I loved the Hardy Boys growing up, both the books and later, the TV series. Yes, I'm that old, lol. I was less of a Nancy fan but I read and enjoyed some of those books too. Still, when I saw this on NetGalley, I was intrigued. The blurb was a little off-putting with it's talk of noir style but I decided to give it a try.

This story radically revises the Hardy boys mythos - killing off their dad, reviving their late mother, and absolutely no mention of Aunt Gertrude nor is their any mention of any of their friends, Chet, Tony, etc. Additionally, they've been friends with Nancy and her family for years. There are changes to Nancy's mythos as well but not as radical. One nice little touch was the inclusion of other famous teen sleuths such as Tom Swift and the Bobbsey twins.

The story starts shortly after Fenton Hardy was killed. Nancy, Frank, and Joe have teamed up to solve Fenton's murder. Nancy is definitely the brains of the outfit and quite a master manipulator. Frank and Joe have sibling issues and argue, and fist fight, often. Joe is impetuous and Frank is sulky; actually, they both are. Like other teens, they argue, and whine, and got on my nerves. But together they find a killer, crack a drug ring, and discover a conspiracy. They were smart, clever, impulsive, and annoying and made a good team.

If you are a hard-core fan of the original Hardy Boys, or Nancy Drew, you may want to skip this. Not only is it very noir, complete with dark illustrations, but it radically updates Frank, Joe, and Nancy's stories. It's a much more current theme and storyline. The story wandered a bit, or so it seemed at first, before settling into the investigation. I have to say, I didn't always like Frank, Nancy, or Joe but they weren't boring or predictable. The art, as I mentioned, was dark, sometimes blurry, and not as detailed as I like. But the facial illustrations were excellent and added depth to the story. The story found Fenton's killer but left open other threads. Not a great story but a decent, if dark, very dark, update.

I don't believe I have ever read any Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew mysteries prior to this graphic novel. I have vague memories of watching the TV show as a kid in the late '70's but I don't recall much about it. What caught my interest here was a blurb describing The Big Lie as a twisting noir-ish update of the brothers and their gal-pal Nancy... yeah... kinda, sorta, but not really.

I was expecting something like the movie 'Brick" instead what I go was more akin to a weak version of 'Rebel Without a Cause'. It's an overdramatic, teenage angsty kind of thing. Nice kids in a tough situation acting out and pretending to be hard core. The whole thing was pretty stereotypical.

The plot did have some pretty sharp twists and turns (some of which were a little hard to follow) and the book ends in a bit of a cliffhanger set-up for the next issue.

It's not terrible. It just didn't resonate with me... not every book is for every reader.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title.

I wish I could have read and given this an honest review. However, my device would not load it so I did not have the pleasure of reading it. Do not hold this against anyone but me. I tried all that I could to find a proper program to read this but it was beyond me.

This was an interesting take on Nancy Drew and the Hardy Brothers. I wish the illustrations were a little less creepy as that is not what I remember picturing them as when I was a child. However, the story was engaging and mysterious.

I grew up reading Nancy drew and when I saw this in the read now section of NetGalley I knew I wanted to try it. This was a lot darker and edgier read. The mystery kept me wanting to keep reading!I also thought the artwork was unique and dark. I liked this and I plan on checking out the next volume.

I really enjoyed this crossover! I love a good mystery, and it was fun to read these classics in graphic novel!

I was so excited for this book! I’ve loved Nancy Drew my whole life, from the books to the video games to the movies.

I was pleased with this graphic novel. It’s a more adult story for older fans of Nancy and the Hardy Boys. Their friends the Bobsey Twins even made a little cameo. However, two people who were noticeably missing were Bess and George! I really missed them in the story! You can’t really have Nancy without her two sidekicks. I hope they will make an appearance in the next volume.

The graphics were quite simple. They could have been more elaborate and detailed. Since the story is very noir, the pictures were dark. The use of shadows was great at times for building tension but they sometimes made it difficult to distinguish between characters. Maybe this would be fixed in the final copy, since mine was an e-ARC of the book.

