Title: The Hardy Boys: To Die or Not to Die? Volume 9
Author: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Paulo Henrique
Genre: Mystery / Romance / Thriller / Crime
Year Published: 2007
Year Read: 12/10/2015
Series: The Hardy Boys #9
Publisher: Papercutz
Introduction:
After reading the first book
in “The Hardy Boys” graphic novel
series written by Scott Lobdell, I
was a bit turned off by how slow paced the very first book was in the series. But then, when I picked up this volume of “The Hardy Boys” called “To Die or Not to Die?” (Although I
have not read the previous volumes before this one yet), I have discovered that
this series is getting a bit better (at least a part from the first volume).
What is this story
about?
In this volume, Frank and Joe Hardy get a new mission where
they have to protect the lovely contestant Joelle Rinker from being killed in
the All-State Drama Competition.
However, it seems that Frank Hardy has fallen in love with Joelle and
while a new romance is brewing, a series of mysterious and dangerous accidents are
happening during the competition to prevent the other contestants from winning
the contest!
Can the Hardy Boys solve this dangerous case or will the contestants be
at risk of being killed in this competition?
Read this book to find out!
What I loved about
this story:
Scott Lobdell’s writing: After reading the very first
volume of the “Hardy Boys” series, I
was wondering to myself about whether or not this series would get better as I
continue to read each volume. Even
though I skipped over a few volumes before getting to this one, I must admit
that this volume was a huge improvement over the very first volume of this
series! Scott Lobdell’s writing is much sharper and more interesting in
this volume than in the first volume since the characters seem a bit more
fleshed out and I really loved the way that Scott Lobdell wrote each character, especially Frank and Joe
Hardy! I liked the fact that Frank had
more focus in this volume as it shows how his careful nature could change once
he fell in love and it was great seeing him struggle with his conflicting
emotions regarding Joelle. I also loved
the fact that Frank Hardy is the wiser and more charming of the two brothers
and I enjoyed seeing him take interest in things like acting and taking his
cases seriously since it shows how mature and intellectual he is. I also loved the fact that even though Frank
is into his studies, we get to see him in action as he jumps at the opportunity
to rescue anyone in trouble (which I must admit that I found myself swooning
over the scenes where Frank uses martial arts skills to save lives)! Even
though we did not get much focus on Joe in this volume, it was great seeing him
bring some comedy into this story as we usually see him making comments about
Frank’s love life. I also loved the way
that Scott Lobdell wove the mystery element
into this story as you try to figure out who is trying to kill the competitors
in the competition, while throwing in hints that would help you solve the case!
Paulo Henrique’s artwork: Paulo
Henrique’s artwork in this volume is actually a huge improvement for this
series as the characters are extremely well drawn and it fits quite well with the
intense and comedic nature of this series!
I also loved the fact that the Hardy Boys themselves look much more
muscular in this volume than in the previous volumes, which made me swoon over
the boys even more!
What made me feel
uncomfortable about this story:
The reason why I gave this volume a four star rating was
because I felt that the story was a bit too fast paced and it felt like the
characters were not progressed enough for me to really get into their journey
through the story. However, I did find
the main love story with Frank and Joelle to be pretty interesting, even though
I wish that their relationship was developed more. Also, I felt that the ending was a bit too
anticlimactic since I wanted to see more happen at the end once the case was
resolved.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, “The Hardy Boys: To Die or Not to Die?” is a great volume for the “Hardy
Boys” series and I would definitely recommend this volume to fans of the “Hardy
Boys!”
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