It's Graphic Time: Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom by Kelly Thompson

It's Graphic Time is a feature where we review graphic novels and comic books.

Title: Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom

Author: Kelly Thompson
Illustrator: Jenn St. Onge

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Publishing Date: April 2nd, 2019

Pages: 128
Audio Length: N/A

Genre: YA Mystery Graphic Novel
TW: N/A

Series: Standalone... For now...

Source: Book

 

Nancy Drew is seventeen and good at everything... ESPECIALLY solving crimes. But her totally-in-control-and-obviously-running-perfectly-smooth-(but-not-really) life hits a snag when a mysterious message drags her back to the hometown she left behind. There she'll have to find out which of her friends are still her friends, which are enemies, and who exactly is trying to kill her...and (hopefully) stop them before they succeed.

I have been a huge fan of Nancy Drew since I was little. I loved reading her books, trying to figure out the mysteries. 

As an adult I find I still love Nancy Drew, especially Nancy Drew retellings, such as this one.

Especially this one, to be honest. I loved seeing a teenage Nancy and I love how they made her look like a Hipster version of herself. 

I love how they modernized this book. It's like a Riverdale version of Nancy Drew. I also love how they made one of the characters to be plus sized. 

I love the artwork. It's cute and well done and I felt like it fit the book. 






As I said I love the way that they made Nancy to look more hipster, and kind of all of them to be hipster tbh. I wish that we would have seen more of her two friends from the beginning of the book, but maybe next time. 

Bess is my favorite. She kind of reminds me of me, and not just because she's curvy. I feel like I'd get along with her well. 

I also loved the Hardy boys. Their personalities compliment each other and just add so much to this story.

I also really liked her new friend. Who's name I cannot at all remember and I'm too lazy to go get the book. You'll know if you read it. But yeah he was really cool and sweet. 

Everything was a continuous go go go from the beginning. It started off with Nancy saving a goat for goodness sake. A lot of graphic novels have a quick pace, and sometimes it just doesn't work. It works well with this book though. I never felt bored, but I also didn't feel like it was rushed or ended too soon.
Okay maybe it ended too soon, but only because I wanted- no NEEDED- to read more. 
I hope that they write more to the series. 

Wow I had no idea where this one was going. I felt the need to keep reading so I could figure it out. Which was nice, because a lot of times I figure it out too quickly and that's not nearly as fun. I want to be surprised and aghast when I find out what happened. 

Overall a very nice, modern, grown up twist on the old Nancy Drew series. 

KELLY THOMPSON has a degree in Sequential Art from The Savannah College of Art & Design. Her love of comics and superheroes have compelled her since she first discovered them as a teenager. Currently living in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend and the two brilliant cats that run their lives, you can find Kelly all over the Internet where she is generally well liked, except where she's detested.
Kelly has published two novels - THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING (2012) and STORYKILLER (2014) and the graphic novel HEART IN A BOX from Dark Horse Comics (2015). She's currently writing ROGUE & GAMBIT, HAWKEYE, and PHASMA for Marvel Comics and GHOSTBUSTERS for IDW. Other major credits include: A-Force, Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps, Jem and The Holograms, Misfits, Power Rangers Pink, and the creator-owned mini-series Mega Princess.

It's Graphic Time: Dark Tales: The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft

It's Graphic Time is a feature where we review graphic novels and comic books.

Title: The Call of Cthulhu

Author: H.P. Lovecraft
Illustrator: Dave Shephard

Publisher: Canterbury Classics

Publishing Date: April 3rd, 2018

Pages: 128
Audio Length: N/A

Genre: Horror Graphic Novel
TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Book

 

In this Dark Tale, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming...
H. P. Lovecraft’s story of supernatural monsters deep in the Pacific, told in graphic novel format, will keep you on the edge of your seat. More than 100 pages of illustrated horror and adventure await! Henry Wilcox can’t ignore his dreams of an enormous green monster calling to him from an underwater alien city. He seeks the help of Professor Angell, who dies suddenly, leaving a box of research on the subject for his nephew, Francis. Francis seeks answers about his uncle’s death, and in the process uncovers evidence of a cult waiting for the Great Old Ones to return

What made me pick this book up: 

The publisher actually emailed us to send us these books. 

What did I like about the cover: 

I love the colors and of course I love Cthulhu.

What made me read this book:

I didn't even know it existed before the publisher emailed us. But I was glad they did. 

I love Cthulhu, and I've never read the original book (It's on the list! Don't shoot me!) so I loved the idea of a graphic novel version of it.  

What did I like the most: 

Like I said, I've never read the actual Call of Cthulhu so I didn't know what to expect. The story is a very interesting one and I loved reading and finding out more about Cthulhu. 

What didn't I like: 

It was a little bit on the slow side, there was a lot of confusing dialogue.

 A lot of scientific things and I got a little confused with the characters and the timing of what was actually happening in the present time and what was happening as a story they were telling.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I think I'd like to read the actual Call of Cthulhu, and his other books.


I felt the artwork was a little... boring. There was nothing super special about it. 

As I said above the characters got a bit confusing. You don't really get to know any of them very well, and they're just kind of meh.


It took a little while before the story actually got going. And then once it did it was like WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM. Then the end. Like what.

I've always found Cthulhu as a whole to be interesting, and I loved reading about his story. It was definitely an interesting and unique one. 

Overall it was a decent read. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't quite this. 

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.
Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.