was entertainingly and thoroughly done. The performances are great (with many cheesy jokes thrown in that cracked me up) and the explanations give you everything you need to succeed. The material ranges from self-working to several sleights needed, but John explains all of the sleights needed.
The quality and camera work is well-done. With that, let’s get to the effects: Shriek of the Mutilated The magician takes out a package of cigarette paper and takes out a piece. The paper is ripped into four pieces and rolled into a small ball. The magi then brings out a needle and pushes the ball onto the end of it. Then, a lighter is introduced, held up to the ball, and WHOOSH!! A flame erupts, but the ball is still seen on the needle. Unrolling the paper, it is seen that the previously torn sheet is completely restored.
This effect is a great attention getter with the flame and is pretty impossible. However, I don’t smoke and don’t have the necessary “items” to perform this, but it still is a great effect. Stranger’s Gallery The magi takes out three predictions from a blue-backed deck of cards, and the spectator selects a card, say the 9 of Diamonds. The magi then shows that the predictions all match the selected card. However, since there can’t be four of the same cards in the same deck, the three predictions completely change to three different backs from different decks. The original blue deck is then shown to match none of the cards since it has changed to a red deck! This was the first of several in this video to completely stun me.
The mechanics are relatively simple but convince the spectator that all of the cards were originally blue. The individual changes of the cards are also awesome and are extremely convincing.There are some gaffs that are needed, but if you have three different card backs, you can make them at home using a known method. I can’t wait to find the different card backs to try this out! Also a separately marketed effect that contains the required gaffs.
Play it Straight (Triumph The spectator selects a card from the deck, and the magi proceeds to shuffle the deck face-up/face-down triumph style, showing clearly at each shuffle that the cards indeed face different ways. “Wouldn’t it be great if I could find your card in this mixed up deck?” the magi asks, but then he realizes that the spectator didn’t put her card back into the deck. Seeing that there might be a chance to still find out what the card is, the magi asks the spectator for the suit of her card, which is hearts, and, with a snap, he spreads the deck to show that the only cards face-up are the hearts in sequential order with one missing card, which is the selection! This is another stunner where I saw it the first time and went crazy over it.
There is a small setup, but there are no sleights in this self-working version. The shuffle sequence is convincing, and I think you’ll love this too. Vacuum Packed The magi brings out a small glass bottle with two aspirin (since this is so shocking the spectator will need them) and a burnt out match. He explains that the match, which was lit when it was placed in the glass, creates a vacuum seal (that’s right, this trick sucks!). A quarter is borrowed from the spectator and is slammed right into the bottle! The bottle is opened and the match and aspirin poured out, but the coin is too large for the opening.
The magi brings out a pair of tweezers and visually pulls out the coin from the bottle and returns it to the spectator! Everything can be examined. This is a great treat for the eyes and a great CIB option that’s self-contained in the bottle. It does require a special coin which I don’t have, so I’ll have to wait with this for a while.
One is the Onliest The magi borrows a quarter and has it signed by the spectator. He then goes into a one-coin routine (can be any routine, but the one Bannon teaches is great). At the end of the routine, the coin changes into a giant coin (and there “couldn’t be a switch” since “your initials” is written on the back of the coin). A bag is seen on the table, and cleanly with empty hands, the magi removes several different items from the bag (nest of boxes style).
At the end, the signed quarter is found! A great routine, in the one-coin routine that Bannon teaches (several vanishes and the sort) and the impossible location finish. The objects used for the nest of boxes can be personalized for your use or comedic jokes. Overall a great routine. Shock Treatment Before the trick begins, the magi places a card into his pocket, dubbing it the “card of mystery”.
One spectator chooses a card, and another spectator thinks of a card of a different color than the first spectator’s. The selected card is lost into the deck, and the magician has the second spectator deal cards onto the table equal to twice the value of his thought-of-card. When the magi reveals the card dealt to, it is the first selected card! The magi asks what card the second spectator thought of and then reaches into his pocket to show that the card in his pocket was the thought-of-card! A great way to have a thought-of card end up in your pocket. The downside of this effect is a half-deck stack, but besides that and another sleight, it’s practically self-working.
