Member Reviews
A fun-enough mystery graphic novel for kids and will likely really appeal to that group of reader! Thank you for the ARC.
Really cute modernized version of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy books that I loved growing up. My daughter really enjoyed this books and is looking forward to more joint adventures.
I love that there are so many new adaptations of Nancy Drew happening right now. I have enjoyed many of them, but this one didn’t really work for me.
The characters were quite exaggerated in this story. Joe was lazy and excitable. He got furious anytime anyone called him something other than Joe. His outbursts became quite repetitive after a while. Nancy was very secretive about her past life. It was strange and the reason was not explained in the story. Perhaps the reason will come out in future books, if this becomes a series.
I also thought the illustrations didn’t match the characters. Nancy looked like the main character from the cartoon Daria, but Nancy is nothing like that character. She didn’t look like any version of Nancy Drew I’ve ever seen before. The Hardy Boys looked like opposites, with Frank in a button down shirt and Joe sporting a mohawk hairstyle. We didn’t even get to see some of my favourite characters, George and Bess. George was illustrated once and Bess was mentioned in dialogue but they didn’t do anything in the story. I wasn’t familiar with the supporting characters that were in the story.
This graphic novel didn’t really work for me. The characters were too extreme and not true to the originals.
Thank you Dynamite Entertainment for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wilson has taken the elements familiar to anyone who's read the original Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books, these essential parts of the formula and laid them out in a blatant, obvious, humorous way. Nancy Drew must go under cover. Frank and Joe must stumble into dangerous situations, one of them getting captured. And Watson wants us to laugh at that situation. He's also taken pains to make some elements more realistic. These are teenagers, not mini adults. So they do some genuinely foolish things. They live on candy. They drive a bus. They bicker and fight non stop. At heart, though, this is a comedy. The entire scenario is ridiculous, a mild sci-fi plot with more jokes than danger. It boarders on satire and might serve as a good way to to introduce young readers to that concept.
I do not usually read books with graphics, but this comic style presentation alongside my childhood love for Nancy Drew as well as The Hardy Boys made this to be an interesting read.
As someone who grew up reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew stories, I found this to be a refreshing way to reintroduce them to a younger generation. The story was fun and my daughter and I enjoyed reading it together.
'Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Missing Adults' by Scott Bryan Wilson with art by Bob Solanovicz is a fun middle school level adventure that has a mystery.
When Nancy Drew moves to a new school in Bayport, she immediately runs in to the Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe (don't call him Joseph). Suddenly the adults have gone missing. This seems like a holiday for the kids, but there is only so much cold cereal you can eat. Nancy and the Boys head to a rival school that has a science fair going on. Everything in that town seems fine. What is going on?
It doesn't feel much like the characters I know, but I still had fun reading this. There is a sense of fun and craziness going on. I'm not so beholden to any of these characters that I can't see them remade for a new generation who might come to love the stories I did. I liked the art too. It keeps things lively and looking not too serious as well.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
If you grew up watching animated TV series from the 1990's to the present, the "Saturday morning cartoon"-style artwork of this mashup of a graphic novel will appeal to the eye. Indeed, some of the images/art could be screen-shot from TV. If you grew up, however, reading and loving the classic Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mystery novels, this volume may we be a huge let-down. Here, Nancy's the new gal at Bayport High where - soon after meeting the "great detectives" Frank and Joe Hardy - finds herself pulled into a mystery with the guys when all the adults in town disappear on the eve of a major science fair/contest Bayport has with its rival school. Could there be a connection? The road to finding out is a rather silly one, Frank and Joe Hardy (especially Joe) often doing or saying something that makes neither of them come off too bright - even to the boys physically fighting in a Wile E. Coyote ball of dust whenever Frank teasingly calls Joe "Joseph". Nancy comes across as the smart (mature) one, though all do contribute to solving the mystery ... but sadly, the characters you loved from the original novels are just dumbed-down and unrecognizable here. The story - even book - is fine on its own, and would have actually worked better with original characters in the leads. As a vehicle for iconic characters like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, it simply falls flat on the page. 2/5 stars
Note: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
A fun fresh new take on nancy drew not quite as good to me as the originals which really have my heart but still incredibly fun and a fast read
I recently read the middle grade graphic novel Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys and The Mystery of The Missing Parents by by Scott Bryan Wilson (Goodreads Author),
Bob Solanovicz (Contributor) and I didn't really like it at all well apart from the artwork and the puzzles etc which should of been at the back and not throughout the story as it broke the flow. Lets talk about the flow of the story it was all over the place we were jumping back and forth and had the adults found before the actual reveal. I also didn't like that the Hardy Boys fought like they did that should not really have been done as Hardy Boys and of course Nancy Drew are iconic characters that probably shouldn't be messed with too much. So I have to award this 2 stars
Nancy Drew moves to Bayport where she meets the Hardy Boys and teams up to solve a quirky mystery.
I was super excited to read this when I first saw it because I've been making my way through the original Nancy Drew books for the first time recently. I was actually really disappointed in this graphic novel. It almost felt like it was written by someone who has never read either Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys. I felt like the feel of the story wasn't even close to the feel of the original stories. The personalities of the characters were completely different. The way that they approached solving the mystery was completely different. I almost felt like this was making fun of the original stories. I will not be continuing with this series, unfortunately. The mystery that was in this book felt rushed and just silly, like the characters weren't really taking anything too seriously. Overall, I really just didn't enjoy this story at all.
PS - in what world would a teenage Nancy Drew not know how to work a stove?
**eARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.
As a kid, I always enjoyed both the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys books. What a great way to keep these stories fresh and interesting by being able to view them in an illustrative format. The illustrations are colorful, eye-catching and easy to read while the story moves along at a good pace. At the end of the story there are different activities such as connect the dots, spot the differences, and a crossword puzzle. These activities are intertwined with the characters. There is even a section explaining how a comic is made. This is a great read for kids, and the activities offer an added engagement bonus. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review.
