Introduction
I'm honestly not sure where to start with this review. When this comic book series first came out, I was curious about it, but then once I started hearing more and more about it, I lost interest in reading it. But, a very kind follower a little while back sent me all 5 issues of the series, which I was super excited to add to my collection! However, I still didn't read it. Then in April, my parents sent me a gift card to Target for my birthday, so I decided to see if they had any Nancy Drew books on their website, and low and behold, they have quite a few! As I was scrolling, I came across the hardcover bind-up of all 5 issue of the Palace of Wisdom comic book series, and I decided to purchase it just for collecting purposes. When it came in the mail, the art inside and the description on the back cover had me really intrigued, so I decided that I would give it a chance at some point after all. So last night, at 3 am, I picked it up and began reading. And I took notes.
Warning: There are no spoilers to the plot and mystery itself, but there are spoilers to the characters and whatnot.
Facts about this version of Nancy:
* She seems to be a fan of Taylor Swift (I'm with her on that)
* She considers herself to be a "shark philosophy" sort of person, (keep moving or die)
* She's 17 and still in high school
* She drives a red vespa...
* Has quite the attitude
* Seems to like messing with people
* Lives in River Heights, but her hometown is Bayport
*Nancy moved away from Bayport and to River Heights 7 years ago, when she was 10
* In River Heights, she has a new team..a "Watson" type named Noah, and a tech genius/hacker named Mia
* Her mom died when she was 10 (which lines up with the OT text versions of the original books series), however she died from an accident, rather than an illness like in the books
* Nancy can tell what kind of shoe someone was wearing just form their shoe prints..love this
* According to George, Nancy always wants to be the boss and to have her secrets, and basically says that everything is always Nancy's fault. Says the she loves her like a sister, but that she can be the worst sometimes.
* Nancy is just as smart and clever as she is in the books
* She has real, human emotions
* She can be really selfish most of the time
* Apparently Nancy gives the gang icy glares when they don't complete an assignment she gives them
* Nancy's inner monologue is witty, but otherwise uncharacteristic
* She's always forgetting to have her phone on her, and her friends freak out every time, worried about her safety. She explains that it's because her River Heights team works more in the background so she's used to working on her own, and isn't used to working with others like the old days
* During the case Nancy freaks out and doesn't know what to do..uncharacteristic
* Nancy likes someone other than Ned OR Frank?! No thanks.
Facts about this version of Bess Marvin and George Fayne:
* Nancy's former best friends from Bayport
* She hasn't heard anything from them since she left and moved to River Heights
* They're cousins (glad that stayed the same)
* George is a lesbian and has a girlfriend named Danica
* George is grouchy and kinda mean
* According to Nancy, George has a tough exterior, but is actually soft and sweet inside, and truly cares about others
* George drives a red BMW bug, doesn't seem like a car she'd drive. Seems more like a Bess type car
* Bess is till curvy, blonde, and her book character is still intact. But she's tougher and a little less of a scaredy cat..love it
Facts about this version of The Hardy Boys:
* Frank and Joe were childhood friends of Nancy, Bess, and George
* Joe is the "athletic one" and Frank is the "smart one"
* Apparently Nancy used to have romantic connections with BOTH brothers..weird
* Frank where's glasses (?!)
* The boys moved away from Bayport a couple of years ago, but then moved back with their dad after their parents got divorced
* Joe is now in love with Bess..absolutely love this
* They apparently don't solve mysteries on their own, and only ever helped Nancy with her's..ugh
* They drive a Bronco
* Nancy calls them the "Famous Hardy Boys", which is weird because they don't seem to solve mysteries on their own, so why are they famous?
Random Observatons:
* They all seem to get annoyed by Nancy's sleuthing, including the Hardy Boys...WHY
* There's swearing, drugs, etc. Not kid friendly
* Apparently Bayport is racist and has dirty cops
* George calls Nancy out of not contacting them except for an occasional birthday text
* George hints at not being able to trust Nancy, but we never learn why
* George says, "you're still Nancy freaking Drew and its always something with you"
* I've noticed typos, such as sometimes Bess's last name is "Marvin" and sometimes its misspelled as "Martin".
* Sometimes words get cut off in the speaking bubbles (or whatever they're called), so it can be a little hard to read, but you can still understand what it's supposed to say
* When a scene is somewhat far away, but still really not that far, the character's eyes are blacked out, kind of looks like they're wearing a mask. Maybe its a style choice but it looks awful and makes me wonder if it's another sloppy mistake.
* George's girlfriend Danica is super cool
* Dierdre (from the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series and PC games) shows up as some random girl at a bar who sells them drugs. She also kisses Frank. Weird
* They all still love Nancy and want her to stay in Bayport..aw!
* Ending leaves it open for a sequel series
Final Thoughts
Um...where do I start?
Okay, so the mystery itself was pretty good, I enjoyed it! The culprit was a little predictable, but over all it was a fairly solid mystery. Now about the rest of it...
Over the years, I've become more and more open minded about Nancy Drew adaptations. However, this one just didn't do it for me. For the most part, I liked the character of Nancy, although there were definitely things that were out of character for her, such as being selfish, rude, and apparently some other things that we don't know about, but that George hinted at a lot (like being untrustworthy). I don't like what they did with the supporting characters, other than Bess and Joe. Bess was awesome, the same Bess from the books, but tougher and with more wits. I love that they kept her a little overweight, (great for body positivity) yet didn't make fun of her eating habits! Joe was also pretty much the same as his character from the books, and I love that he and Bess were romantically involved in this adaptation! I always loved how in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys crossover books, Bess and Joe often flirt with each other, and I've always shipped them as a couple! Frank was okay, kind of bland and for some reason it irked me that he wore glasses (haha). Honestly, there wasn't much to his character in my opinion. Now on to George...ugh. She was my least favorite character for sure. I didn't like how mean she was to Nancy, and she was pretty harsh! A lot of what she said irritated me. However, there wasn't much character development in these volumes, so hopefully if they make more, George's character will be developed more, and she won't be as bad as she seems. After all, Nancy did say that George has a tough exterior and is actually sweet and caring inside. One last thing about George, I really don't like that they made her a lesbian. This only plays into the stereotype that girls who are tough/tomboys/have short hair are lesbians, and stereotyping is not okay. It would have been nice to see something more original, rather than go with the jokes that fans and collectors have made for years about her being a lesbian. It's great to have the diversity, but maybe choose a different character like they did in the new TV show. Speaking of diversity, it was awesome seeing more diverse characters in this adaptation than you do in other Nancy Drew books! This is also definitely not for kids, with swearing, drugs, and more featured. I've heard a couple accounts of this being placed in the children's section in libraries, so if you see that happen in your library, please let someone know! It should really be in the YA section.
Over all, this comic book series didn't really feel like Nancy Drew to me, it felt more like they just used the names. But regardless, I still recommend trying it out for yourself, maybe you'll like it! I enjoyed the mystery for the most part, and I really like the artwork!
