Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Nancy Drew #1


Nancy Drew #1 is a reimagining of the famous teenage sleuth written by Kelly Thompson and drawn by Jenn St-Onge. It updates Nancy for the modern day, adding a healthy dose of diversity and a breezy, snarky style that I think mostly works. It's not anything heavy or groundbreaking, but it's a good read. Nancy is in high school in River Heights, and she spends her free time crime solving apparently, just like in the books. On the anniversary of her mother's death she receives a weird letter postmarked from Bayport, her hometown. I don't remember Bayport ever being her hometown (it's where the Hardy Boys lived though) so maybe that was changed for story purposes here. Anyway Nancy heads back to Bayport, as one would I suppose, given the strangeness of the letter. 

Once she's back in town she reunites with her old friends Bess and George, and after reacquainting themselves they set out to solve a mystery! Nancy suspects that the old caves on the north cliffs have something to do with the letter, for reasons she doesn't reveal yet, so off they go. They're going to have help too, as George calls the Hardy Boys in. Turns out Frank and Joe have collaborated with Nancy in the past- they're old friends. So now the cliffs- partially washed out and renamed Deadman's Cliff- await. 

Nancy takes the lead, as she should, and lowers herself into a cave with her friends above manning the rope. What happens from there I won't say but to say it's a cliffhanger (ha) would be an understatement. This has all the ingredients for a fun series- the story moves, the dialogue works, you have caves and mysterious letters- it practically oozes Nancy Drew. The only real issues I had were the art- not really my style, a little too cartoonish or younger skewing maybe?- and I thought it started a little silly. It picks up as it goes though. 

Just as an aside, I thought Nancy was looking pretty stylish here- thigh high boots at one point, off the shoulder sweaters. I wasn't expecting the Hardys to show up, not sure why that is but it seems to work, actually. Joe and Bess immediately make goo goo eyes at one another, so there's a subplot! All in all, this was good enough to make me come back for #2. 

26 comments:

  1. I was a huge Enid Blyton fan as a kid and read all her child detective books but for some reason I never read Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. I'm not sure why!

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  2. Wait, Bayport? I wonder if that means more Nancy/Hardy Boys team ups? This sounds so cool, in fact that cover is super cool! I like this nancy (and I still mourn the nancy drew show that could have been!)

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    1. I know? Bayport threw me- I'm not sure why they changed her hometown? Kinda weird because Bess and george lived there but Nancy moved to River Heights.

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  3. I loved Nancy Drew and still have all of my cousin’soriginal ones. I used to read them over and over.

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    1. I love the original editions- both those and the Hardy Boys, which I read tons of.

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  4. I didn't know there was a modern, graphic novel version of Nancy Drew. Would someone have needed to read the originals in order to understand what's going on in this story? (I did read some of the originals, but it's been many years and I remember almost nothing about them. :) )

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    1. I just discovered them myself! And no I don't think you have to know ANYTHING to try these- they're a totally modern take starting off fresh- no prior knowledge needed. :)

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  5. I had a big mystery and horror phase when I was a kid! Nancy Drew was one of the series I loved to read. Seeing someone take the classic character and give her a modern twist is awesome!

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    1. I loved mysteries as a kid! I read all the Hardy Boys and some of the Nancy's too. Over and over. :)

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  6. I was thinking that they probably set it in Bayport to bring the Hardy Boys in, and I was right. This looks great for the youngsters, but if I was itching to read some I think I would reach for a classic! 👍✨

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    1. The Hardy Boy connection is interesting- they make a pretty good team? And yeah the classics are the classics. :)

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  7. I used to devour Nancy Drew books when I was growing up. I couldn't get enough of them! I had no idea about this updated comic version and am definitely gonna check it out. This sounds awesome!

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  8. I think this is a great way to introduce Nancy to a new generation. Maybe it will even inspire readers to read the original series.

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  9. Nancy Drew is awesome! I would totally read this. :)

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  10. This incarnation of Nancy Drew is blowing my mind. I grew up reading Nancy Drew books, but I guess today's generation wouldn't like the old ones as much as I did.

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  11. Oh wow, this is wild. Like Sam, I'm finding it a little hard to reconcile the Nancy I grew up with with what I'm seeing here, but if I was just encountering her for the first time now, I know I'd love this modernized version of her.

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  12. Nancy Drew is a childhood favorite of mine (and so are the Hardy Boys). I convinced my daughter to buy a children's chapter book featuring Nancy Drew so I can introduce her to the character. :-) I will have to check this out!

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  13. Who knew?!? I was seriously into Nancy Drew for a few years in my childhood, but she's super dated, so an update sounds fun!

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  14. I used to love Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven books but never read any Nancy Drew. I probably would have liked them.
    Weird question, do the scooter headlights have faces on them? It kinda looks like moon-type faces via my tablet!

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  15. I never got around to Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys as a child, and by the time I was running my own library, the kids just weren’t reading them any more. Pity. Perhaps new covers might have helped. Is this a graphic novel?

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  16. Hmm I think I really need to check this out. I feel like my mom owned all of the Nancy Drew books and I could never get into them (I still never pick mystery up actually) BUT I have been trying to dive further into the world of graphic novels recently and think seems like it would be a good one for that...!!

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  17. I was SO obsessed with Nancy Drew (& The Hardy Boys) tv shows when I was a kid.

    This doesn't look like my version at all but I'm glad to see a new generation being introduced to her.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  18. Oh my gosh there are NANCY DREW COMICS?! I am in!

    AND - I think I FINALLY fixed whatever was up with my blogger comments. I haven't been able to comment for MONTHS. YAY!! (knock on wood)

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  19. Oh, it's the first time I hear about this! I have to go read it now!!

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