Big Lie Big Idea
Written by: Anthony del Col
Art by: Werther Dell'edera
Colours by: Stefano Simeone
Letters by: Simon Bowland
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 12, 2017
Okay. Confession time. When I was a kid, I read a lot of stuff. Doctor Who novelisations were my main obsession, but there were a ton of popular children’s book series I was into in addition to the adventures of the man with the long scarf and the mop of curly hair and the floppy broad-brimmed hat. The Hardy Boys and, to a lesser extent, Nancy Drew were among them. Those stories offered a mix of atmosphere, mystery, incident and intrigue. The Hardy Boys and Nancy themselves were, well, a little dull – too clean cut, too earnest to be truly compelling protagonists, but the stories themselves were fun. In Dynamite’s reimagining of the characters, that sense of fun and mystery is still there. To an extent.
We start this issue with a quick recap of issue 1. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew have grown up and the boys are in trouble. Their father, detective Fenton Hardy, has been murdered and the boys are suspects. Nancy’s got troubles of her own. Her mother is dead and, we find out in this issue, Nancy has recently found out that her father was cheating on her before she died. While purists might decry this rather dramatic departure from the protagonists’ domestic situations, it does remove the cloying cosiness that was sometimes noticeable in the original stories. The stakes are raised here and there’s a clear sense of everyone being outside their comfort zone. Well, almost everyone.
Okay. Confession time. When I was a kid, I read a lot of stuff. Doctor Who novelisations were my main obsession, but there were a ton of popular children’s book series I was into in addition to the adventures of the man with the long scarf and the mop of curly hair and the floppy broad-brimmed hat. The Hardy Boys and, to a lesser extent, Nancy Drew were among them. Those stories offered a mix of atmosphere, mystery, incident and intrigue. The Hardy Boys and Nancy themselves were, well, a little dull – too clean cut, too earnest to be truly compelling protagonists, but the stories themselves were fun. In Dynamite’s reimagining of the characters, that sense of fun and mystery is still there. To an extent.
We start this issue with a quick recap of issue 1. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew have grown up and the boys are in trouble. Their father, detective Fenton Hardy, has been murdered and the boys are suspects. Nancy’s got troubles of her own. Her mother is dead and, we find out in this issue, Nancy has recently found out that her father was cheating on her before she died. While purists might decry this rather dramatic departure from the protagonists’ domestic situations, it does remove the cloying cosiness that was sometimes noticeable in the original stories. The stakes are raised here and there’s a clear sense of everyone being outside their comfort zone. Well, almost everyone.
The issue is narrated by Nancy and Del Col writes her as an
exceptionally clever, driven and confident girl. The problem is that she also
comes off as rather manipulative. She’s more than happy to play the Hardy boys
off against one another, counting on their sibling rivalry to keep them invested
in a plan about which she has not been entirely forthcoming. While this keeps
the plot moving and adds a fair amount of tension to the book, it does run the
risk of making Nancy feel far less sympathetic a character than she could – or should
– be.
The book’s final third is where the story really takes off
as Nancy’s plan to ingratiate herself and the boys with local criminals in an
effort to gain information about who killed Fenton starts off smoothly but
quickly unravels when she pushes the brothers too far and Joe seems to betray
them. The issue ends on a pretty decent cliffhanger and I’m tempted to pick up
the next one to see how things develop.
Overall, then, this is a pretty solid issue. To fans of the
original stories – or, like me, those readers who have mostly fond memories of
them – the updating of the characters may feel a little disrespectful, but del
Col fuels his plot with it, making it an integral part of the story rather than
merely a change for change’s sake. Werther Dell’edera’s art tells the story
well and he’s adept at using perspective for dramatic or disconcerting effect.
His style is a little too sparse for me, but it works well enough and
communicates emotion and mood pretty effectively. Stefano Simeone’s colours are
nicely muted for the present day and washed out for the flashbacks, with page 7
being particularly noteworthy in suggesting Nancy’s changing view of her
father.
Bits and Pieces:
The issue as a whole is coherent and well-structured, with
the final few panels of narration unexpectedly referencing those on the opening
couple of pages. And, speaking of narration, del Col’s portrayal of Nancy is
good throughout, even if she does come across as just a little smug at times. To
sum up, then, while not exactly mind-blowing, this issue was engaging enough,
featuring a well-told character-driven story and some clear artwork. If you’re
even remotely interested in Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, it’s worth a look.
7.0/10
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