I enjoyed the mystery. The main story was that Joe and Frank were accused of murdering their father, which just seems crazy to me that they are suspected of murder. There is a lot of corruption in Bayport, which explains why the brothers were accused.

There was a major twist at the end of the story which got me so excited for the next one! I can’t wait to read more from Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys (and hopefully Bess and George too!).

This is not your grandma's Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys! It's a gritty, violent, crime-ridden world where people are murdered in bloody ways. Nancy is brilliant and kick-ass as expected and she's a real babe too! The Hardy brothers are good foils with complimentary personalities but I was a bit shocked at how much they physically fought with each other. I have never read the original series so I can't compare but this one is definitely for teens and adults. I'm really interested to see where this conspiracy goes!

The retro graphic style and colouring suited the darkness of this noir detective story while still keeping it fun, since these are teenagers. Nancy Drew is very femme fatale in this series and it's kind of awesome. The depictions of the Hardy boys remind me a bit of Jughead and Archie which fits with their personalities too.

Thank you to Diamond Book Distributors for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

From the publisher: A Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery unlike any other you’ve ever read! When the teenage brothers Frank and Joe Hardy are accused of the murder of their father – a detective in the small resort town of Bayport – they must team up with Nancy Drew to prove their innocence (and find the real guilty party in the process) in a twisting noir tale, complete with double-crosses, deceit, and dames. Writer Anthony Del Col (Assassin’s Creed, Kill Shakespeare) and artist Werther Dell’Edera (Batman: Detective Comics, House of Mystery) bring the iconic teen detectives into the modern age, and redefine noir for a new generation of readers!

As a kid, I read every Hardy Boys book I could get my hands on. I also read a couple of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew team ups. I even occasionally read a Tom Swift story (no Bobsey Twins, though). I say all that in order to explain why I took a chance on Anthony Del Col's re-imagining of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys for the 2010's. The book he created, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie, follows some other recent updates of classic and beloved characters. So, as a former fan, I was interested to see what Del Col came up with. It turns out it was pretty good.

So, The Big Lie is the story of how the Hardy brothers were accused of the murder of their father, Det. Fenton Hardy, and how Nancy Drew helped them solve the mystery. However, it's much deeper than that, involving drug smuggling brothers (the Rovers), a broken relationship between Nancy and her father, Federal Prosecuter Carson Drew, the seedy underbelly of Bayport, and the mysteries that lie beneath the surface of seemingly idyllic towns. It's also about families, and quite possibly about the dreams and innocence of childhood turning into the reality of being an adult.

The mystery behind The Big Lie was interesting, and not to easy to figure out. It was an enjoyable story which sets the stage for bigger mysteries to come in future Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mini-series. I think what I enjoyed the most, though, was the updating of the characters and their lives. The shine is definitely off Frank and Joe Hardy, and, really, Nancy Drew as well. The brothers bicker and fight, and see the world in grayer tones than they used to. They are sure not the simple, unchanging characters of my youth. Nancy is still very confident, but has lost her innocence too, through a broken relationship with her father (who used to be her best friend). It was neat seeing this more adult version of the characters, and while it's different seeing them as imperfect, it makes for a much more engaging story and allows the characters the potential to grow and change.

The other fun thing about The Big Lie is all the nods to the books these characters have been in, together and by themselves. There are allusions to solving mysteries on the beach as children, and how nothing ever seemed to change (over 100 books and the characters are still the same age). Del Col also throws in Tom Swift and the Bobsey Twins to add another nod to childhood reading.

Overall, I would highly recommend Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie, by Anthony Del Col, especially to readers who grew up with the original characters. Enjoy the Veronica Mars-ish vibe.

I received a preview copy of this book from Dynamite Entertainment and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read for any Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys Fan. It was fun to bring these characters back into our house and I really enjoyed it.

I had never read anything Nancy Drew before.
But it didn’t bother me when reading this. The story was well constructed, the characters complex and interesting.
I really enjoyed getting to know Nancy as well as both Joe and Frank.

This was such a fast read, the intrigue just took me and left me wanting more... I hope a sequel comes out soon!

