"The Girl Who Wasn't There"
Writer: Stefan Petrucha
Artists: Sho Murase, Rachel Ito (3D)
Publisher: Papercutz
Nancy runs into some computer trouble, and her tech support call nets her a new friend from India. When her new friend goes missing, Nancy takes the case, and Bess and George along for the ride.
This issue is the most action packed of Petrucha's Nancy Drew series. Though there's violence and the girls do get hurt, he's still cognizant of the all ages readership. This does not mean that he blunts the damage that can occur to Nancy and her friends. Rather, he deals with the action and violence more realistically to favor their getting out alive.
The all ages nature of Nancy Drew gives Petrucha a few challenges in the writing which he meets head on with strong plot and characterization that makes sense. Nancy's excursion to India allows Petrucha to steep the pages in research. One moment I thought where he simply missed a few notes turned out to be a clue to the history of the villain's character. There's nothing I like more than being outguessed by a smart writer, and Petrucha anticipates the questions from the more learned and those more willing to learn.
Petrucha does not white wash the less than savory facts about India. Nancy visits the poor side of town and makes observations about that strata. He brings in as a running theme the worship of monkeys--who serve as more one type of plot device, and throughout he shows India as a booming nation. This gibes with what most observers have said. India is not going to be a third world nation for very long.
India's growth gives Petrucha the perfect crime for Nancy to solve. The crime ties in with India's specific industries and gives a logical reason why Nancy's friend would be kidnaped. After crossing off human trafficking from the list, I really had no idea why Kalpana would be abducted, but Petrucha comes through, and all of the crimes and criminal behavior laces together in a solid mystery.
Characterization of Nancy, Bess and George continues to impress. Petrucha shows Bess as a fashion plate as well as a grease monkey. He displays George's technological acumen and her overall toughness. While Nancy is the genius detective of the group, the cousins under Petrucha's deft orchestration display intelligence and wit.
The star of the book is of course Nancy Drew, and Petrucha's Nancy is a snappy-talking wonder whose narration carries the reader from panel to panel. She homes in on a target and lets nothing get in her way. Petrucha in this issue also shows Nancy's modesty. The scene in which she picks the locks reveals Nancy's knowledge, but for Nancy that knowledge isn't enough:
Sho Murase's and Rachel Ito's manga is likely the only type I'll ever accept. Their manga is less homogenized. While the girls' faces tend to follow the general rules of the technique, they never blend together where you forget the character. The color choices enhance the uniqueness of the cast, but it does not define it. Even in black and white, you would be able to tell George, Bess and Nancy apart. Murase and Ito also carefully give each girl different body language and expressions. The early funny-face duel between Nancy and George exemplifies how the girls visually behave differently.
Murase and Ito for this issue excel by never letting you forget that the adventure occurs in a foreign land with different architecture, textures, flora and fauna. Their detailed depiction of the backdrops set the exotic atmosphere that's contrasted with Nancy's and the cousins' modern day appearances.
Because of Petrucha's action-packed story--very much in keeping with Mildred Wirt Benson's original, spunkier Nancy Drew adventures, Murase and Ito must keep things extra animated in the panels, and they succeed in almost creating a filmstrip of anime, which yes I also hate, but Nancy Drew is the exception proving the rule.
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