NEW COMIC BOOK #REVIEW of NANCY DREW: THE PALACE OF WISDOM by Kelly Thompson and Jenn St. Onge

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“Me? I’m more of a ‘shark philosophy’ person myself. Keep moving or die.”

Nancy Drew, Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom

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.

I literally want to be her when I grow up.

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

I’ll just add the Goodreads synopsis before I go any further:

Nancy Drew is seventeen and good at everything… ESPECIALLY solving crimes. But her totally-in-control-and-obviously-running-perfectly-smooth-(but-not-really) life hits a snag when a mysterious message drags her back to the hometown she left behind. There she’ll have to find out which of her friends are still her friends, which are enemies, and who exactly is trying to kill her…and (hopefully) stop them before they succeed. 

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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.

That’s it for today, friends! A super short one. Until next time, happy reading!

All the love,

Allie

xx

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KELLY THOMPSON (Hawkeye, Star Wars, Rogue & Gambit) and JENN ST-ONGE (Giant Days, The Misfits) team up to present an all-new modern spin on a classic mystery icon!