A new betrayal and twist.
Creative Staff:
Story: Anthony Del Col
Art: Werther Dell’Edera
Colors: Stefano Simeone
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
Who can you really trust? Now on the inside of the Rover gang that runs Bayport’s criminal world, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys turn to a black sheep brother to guide them through it all. But as they put together a sting operation, are they the ones that will be stung?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The series moves past the halfway mark of this arc and it’s one that’s certainly worthwhile but is also showing that the second act can be a slog at times. Anthony Del Col is putting together a aolidly layered if familir storyline here where we’re getting a better look at Bayport and its residents, many of which seem to have a criminal history going by what Nancy feels like things are unfolding like. That’s giving Werther Dell’Edera plenty to work with as there are lots of shadowed areas, dark deals being made, and escapes on foot in the underbelly of the city that’s very appealing. More so thanks to Stefano Simeone’s color work that gives us a really rich but subdued palette to work with and lots of heavy black areas to give it all some weight when things are at their seemingly worst for the trio.
What’s become interesting is seeing just how far they’ll go in dealing with clearing their father’s name. While Nancy is kind of keeping them in check and finding herself struggling at times with things because of her own father, they are all trying to be on the side of right, within their own guidelines. So when they go to deal with Sam to try and get the info they need to ingratiate themselves with Ricky and Teo it gets pretty tense. Nancy can’t be sure how far the boys will go since they’re still easily set off when Sam talks about their father so that makes things a bit more tense and precarious. Still, with what we know of Sam as explained here it makes sense why he gets involved with the trio and fills them in on how things have been working and the why of it all.
That makes for some fun time in seeing the trio getting closer to Ricky and Teo in order to understand more of how the criminal world works here, exposing them to a lot of things and a job itself that could lead to a lot of information over who may be bringing the drugs into the city. Of course, there has to be a few twists along the way and the idea of some corrupt cops, going high up the chain no less, is not a surprise. But it makes for a good sequence as we see the group having to split down dark tunnels and alleys to escape, reinforcing just how much the boys know the city and all its secrets that date back decades upon decades because of how various groups used the place. While we get the tease of who the big bad may be toward the end, and it may not be too much of a surprise, there’s some curiosity there as to whether it’s a fakeout or not, which keeps me intrigued.
In Summary:
Though this series has kind of hit the middle of the run lull that happens in these kinds of arcs, it works through some necessary moments and character pieces to put things together without it feeling rushed. You know certain things are going to fall into place but the execution is solid as Del Col handles the characters well through Nancy’s narration while Dell’Edera continues to deliver some great looking pages that feel like they’re right out of some classic film noir work. I’m digging the series a whole lot with the strengths that it’s working through and can’t wait to revisit it as a full run already just to see how well the ties that bind are.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 12th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
