Posted on: Friday, May 6, 2005
Nancy Drew sports a fresh look
By Carol Memmott
USA Today
Nancy Drew is 75 years old and still the hippest girl in town.
Gannett News Service Also getting a makeover: The Hardy Boys. Frank and Joe are starring in their own new graphic novel series from Papercutz, starting with "The Hardy Boys: The Ocean of Osyria," also in stores.
Expect new books for both the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew every three months.
"We're living in a very visual age, and kids have a lot of different distractions — from the Internet, to videos, to video games, to TV and DVDs," says Papercutz founder Terry Nantier. "We're using a point of view and a style that kids know and understand."
Graphic novels, like comic books, combine illustrations with word balloons. The pocket-size Papercutz series is drawn like the popular Japanese comics called manga.
Why Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys are getting new looks is hardly a mystery. Sales of graphic novels have been soaring in the United States and Canada, up from $165 million in 2003 to $207 million a year ago.
Longtime fans won't recognize old favorites. The Hardy Boys have the wide-eyed look of manga characters. So do Nancy Drew and friends Bess and George, who wear sexy clothes, with plenty of cleavage for Bess.
For traditionalists, Nancy Drew in original format also remains available.
Fresh from getting a new hybrid car and cell phone from Simon & Schuster last year, Nancy now gets her first graphic novel, one of the fastest-expanding areas in book publishing. "The Demon of River Heights" (Papercutz, $7.95 paperback, $12.95 hardcover) is out this week.
Nancy Drew solves new mysteries in graphic novels.
