"Me? I'm more of a 'shark philosophy' person myself. Keep moving or die."

I legitimately finished this within 30 minutes. IT WAS SO INCREDIBLE. When I saw this promoted on Edelweiss+ (is that how you spell it? I have no idea) I knew I needed to read it. Even though I have books I need to review coming out of my ass. But I needed it. Now, I have never read the original Nancy Drew series, but I watched the movie(s) and I adore her character. I find her to be such a badass and I just vibe with her so hard.

So, in this brand new re-vamped version of good ol' Nancy is literal fire. The good kind. The fabulous kind. I'm in love with this squad.

'Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom' depicts a story of intrigue and suspense. Nancy thought she left behind the sorrowful memories of her mother and her incredible friends who seemingly forgot about her the minute she left Bayport. After receiving a rather threatening letter on the anniversary of her mother’s death, Nancy heads back to Bayport, thinking that she’ll finally gain the closure she’s been wanting about her mother’s apparent accidental death. Whilst reconnecting with her squad of close friends, and meeting the new guy, Pete, they join forces to unmask a killer when they realise that the accidental deaths that have been occurring at ‘Deadman’s cliffs’ are linked with a drug smuggling organisation in the area.

This review is not going to be as long as my usual reviews, because I will end up giving away major spoilers if I let myself go on about this comic, but Nancy Drew reminded me why so many people keep coming back to these adaptions. Nancy is both utterly charming and completely frustrating. I enjoyed the fact that the writers didn’t sugarcoat Nancy’s character – sometimes her thoughtlessness as a result of her dependence on herself and not on others, means that she forgets to let her friends know that she’s actually alive, and you know, not dead in a ravine. Nancy is incredibly intelligent and actually super trusting, but sometimes struggles with being able to showcase her emotions to the people she loves. She’s just a badass investigator, okay, even though she’s a high schooler. She also looks like a combination of The Black Widow and Kim Possible? Which I loved?

The Squad, though, is where this comic really shines. The diversity of this comic blew me away. We have a bisexual or lesbian QUEEN, George Fayne who keeps it real and her girlfriend Danika is so cute and super smart. Bess Marvin is actually an angel and the real star of the show, if you ask me. I adored her character. She was sweet, intelligent, kicked absolute ass and legitimately saved everyone because SHE IS JUST THAT EPIC.

We then have the Hardy brothers, Frank and Joe who are so wonderful and supportive. They’re just there in the background helping and being hilarious.

The scene when they were undercover buy drugs in order to find evidence was hilarious and had me in stitches.

The writing was fabulous, the illustrations fantastic and the story was memorable.

It also ended on a cliffhanger which I’m not happy about, but that just means I’m painstakingly awaiting the sequel. I rate this comic 4 out of 5 stars, only because I did feel like it could have been a bit more in the sense of being more emotionally engaging.

I've been following and enamored with Thompson's new Nancy Drew comic series since it's first episode -- fun fact, issue 3's cover was the first thing to go up on the wall behind my new desk -- but as someone who has the HARDEST time following a series from issue to issue, I was thrilled to see the compilation that is The Palace of Wisdom. I love this Nancy -- she's sharp-edged and snarky, but loves with her whole heart, and she's so damned smart. Even better, her supporting cast is diverse inclusive and inclusive while still feeling true to the originals. And as someone who is constantly looking for more teen comics from women creators/artists that I can recommend to young patrons, I'll be so glad to finally have a volume in our stacks to recommend.

Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom has Nancy come back to her hometown of Bayport when she gets sent a mysterious letter. Once there, one thing leads to another and from the mystery of the letter leads her into uncovering a murder.
I found out about Nancy Drew due to the film made years ago with Emma Roberts. This was the first thing I ever read about her.
The story of the comic was enjoyable. I found that it gripped you into wanting to read more of what was going on. It made me curious as to what would happen next for the team.
I loved the art style and enjoyed how each chapter gave you a different cover art with different artists. I find that having a comic with a pleasant art style gives me more interest in reading the comic than having one I dislike.

*ARC has been provided to me by Netgalley and its publishers*

Shall we start with the obvious? Artwork!
I really, really enjoyed all the artworks in this one! Especially the extra ones in between chapters and at the end of the book. Those are so gorgeous that I could spend a whole day watching them.
I did really like the actual graphics too. The pictures are great and clear and lively, if that makes any sense. But the one thing that really bothered me in the arts were the texts. At some points it just didn't fit in the bubble which made it really hard to read and kind of left me guessing the correct word for the part. Either the bubbles should have been bigger or the font just a tad smaller.

