Comic Review: Nancy Drew #4

Nancy Drew #4

Dynamite Comics

Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist: Jenn St-Onge

This is part four of ‘Nancy Drew and the Case of the Cold Case’. After receiving a fake letter regarding her mom’s death, Nancy is back in Bayport with her old friends solving another case. Pete, the person who sent the bogus letter, needs closure into his mom’s suicide, a situation never looked into by the police. Being the helpful detective she is, Nancy helps him, but not without getting involved in a bigger mystery than expected.

This issue takes place over two main scenes. In the first part, Nancy and Pete talk with/interrogate the owner of a business, the shadowy figure seen at the end of the last issue. The duo is hoping to learn about Pete’s mom. The second half sees the whole Nancy Drew team infiltrate an underground club to investigate things further. The group splits up to find out more about a drug that’s linked to Pete’s mother’s death.

 In a positive way, this issue feels a little longer than it is. The dialogue is great. There are long-winded speech bubbles filled and stream-of-consciousness thoughts from Bess, and it doesn’t feel forced. I know practically nothing about the NDEU, (Nancy Drew Extended Universe) beyond this comic, but I like these characters. The story is chugging along at a good pace.

There’s still an overall mystery they’re trying to solve, but the cliffhanger endings are a little lacking to me. It’s me being nitpicky, I know, but they’ve been resolved so far on the first page of the next issue. There’s one in this issue, and it’s a little more severe than the previous few. But I feel there’ll be a resolution in the first few pages of the next issue.

As is the case with the rest of the series, the art is good in this issue. They go to an underground party in this issue, and that’s where the colors really stand out. Triona Farrell does a really great job. The group splits up, and each duo gets their own colors. Then, when they all meet up again, it starts to blend back in. It just really stands out to me, and I enjoy it.

Overall, this is another good issue of Nancy Drew. There’s only four, but they’ve all been great. Kelly Thompson can tell a story and write good dialogue. Jenn St-Onge brings good, easy on the eyes art, made even better by Triona Farrell’s color work. I never thought I’d read a Nancy Drew book, but this is honestly one of my favorite ongoings. If you haven’t, you should check it out.