Heart of the City The magician shows a sealed envelope on the table and does not touch it again until the end of the effect. He takes out three predictions from the deck, and the spectator chooses a card and signs it. The magician then gives the spectator several intuition tests and has the spectator choose another card from the deck (let’s say it’s the queen of spades). The magi responds that the spectator’s intuition must be amazing since the three prediction cards are the other three queens. The magi then takes it one step further and opens up the envelope to reveal one card inside. When the card is flipped over, it’s the spectator’s original signed card!
This is a great effect in its construction and climax. The envelope is completely ungimmicked, and, if you wish, you could place the card in a container, card box, nest of boxes, or anything else that fits your fancy or you could to a simple “mystery card” presentation with the card on the table the entire time.
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The presentation John gives of “intuition tests” also works very well. Directed Verdict IV The spectator cuts four packets from the deck, and the top card of each packet is an ace! I first encountered this effect as Final Verdict in “Dear Mr. Fantasy” which has a different way of handling the final ace. I actually like this version better as there’s less fidgeting by the magician. A great and easy cutting-the-aces.
The Birnman Revelation A four ace production that I’m not really that excited about. Shanghai Surprise A magi introduces a half dollar, vanishes it, and makes it reappear. He then makes it change places with a coin from London to an English penny.
He then produces the half dollar back, and then the two coins change into two Chinese coins. This requires the Chinese coins and another special coin that I don’t have. Good visual effect though. Revolutionary Penetration A Chinese coin and a string are introduced.
The string is threaded through the coin and placed in a spectator’s hand. With a pull, the string magically penetrates through the coin!
A good and simple effect. I don’t have a Chinese coin, but a washer or something else of the sort could probably work. Photo Logic The spectator selects a card from the deck.
The magi introduces a bag of red slips of paper and takes out a piece. He shows both sides and has the spectator sign one side of the slip. It is then placed under a glass, and a flash cube is brought out, touched to the glass, and WHOOSH!! A flash occurs, and when the glass is removed and the paper turned over, an image of the selected card appears! Another good and simple effect using several known moves. Return of the Magnificant 7 A group of cards of the opposite color of the deck are introduced, and they are all shown to be one card, say the Jack of Hearts.
The spectator selects a card from the deck (say the Nine of Spades), and the magi explains that if it were a prediction effect, he would be wrong not just once but seven times and counts the opposite color cards to be seven. Three of the cards and the selected card are taken, and, one at a time, the cards change into the Nine of Spades. Taking the next card in line, that card is changed as well, and the last few cards are picked up and changed to the selection, leaving the original card and seven opposite-colored Nine of Spades! Everything can be examined!
Dear Mr Fantasy Lyrics
This is one of the best things I’ve ever seen. When I saw this, my mouth dropped to the floor at the changes and the final result. A wild card effect with no gaffs, special cards, or extra gimmicks! The changes are extremely visual and convince a spectator that you started with seven different cards. The only difficult part will be finding seven duplicates to use, but you’ll have a lot of fun and amazement with this! So, that’s the Impossibilia video.
I paid $7.50 for this but would gladly pay more. The DVD version also contains a bonus effect Wait Until Dark, which is in Dear Mr. Fantasy and is an awesome prediction effect. I would recommend this to anyone who wants powerful but simple magic that will blow anyone away. Stranger's Gallery, Play it Straight, and Return of the Magnificant 7 are completely worth the price of admission. Overall, a great buy!
9.5/10 I still remain, Despite their most strenuous objections, A close-up kinda guy BC Dougini Inner circle The Beautiful State Of Maine 6513 Posts.
John Bannon “Impossibilia” Video Review Hello there! Today I am reviewing John Bannon’s Impossibilia video produced by A-1 Video. I won this VHS on an auction on eBay, but it is also currently produced as a DVD and available in magic stores. I first came to know Bannon through “Dear Mr. Fantasy” (which I also have reviewed) and enjoy the practicality, simplicity, and amazing qualities of his magic. The video gives a great glance into how Bannon thinks and features material that, as Mike Maxwell states in the beginning, you will do.