This graphic novel brings together two well known detective teams through a series of unusual circumstances that children will enjoy. More escapades will follow as kids will surely want more!
I absolutely adored Nancy Drew growing up, but I just could not get into this. The dialogue is unneccesarily mature and complicated and I didn't connect with Nancy or the Hardy brothers at all. Honestly, I got about 70% of the way into it and couldn't go any further no matter how hard I tried, and trust me I tried. It just didn't have the nostalgic feel I was hoping for and I'm not sure if it would connect with new readers either.
It’s Nancy Drew’s first day at Bayport High School, having moved from River Heights, and who should she bump into in the school library but Frank and Joe, A.K.A, The Hardy Boys. With these three young sleuths in the one place you know a mystery is on its way. Your first clue that something isn’t quite right with the adults in this town are the classic cartoon hypnotised spiral eyes Coach Strohm is sporting.
Nancy, Frank and Joe decide there’s a mystery to solve when they figure out all of the adults are MIA. What I found even more interesting was the Mystery of the Teenagers Voluntarily Attending School Without Adult Supervision. Surprisingly they all returned to school the following day even though the town’s entire adult population are still missing. This is briefly addressed but I still don’t buy it. Even the skeleton in the science classroom had enough sense to leave the building before the students arrived for school on Day 2. Oh, wait. I guess a skeleton that wanders off is pretty mysterious too.
By the third day our resident detective kids have finally decided to ditch school to investigate. Joe feels bad about his truancy even though there are still no adults there to notice his absence.
Throughout the story Nancy spouts random facts about random things that no one else seems to care about, such as the type of driver’s licence and addendum required to allow someone with a learner’s permit to legally drive a bus. Nancy also goes undercover in Vansant; they’re Bayport’s rival school. This leads to one of those good ol’ ‘put on your disguise in the phone box’ sequences, not that anyone in Vansant knows who she is.
Nancy is a bit of a contradiction in this story; she seems to be smart yet she doesn’t know how to use the stove. Meanwhile Frank and Joe spent their spare time fighting one another.
While I already knew Nancy, I wasn’t acquainted with anyone from Bayport High so I was initially very appreciative of the early introduction to the usual suspects via a sneak peek at their yearbook photos. It turns out I didn’t need to use these as cheat sheets but still thought it was a good way to quickly introduce a number of characters.
After the mystery is solved there are some bonus activities for kids: a crossword, join the dots, spot the differences, find a word, memory test and colouring page.
I’d be interested in learning what kids who read this graphic novel think of it, specifically whether they want to read more about Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys. Although I haven’t read a lot of Nancy Drew books (okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve read one, but I have watched the latest movie too), her personality in this graphic novel didn’t line up with what I expected, particularly when she had a dummy spit.
Their portrayal in this graphic novel doesn’t make me want to learn anything more about Frank and Joe Hardy but because Nancy’s personality didn’t ring true to me perhaps I’d find Frank and Joe more likeable if I read some of their books.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Dynamite Entertainment and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. I had high hopes but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I’m rounding up from 2.5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I'm really sad that I didn't enjoy this! I devoured Nancy Drew novels as a child, and I'm still always drawn to any books and movies that depict her in a modern light. I'm not very familiar with the Hardy Boys, although I did read a few of the crossover novels.
I didn't really mesh with much in this graphic novel, which although it declares it is for "all ages", I feel would work best with a younger audience.
I felt like odd choices were made across the novel. The characters were a little younger than the original novels, with all of them attending high school. Nancy was the brainy, sensible one, while Frank and Joe were depicted as quite juvenile and ridiculous. The characters felt very flat and unlikeable. Beyond character names (and location names), not much felt true to either of the original series.
I'm not going to go into much more, but there were a few comments that didn't sit well with me. Nancy having to deal with the boys fawning over her, a joke about a characters relationship with food, embarrassed to be discussing feelings and the constant punch-ups between the brothers.
What I did love, was the extra content at the end of the graphic novel. I know that I would have loved these additions when I was younger - puzzle pages and information on how comics are put together!
Sadly this wasn't for me. And even though younger audiences may enjoy it, it's not something I'll be recommending to friends and family.
Nancy Drew has just moved to a new school and some of the first people she meets are Frank and Joe Hardy. With a mixture of characters from the Hardy Boys and from Nancy Drew (though, why cut Bess? And why so many male characters?), this definitely isn't like either of the original series. For one thing, Nancy never actually says that she's a detective. Frank and Joe are depected as rather bumbling.
It's a very tongue-in-cheek story so people who are having nostalgia won't necessarily connect.
Three stars
This book comes out November 5th
ARC kindly provided by Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
I've never really known anything about Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, but I know that this is just trying to make things as kid friendly as possible. This graphic novel in my opinion serves best as a companion to the more mature Big Lie crossover. The characters here are more cartoony and zany than their usual depictions. That in and of itself is not a bad thing.
However, when it comes to plot, this series focuses way too much on LOL gags. The unusual events like hang-gliding to school with no apparent injuries and hi-sci-fi concepts just seem to be a regular thing for these characters. That's actually a decent part of this. But the amount of running gags with Joe's full name just drag the plot down. For that matter, the mysteries aren't even that great, neither does it explore the actual implications of being kids not having parents around. Okay not entirely anyway. I mean most characters are more concerned with going to school than anything else. I don't know any middle schoolers who would want to be in school as it continuously gets ransacked by students.
I'm all for humor, but it has to be done in a way people get emotionally invested with. I certainly couldn't do that with this series.
I like the panels very much, both style and quality, but the plot and story are just messy. No suspense and no humor.