Review: Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Death of Nancy Drew #3 (of 6)

This third issue of the latest Nancy Drew mini-series from Dynamite actually sees a second part of the mystery unfolded.Â Now that Nancy and the Hardy Boys have found their killer, they are left with more questions than they started with.Â Good thing that this series is only halfway done!

A confrontation on a rooftop leaves Frank severely less than mortally wounded, but in the process does give the gang their culprit and his two flip phones.Â From there it’s a logical follow the clues to a press conference for the new tech whiz business that is hopefully going to save River Heights.Â With protesters abound, a killer and an edgy police force all in play, is Nancy ready for the next big revelation?

Anthony Del Col has layered this run superbly so far.Â Each issue clears one step of the mystery, before leaving enough dangling to draw Nancy and her boys further down the rabbit hole.Â Del Col also wisely changes the focus to some extent; after the Joe heavy first issue and the Nancy focused second, we get an issue that is more Frank centred.Â I have to admit, I didn’t realise that Frank had feelings for Nancy, I thought that was strictly Joe territory.Â That’s not to say I was too surprised by thisÂ and I am actually ok with it.Â Some may think that is a lazy way to go about it, but let’s be honest, Nancy Drew is the cool kid of the town; spicy (Frank’s words, not mine), edgy and dangerous; any red blooded male was bound to be enticed.Â It also sets up for an interesting dilemma down the line.Â The dialogue of the book works well; again, the banter between the three leads, especially the brothers is great.Â The pace of the main story story is well punctuated with moments of closure,Â Great work indeed.

Joe Eisma provides the pencils again.Â It seems that as this series progresses, Eisma’s angles get more pronounced.Â This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, given that those that buy this book are in for the long haul.Â It does create some odd camera angles that does affect the perspectives.Â This leads to a confusing set of panels in the final act.Â This is a bit of a shame as the quieter moments are really well done.Â The colors by Salvatore Aiala encapsulates the feel and tone of the book for sure.Â Murky schemes for murky shenanigans for sure.Â Crank! supplies the letters and gets to play around with the fonts with the inner monologuing completes with a comic sans style and a lean more spaced style for actual dialogue.Â There is a contrast which unfortunately feels less than polished.

Having seen a number of different Nancy Drew styles over the last couple of years, I am glad to see that Dynamite are continuing to treat her seriously.Â Yes, there is virtue in having her as a YA character, but for the most part, the people who have grown up with Nancy and the Hardy boys are now of an age where there has to be more to the her adventures.Â In Anthony Del Col’s hands, we are getting that in spades with the adventures and challenges only feeling more adult with the additional emotional elements and resonance.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Anthony Del Col
Art by; Joe Eisma
Colors by; Salvatore Aiala
Letters by; Crank!
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network