The story though! Gosh I didn't realize how much I missed Nancy Drew before I read this one. And as a graphic novel even! Probably made the whole experience even better.
Nancy was just like herself. Her little posse is a great mix of different types of people. Nerdy ones, the good girls etc, you get what I'm trying to say, right?

The storyline grabbed my attention from the very beginning and kept me interested in the book the whole time. Never once did I just want to quit reading, quite the opposite.
Yet I still hoped for something more. It felt too short for my liking. A little rushed, even. I know I like fast paced books but Nancy Drew was a little too fast paced. In one second we were at Nancy's new home, with her new posse and the next second she was already back at her old town with her old posse, all deep in this mystery. Pretty much just as fast it was all solved.

The ending. Let me just tell you that that cliffhanger was bad! I don't even know if there's another one coming out and if there is, when is it coming? Because I needed it like yesterday! It was kind of that bad, the cliffhanger.

All in all this was an amazing fast read to get me finish at least one book every now and then but also one that didn't need that much brain work to read and understand what's going on.

4.5 stars. This graphic novel/comic was so fun! As someone who read Nancy Drew a lot when I was a kid, it was amazing to read a version more geared towards teenagers and older. The art style was beautiful and I loved the different styles for each issue cover.
It had the old characters Bess and George and even the Hardy Boys! As well as a few new characters.
I couldn’t stop reading even though it was relatively short and that ending! I’m not sure when the next issues are coming out, but I hope it’s soon!

This was such a fun and fast-paced read. I loved this modernized re-imagining of Nancy Drew.
The artwork was crisp and fun. I enjoyed how diverse each of the characters were and that we even had some queer representation. The story-line was entertaining and the interactions between the characters was amusing and left me smiling. The only complaint I had was that I never felt truly connected with the characters, even Nancy. However, this is an issue that I am sure will be remedied as the story continues in further volumes.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read and the ending to this story left me wanting more. I will most likely be picking up the rest of the series when it is released.

When I first saw a book offered through NetGalley I was excited, after all I am from the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys generation. I grabbed it before I really knew that first it was a comic book and animated and that it was not the Nancy Drew of my days.

So it's maybe a little unfair to write what I thought, but I wasn't impressed. The characters did not have the same personalities and were modernized into today. I didn't feel the storyline progressing congruently and didn't feel that I could follow it as I would have liked. And I don't remember anyone in the Hardy Boys Series or Nancy Drew series swearing. Couldn't really connect to the characters. They changed a bit too much for me. Sorry.

I received an ebook copy from NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

So pretty much the only experience I've had with either Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys [who are in every issue of this as well, despite not being mentioned in the title] was another reboot comic I read a little over a year ago called The Big Lie [from the same company I think, although I'm not sure if they're supposed to be connected or not]. That being said, I really enjoyed this but I'm not sure how die-hard fans of the originals will feel about it, but if you're open to new interpretations of classic stories then I think it will be a really fun read. The art is super cute and I loved all the characters and character designs. The mystery was exciting and held my attention and I'm definitely interested to see what is going to happen in the next volume.

Thanks to Dynamite Entertainment and Netgalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was a huge Nancy Drew fan as a young girl (The Sign of the Twisted Candles was my jam) so I had to check this one out. In this graphic novel, Nancy Drew has been rebooted for a 21st century teen audience and some of the key characters we know and love have been updated accordingly.

The art itself is colourful and vibrant. The characters look cute although there is a tendency for them all to look very similar to one another. There has been a good effort to ensure there is a variety of representation including racial diversity and LGBTQ characters. Bess is chubby (properly chubby, not just pleasantly plump as she was described in the books) and one of the hot guy characters is attracted to her. Might not seem like a big deal but as a chubby teen this was not a dynamic that I ever remember seeing except when it turned out the popular guy was playing a joke on the fat girl so it was nice to see.

The comic also touches upon current themes like racial tensions with the police and inequality but still feels fresh and fun and it would appeal to old and new fans alike. The main story was interesting enough, if a little simplistic and predictable, but I know this can be one of the limitations of the genre.

Overall, a modern and topical update to the Nancy Drew universe with cute art and a fun, fresh feel. What's not to like?

I still have all my old yellow Nancy Drew hardcovers. The pages are a bit wavy from summer trips to the beach and one book has a particularly nasty streak of brown dirt embedded on the fore edge from a camping incident. Nancy is peak nostalgia for me and I’m always here for reboots or adaptations that will update Nancy and her friends for an introduction to a new generation of kids.

And maybe Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom can be that for some. But the comic is amateurish and doesn’t hold up to the slightest criticism. It feels like a story that was written collectively by 30 people over a Twitter conversation. It’s so all over the place and nothing connects together in any sensible way.

