Reviewed by Jeanne
When a new author takes up established characters and puts a
new spin on them, the results are usually either admired or vilified. In this case, author Anthony Del Col decided
to update the beloved children’s sleuths Frank and Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew in graphic
novel form. They’re young adults now and
not looking for gold coins or missing wills: they’re trying to find murderers.
In Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie, Frank and Joe are suspected
of murdering their father, a disgraced police detective. The boys proclaim their innocence but the new
police chief is sure it’s just a matter of time before one of the Hardys caves
and implicates the other. Old friend
Nancy Drew turns up, ready to help the brothers find the real killer. That’s easier said than done: despite its picture postcard appearance,
Bayside has a dark thread of corruption running through it: gambling, drugs, smuggling,
and murder.
The Death of Nancy Drew: A Nancy Drew and Hardy
Boys Noir opens with Joe obsessing over the recent death of his friend,
Nancy, in what was ruled an accident.
Joe believes it was no accident, but murder. Frank is skeptical and the brothers clash,
leaving Joe to investigate on his own.
This second volume is the one that intrigued me. Actually, I didn’t know there was a first
volume, but as I read The Death of Nancy Drew there were so many
references to things that occurred previously that I realized this had to be a
sequel. I was too involved in the story
to stop, so I finished it and went back to read the first volume.
I thoroughly enjoyed both.
While the stories are grittier, Nancy, Joe, and Frank are still the
resourceful, smart, brave characters I knew and loved growing up. I liked these people. I was especially taken with Nancy. She comes
across as a remarkable young woman.
Not all the characters from the past fare as well, however,
and some do not make wise life choices.
Other familiar names crop up, and some are definitely NOT nice but I
still enjoyed the tip of the hat to these other Stratemeyer Syndicate
series. (Okay, did not know the Rover
Boys, until this tale!) I don’t want to spoil anyone else’s enjoyment of these
books, so I’m going to leave off any further descriptions or comments.
The art in both is very well done. Werther Dell’Edera did the honors in The
Big Lie, while Joe Eisma did the art in The Death of Nancy Drew. Both volumes include bonus material in the
form of interviews with the creators. The
Big Lie included the art for covers of individual issues collected here,
and I was quite taken with the ones by Fay Dalton.
While these may not be to everyone’s liking, I was delighted
and charmed.
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