Material from both Impossibilia and Smoke and Mirrors is provided with a few effects that are separately marketed. I’ve heard that this video is boring to some, but I believe that the material was entertainingly and thoroughly done. The performances are great (with many cheesy jokes thrown in that cracked me up) and the explanations give you everything you need to succeed. The material ranges from self-working to several sleights needed, but John explains all of the sleights needed. The quality and camera work is well-done. With that, let’s get to the effects: Shriek of the Mutilated The magician takes out a package of cigarette paper and takes out a piece. The paper is ripped into four pieces and rolled into a small ball.
The magi then brings out a needle and pushes the ball onto the end of it. Then, a lighter is introduced, held up to the ball, and WHOOSH!! A flame erupts, but the ball is still seen on the needle. Unrolling the paper, it is seen that the previously torn sheet is completely restored. This effect is a great attention getter with the flame and is pretty impossible. However, I don’t smoke and don’t have the necessary “items” to perform this, but it still is a great effect.
Stranger’s Gallery The magi takes out three predictions from a blue-backed deck of cards, and the spectator selects a card, say the 9 of Diamonds. The magi then shows that the predictions all match the selected card. However, since there can’t be four of the same cards in the same deck, the three predictions completely change to three different backs from different decks. The original blue deck is then shown to match none of the cards since it has changed to a red deck! This was the first of several in this video to completely stun me. The mechanics are relatively simple but convince the spectator that all of the cards were originally blue.
The individual changes of the cards are also awesome and are extremely convincing.There are some gaffs that are needed, but if you have three different card backs, you can make them at home using a known method. I can’t wait to find the different card backs to try this out! Also a separately marketed effect that contains the required gaffs.
Play it Straight (Triumph The spectator selects a card from the deck, and the magi proceeds to shuffle the deck face-up/face-down triumph style, showing clearly at each shuffle that the cards indeed face different ways. “Wouldn’t it be great if I could find your card in this mixed up deck?” the magi asks, but then he realizes that the spectator didn’t put her card back into the deck. Seeing that there might be a chance to still find out what the card is, the magi asks the spectator for the suit of her card, which is hearts, and, with a snap, he spreads the deck to show that the only cards face-up are the hearts in sequential order with one missing card, which is the selection! This is another stunner where I saw it the first time and went crazy over it. There is a small setup, but there are no sleights in this self-working version. The shuffle sequence is convincing, and I think you’ll love this too.
Vacuum Packed The magi brings out a small glass bottle with two aspirin (since this is so shocking the spectator will need them) and a burnt out match. He explains that the match, which was lit when it was placed in the glass, creates a vacuum seal (that’s right, this trick sucks!).
A quarter is borrowed from the spectator and is slammed right into the bottle! The bottle is opened and the match and aspirin poured out, but the coin is too large for the opening. The magi brings out a pair of tweezers and visually pulls out the coin from the bottle and returns it to the spectator! Everything can be examined. This is a great treat for the eyes and a great CIB option that’s self-contained in the bottle. It does require a special coin which I don’t have, so I’ll have to wait with this for a while.
One is the Onliest The magi borrows a quarter and has it signed by the spectator. He then goes into a one-coin routine (can be any routine, but the one Bannon teaches is great). At the end of the routine, the coin changes into a giant coin (and there “couldn’t be a switch” since “your initials” is written on the back of the coin).
A bag is seen on the table, and cleanly with empty hands, the magi removes several different items from the bag (nest of boxes style). At the end, the signed quarter is found! A great routine, in the one-coin routine that Bannon teaches (several vanishes and the sort) and the impossible location finish. The objects used for the nest of boxes can be personalized for your use or comedic jokes. Overall a great routine.
Shock Treatment Before the trick begins, the magi places a card into his pocket, dubbing it the “card of mystery”. One spectator chooses a card, and another spectator thinks of a card of a different color than the first spectator’s. The selected card is lost into the deck, and the magician has the second spectator deal cards onto the table equal to twice the value of his thought-of-card. When the magi reveals the card dealt to, it is the first selected card! The magi asks what card the second spectator thought of and then reaches into his pocket to show that the card in his pocket was the thought-of-card! A great way to have a thought-of card end up in your pocket.
The downside of this effect is a half-deck stack, but besides that and another sleight, it’s practically self-working. Heart of the City The magician shows a sealed envelope on the table and does not touch it again until the end of the effect. He takes out three predictions from the deck, and the spectator chooses a card and signs it. The magician then gives the spectator several intuition tests and has the spectator choose another card from the deck (let’s say it’s the queen of spades).
