Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Comic #4
In "The Buddha's Secret," sculptress Hortense Hollingsworth—known for her delicate artistry but self-conscious about her appearance—takes a dark turn when her husband Grover's attention drifts to the new maid. After a chilling act of vengeance, Hortense undergoes a secret transformation, emerging as the very woman Grover now desires. With a blend of eerie elegance and quiet menace, this issue explores obsession and identity, all rendered in striking visuals by Ken Battefield and Mimi Simon, and colored with haunting precision by Mimi Simon. The cover, by Todd Nauck, captures the story’s unsettling tone with a subtle, stylized portrait of Hortense in her new guise.
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Sculptress Hortense Hollingsworth creates things of beauty, but is homely herself. When husband Grover starts flirting with the new maid, Hortense poisons her and makes her into a statue. She then undergoes plastic surgery in secret and turns up as the new maid. Flirtatious Grover makes advances and is killed in cold blood.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).