Given that the last time I read a Hardy Boys book, I was probably 10, I didn't expect to be reading new stories in my 4o's and digging them. Del Col has definitely turned the series on its ear with the kids are all grown up now even though they are still in their teens. Joe and Frank's dad has been murdered and they are the prime suspects. So Nancy and the boys go undercover to find the real murderer. The end of the book also hints at bigger conspiracies to come. Del Col definitely steers the story into the crime noir genre. Dell'edera provides Tim Sale like retro art that looks like an extension of one of those pulp covers.

I was a huge fan of Nancy Drew as a kid, so I was drawn into this comic and appreciated the update to the modern day. It's definitely a much darker mystery than those she used to solve, and there are shout outs to other mystery series of that era that are fun to pick out.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review. A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!*

I love Nancy Drew! I have around 100 books, all the computer games, and own the movies and TV show. So, I was quite intrigued when I heard about this new comic series earlier this year. I hadn’t gotten around to checking out the individual issues yet though. So, when I found out all six issues of the series were becoming one volume, and that it was available on NetGalley, I was quite excited!

When I read the first issue, I was a bit unsure on how I felt about it. This isn’t the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books from your childhood. That being said, the more I read, the more this story grew on me!

While this mystery is more mature and darker than the books, I really felt like the spirit of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys was there. The characters were edgier, but really their personalities were the same, just amplified, and I really loved that!

The actual mystery, in itself, was really well done. It was a bit difficult accepting the fact that Fenton Hardy was murdered, but ultimately, doing something so risky as to kill off such a prominent character in the original Hardy Boys series really showed what this series was about. I don’t want to give away anything, so Ill just say that The Big Lie was filled with plot twists and suspense, and overall, it was just really good. The artwork was really great too. I absolutely loved how the back of the book featured all the various covers for each individual issue. My favorite cover is issue #3, which was created by Fay Dalton.

Another thing I really appreciated were all the references to other characters from the Stratemeyer Syndicate. You may not be aware, but Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon were not real people. All the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy books were created by Edward Stratemeyer, as well as several other not quite as well-known series (like the Bobbsey Twins and Tom Swift) and ghost written by various people, under the Stratemeyer Syndicate. So, that was really fun to see those references!

Overall, The Big Lie was really well done. I’m quite new to graphic novels and comic books, so I’m still learning what I like and dislike, but I found this one to be very enjoyable. I plan on buying myself a physical copy to add to my Nancy Drew collection soon! I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, as well as to anyone who is a fan of mystery comics. I look forward to, hopefully, reading more titles in this series in the future!

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie will be released November 28th, 2017! However, you can check out the first issue for FREE on Amazon Kindle and comiXology now!

Being a fan of the Hardy Boys (as well as the Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew crosssovers) growing up, I was very excited when I saw this on Netgalley. I was expecting a more adult version of the books I was used to. However, I was disappointed to say the least. I think I had set my expectations too high. I think I may pick up the next book in the series and see if that manages to hook me.

I have to say I wasn't completely impressed - the story is suitably noir for an adult comic, but does the regular adult comic reader want to be seen with those names on the cover? It's a story that could have been attached to any franchise, or - of course - none at all, which would have been novel. As it is, it's not a particularly brilliant story, and seems geared up just to cram a 'Syndicate' joke in at the end. Passable.

A dark telling of a crime that brings my favourite characters to the modern day. Sort of didn't appreciate some of the characters to be sullied, but if you're up for a twist, this is the right book for you.

I really liked how the graphics gave an old time feel, while the characters had clearly been modernized. The interplay of the characters was good, and the mystery too.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

These are the Hardy Boys like you have never seen them before. This is Nancy Drew like you've never seen her before. And this is to say that the book is not your grandparents' NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS books.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel!
I never got into Nancy Drew as a kid but I have no idea why because from what I have seen and learned over the years, she would have been right up my alley.

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie was so much fun to read.
I loved the way they wrote in the backstory, a lot of the time graphic novels feel like they're just throwing in the back story without any artistic flare to it, this wasn't the case here, which I greatly appreciated.
I loved the artwork, as it still felt like 'classic comic book style' to me.
I thought the twists and turns were great and I can't wait to see more of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.