Nancy is such an obnoxiously unbelievable character. One example (out of many, I assure you): her friends praise her for being Girl Scouts-level prepared for any situation but Nancy just can’t seem to remember to keep her cellphone on her when she gets into dangerous situations! But Nancy wears black lipstick and dresses like she’s trying to get featured on the Hot Topic Instagram account and they just can’t stay mad at this loveable Mary Sue, even though each character spends half of every comic freaking out about Nancy’s safety. She’s seventeen years old and answers to no one! No one! (Seriously, there’s no adult presence in her life. I’m concerned.)

I didn’t care for the art at all. There’s instalove, dialogue that’s clearly adults trying to write hip teenagers, and a plot that made my eyes roll (the storyline was “whack” as these teenagers might say!).

My favorite part was the collection of cover variants at the end.

If I had to describe this comic in a word: delightful. I never read the Nancy Drew books as a kid so I’m not as familiar with the characters / how they’re being reimagined, but I loved these spunky, crime-solving teens. And the inclusion of the Hardy Boys was really fun, too. The artwork was fun and overall this comic gave me some excellent Veronica Mars vibes which I was in to. I absolutely can’t wait to read more.

I loved the art! The story was generally entertaining, but it felt much more "Veronica Mars" than "Nancy Drew." I have trouble seeing Nancy as someone who would ever keep things from her friends. She also has such a good reputation that the cops are willing to work with her in most cases, so having them not believe her because she's a kid seems very out of place. I think I would have liked this graphic novel better if the characters names had all been changed and it wasn't sold as a Nancy Drew story.

Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom stays true to the mystery lover that loves Nancy. But the graphic novel presents a cute, almost fully grown Nancy updated for the modern day. The language sometimes reflects the changes but the story provides the clues to follow Nancy and friends on a murder mystery that as always leaves the gang in danger. The art is charming as it tells the story in a fun and lighthearted flourish. The Hardy Boys and Nancy's friends George and Bess welcome Nancy back to her hometown when a threatening letter sends her down the road of murder and danger. The story telling is enjoyable and the art is aesthetic for a great overhaul of the original characters that I would revisit time and time again. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

I've never been the biggest Nancy Drew fan, but I remembered the characters well enough that my favorite thing about this graphic novel was seeing them re-imagined as modern, fun teens. (HIGH key loving the fact that my fave from my childhood, George, grew up to be a queer punk girl?!) The plot was okay—a little underwhelming, maybe, and certainly predictable—but the characters were fun and the art was lovely, so I feel pretty comfortable giving this 4 stars. I assume this creator is going to make more in this 'series', and if that's the case, I think I'll check them out, too.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This graphic novel is a modernization of the classic Nancy Drew books. Many of the original characters make an appearance and have been updated for modern times. I found it to be an entertaining detective story told in comic book form. For me personally, it was a bit disconcerting to see the classic characters that I grew up reading being modernized, but I still enjoyed the story itself once I worked to get past that. The art style is also accessible and clear. I would recommend this to students who enjoy both well-written mysteries and graphic novels.

I really loved this graphic novel. The mystery was well wrapped up and I need more after that ending. I loved all the rep in this story. The art style was absolutely beautiful and kind of perfect (no pressure). The group's dynamic was hilarious. I found myself constantly laughing at what George said.

I never read Nancy Drew books as a kid so I had no real expectations for this series. In my mind the original books were charming, wholesome stories and Nancy was basically a good girl who was unable to resist solving a mystery when it appeared in front of her. I think this graphic novel series succeeded pretty well at bringing a classic character into 2019. In order to modernize it is a fair bit grittier and deals with more adult subject matter. I was anticipating a bit of a “Veronica Mars” influence and that is a pretty apt comparison. It’s maybe not quite as clever but has the same dark, true crime feel and the same camaraderie of a group of friends coming together to solve a mystery. In this case the crime portion of the story felt a bit rushed and vague, but I think that is to be expected in this format which is limited in how much detail it can present to the reader. I liked the art style and the colouring which felt somehow a bit retro. The characters were pretty well always easily recognizable and the lettering was clear. This series has some great potential and I will be in line for Nancy's next mystery!

Thank you to Diamond Book Distributors and Dynamite Entertainment for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I haven't read a Nancy Drew book in years. I couldn't tell that it was going to be a cartoon (anime??)?? My ARC was a protected pdf which has to be read with a special program. My copy the garbage stopped and started after chapter 1 even other page would have the words but it's hard to figure out what's going on. I tried reading it on several devices thinking maybe that would help. Nope! Is this part of a series? Not much background given. Nancy is completely updated? Lots of surprise visits. Sorry but I have to date this poorly as I really don't know what happens. I give it a 2.

I didn't like the writing style and I couldn't tell from the description that it would be a graphic novel, which I generally don't enjoy that much.