Traffic Dear Mr Fantasy Video
The magi responds that the spectator’s intuition must be amazing since the three prediction cards are the other three queens. The magi then takes it one step further and opens up the envelope to reveal one card inside. When the card is flipped over, it’s the spectator’s original signed card! This is a great effect in its construction and climax.
The envelope is completely ungimmicked, and, if you wish, you could place the card in a container, card box, nest of boxes, or anything else that fits your fancy or you could to a simple “mystery card” presentation with the card on the table the entire time. The presentation John gives of “intuition tests” also works very well.
Dear Mr Fantasy Video
Directed Verdict IV The spectator cuts four packets from the deck, and the top card of each packet is an ace! I first encountered this effect as Final Verdict in “Dear Mr. Fantasy” which has a different way of handling the final ace. I actually like this version better as there’s less fidgeting by the magician. A great and easy cutting-the-aces. The Birnman Revelation A four ace production that I’m not really that excited about.
Shanghai Surprise A magi introduces a half dollar, vanishes it, and makes it reappear. He then makes it change places with a coin from London to an English penny. He then produces the half dollar back, and then the two coins change into two Chinese coins. This requires the Chinese coins and another special coin that I don’t have. Good visual effect though. Revolutionary Penetration A Chinese coin and a string are introduced. The string is threaded through the coin and placed in a spectator’s hand.
With a pull, the string magically penetrates through the coin! A good and simple effect. I don’t have a Chinese coin, but a washer or something else of the sort could probably work. Photo Logic The spectator selects a card from the deck. The magi introduces a bag of red slips of paper and takes out a piece.
He shows both sides and has the spectator sign one side of the slip. It is then placed under a glass, and a flash cube is brought out, touched to the glass, and WHOOSH!! A flash occurs, and when the glass is removed and the paper turned over, an image of the selected card appears!
Another good and simple effect using several known moves. Return of the Magnificant 7 A group of cards of the opposite color of the deck are introduced, and they are all shown to be one card, say the Jack of Hearts. The spectator selects a card from the deck (say the Nine of Spades), and the magi explains that if it were a prediction effect, he would be wrong not just once but seven times and counts the opposite color cards to be seven. Three of the cards and the selected card are taken, and, one at a time, the cards change into the Nine of Spades. Taking the next card in line, that card is changed as well, and the last few cards are picked up and changed to the selection, leaving the original card and seven opposite-colored Nine of Spades! Everything can be examined!
This is one of the best things I’ve ever seen. When I saw this, my mouth dropped to the floor at the changes and the final result. A wild card effect with no gaffs, special cards, or extra gimmicks!
The changes are extremely visual and convince a spectator that you started with seven different cards. The only difficult part will be finding seven duplicates to use, but you’ll have a lot of fun and amazement with this!
So, that’s the Impossibilia video. I paid $7.50 for this but would gladly pay more. The DVD version also contains a bonus effect Wait Until Dark, which is in Dear Mr. Fantasy and is an awesome prediction effect. I would recommend this to anyone who wants powerful but simple magic that will blow anyone away. Stranger's Gallery, Play it Straight, and Return of the Magnificant 7 are completely worth the price of admission.
Overall, a great buy! 9.5/10 I still remain, Despite their most strenuous objections, A close-up kinda guy BC Dougini Inner circle The Beautiful State Of Maine 6513 Posts.
John Bannon Born John A. Bannon USA Categories Books. (1986).
The Very Best Of John Bannon (in French, 1988). (1990). The Magic Of John Bannon (in Japanese, 1991). (1992). (2006).
Fractal Card Magic (2008). Open And Notorious (2009). Six.
(2009). Open and Notorious (2009). Mega 'Wave (2010). Bullet Party (2011). Triabolical (2011).
Shufflin' (2012). High Caliber (2013) Videos. Impossibilia: The John Bannon Video (1990).
Smoke & Mirrors Video (1993). Live From London (PAL only, 1999). Impossibilia: The John Bannon Video (DVD 2004). Smoke & Mirrors Video (DVD 2004). Bullets After Dark (DVD 2009). Bullet Party (DVD 2011). Duplicity (2008).
Spin Doctor (2008). The Royal Scam (2008).
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