Nancy Drew turns 90 this year, so publisher is killing her off
Nobody lives forever. Not Superman. Not Severus Snape. And, apparently, no Nancy Drew.
Nancy Drew came onto the scene in 1930, a teenage amateur detective who solved “The Secret of the Old Clock.”
To celebrate her 90th birthday, Dynamite is her killing her off. Joe and Frank Hardy will investigate her demise.
“Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys: The Death Of Nancy Drew No. 1” will hit shelves in April.
"Over the years, there have been a lot of difficult mysteries to solve in the lives of Nancy Drew as well as the Hardy Boys," writer Anthony Del Col told comicsbeat.com. "But I wanted to top them all, and so (I) put together the ultimate case — solving Nancy's death! Joe Eisma and I have had a blast really coming up with some twists and turns that all fans — new and old — of Nancy, Frank, and Joe will enjoy."
During the past 90 years, Nancy Drew's legacy has expanded to include books, comics, video games and two television shows.
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While fans are bothered by the prospect of losing the character, they are royally ticked off about the female protagonist being killed so her two male friends can have the spotlight during her birthday.
I doubt Nancy Drew is really dead. HOWEVER, as the tweet comments mention, taking the lead female out of her anniversary story so boys can investigate her death is an odd & probably misogynistic way to celebrate a profoundly important female character in literature. https://t.co/okFEQPq850
— Teen Librarian Toolbox (@TLT16) January 24, 2020
Canonically, Hardy Boys don't even SOLVE mysteries. They like, run out of gas in their boat and get stuck on an island with a smuggler or something.
— The Second Shelf (@secondshelfbks) January 24, 2020
As a life long Hardy Boys fan, this is accurate and killing off NANCY DREW, who is by far the better detective, is gross https://t.co/mLg7SwpWUd
— Jake (@YungTimberWolf) January 24, 2020
I may look calm today, but I am fairly incandescent w/ rage about this new comic book series in which Nancy Drew is killed & the Hardy Boys solve her murder: https://t.co/LimiE2VYx3
— Dr. Paige C. Morgan (@paigecmorgan) January 24, 2020
I'm heated. Why kill Nancy Drew off? Why not ax one of the Hardy Boys and have her solve his murder, I mean there are at least two of them. pic.twitter.com/M6WAOxAXWz
— Melanie Dotcity 76/7175 📗 (@MelanieDotcity) January 24, 2020
The Nancy Drew books were powerful because a smart, brave, independent young woman solved crimes by doing all the things we got told weren’t for girls. Killing her off so two male characters can have as adventure is the ultimate betrayal of that legacy. https://t.co/PW10spnHEQ
— Sister Outrider (@ClaireShrugged) January 23, 2020
"We celebrate the teen sleuth by sidelining her from her own story and calling it a 'Nancy Drew mystery.'" No matter what the quality of this story this is a truly awful, awful, worst idea ever kind of idea. Pre-UNsold. Pre-NOTGONNAread, Dynamite.
— C. Isabel Brain (@superisabel76) January 23, 2020
I got excited when I saw a new comic announced, and immediately disappointed at seeing the plot. One of the only girl heroes of my childhood was reduced to nothing but a plot for two men to be the stars of. This isn't celebrating Nancy Drew, it's celebrating the Hardy Boys https://t.co/3Rz0GwCJ0J
— 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞🥀 (@rpoo_peepoo) January 24, 2020
More than a few people on Twitter posited the prospect it’s not real, and Nancy Drew will be alive when it’s over.
Not familiar with Nancy Drew, but I hope the murder was an act and the character is still alive. Maybe appear in the middle of the story, not at the end.
— Alan David (@aenrisulf) January 24, 2020
What a stupid idea of "celebration".
It SUPER Nancy Drew to fake her death so she can focus on a case, which is what some of the comments say, BUT that's not a 90 year celebration plot!!
— Jo W-W(Master of Social Bull Rushing) (@Fallin_Forone) January 24, 2020
So... The internet thinks Nancy Drew is dead... In an ongoing comic series with her as the headliner. Wow. Maybe we can get "they took gullible out of the dictionary" trending too.
— Michael Schroeder (@TheSchroeder) January 24, 2020
Smh it’s Nancy Drew so basically she’s not gonna be dead and either was toying with the boys or running for her life and left them clues. https://t.co/50cjBgztNb
— Riley Adams (@rileyadams_99) January 24, 2020
“Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys: The Death Of Nancy Drew No. 1” will be available for preorder from your local comic book store in February, with its release in April. For digital downloads, head over to Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus and more, comicsbeat.com recommends.
About the Author
Nancy Clanton is a lead producer for The AJC's platforms team, but also writes stories about health, travel, events and entertainment. A native of Knoxville and graduate of the University of Tennessee, she has worked at the AJC for 24 years.
