Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Johnny B by The Hooters

Too bad the creator of this effect isn't named Jonathan Bickard (rather than Pickard). Then I could refer to him as "Johnny B" (Thank you "The Hooters"). Regardless of spelling, I'll bet he gets asked if his middle name is "Luc" a lot. This product has a lot going for it:

• The idea is clever
• The instruction booklet is very well produced
• There are mulitple effects and ways to use the gimmick taught in the booklet
• There are a ton of other ideas you'll have once you learn the basic secret

What it, unfortunately, doesn't have going for it is:

• The gimmick is not printed well- it looks fuzzy and blurry
• The price is a bit steep for one effect
• They should have used a Joker - That makes sense only if you've seen the gimmick

The trailer shows a very honest performance and sample of what the effect is and how well it plays, and indeed, with a gimmick that looks a bit more realistic, I think all would be well. Having said that, let me defend the gimmick for a moment. It's hard to be too specific without revealing the nature of the gimmick, so I'll try to protect the secret. Basically the printing on the gimmick is blurry and doesn't quite look right. However, I think that it'll probably fly. It won't be examined closely by the audience, and the gimmick is out of play pretty quickly.

When the effect is over, the gimmick is gone, and the box is examinable, so that being the case, I won't be too hard on the gimmick. Also, it doesn't look horribly wrong, just slightly off.

When all is said and done, I think this is a worthy opponent in the very small arena of effects with the printing on the card box.

Final Verdict:
3.5 Stars with a Stone Status of gem.