Vampire Slayer: Part One by Stefan Petrucha and Sarah Kinney, a Mysterious Review.

Review: There's a new boy in town — but is he human or vampire? That is the dilemma facing teenage amateur sleuth Nancy Drew in the first of a new series of graphic novels featuring the girl detective, Nancy Drew: Vampire Slayer Part One by Stefan Petrucha and Sarah Kinney with illustrations by Sho Murase.

Nancy, together with best friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne, are on their way in costume to a midnight showing the latest "Dielite" film when they're accosted by a dark figure dressed as a vampire … or so they think. The man quickly disappears, and the girls continue on to the theater, where Nancy notices a strange woman sitting alone. She, too, disappears before Nancy has a chance to speak to her. Later, the "vampire" — Gregor Coffson — meets up with Nancy and her friends, asking Nancy to meet with him to discuss something important, something only a detective such as herself could understand. It seems Gregor is being stalked by someone who believes he is a real vampire, someone who is determined to see that his bloodsucking days come to an end!

Vampire Slayer is the first story in Nancy Drew: The New Case Files, a series of graphic novels based on the character originally created by Carolyn Keene. One frustrating element with serial graphic novels is that there is no indication how many books comprise a given storyline, and that is the case here. Part One ends in something of a cliffhanger; Part Two is a given but it isn't clear how many more books, if any, will follow it.

Nancy Drew: Vampire Slayer Part One is quite short, and spends many (probably too many) of its pages simply introducing Gregor and establishing a relationship (professional? personal? both?) between him and Nancy. The narrative and dialog are well done, and the story holds promise; references to the current "Twilight" craze are playful and entertaining. The artwork is, at best, so-so, crisply drawn and featuring an abundance of primary colors against a "twilight" background, but lacking in depth and altogether not very interesting.

As a tween-oriented graphic novel, Nancy Drew: Vampire Slayer Part One will likely appeal to its target audience. Still, it's slightly disappointing how little information is actually conveyed to the reader in this first chapter. Adult readers, familiar with the character, will have expected more.

Acknowledgment: Lissy Peace and Associates provided a copy of Vampire Slayer: Part One for this review.

Vampire Slayer: Part One

A Nancy Drew "The New Case Files" Mystery by Stefan Petrucha and Sarah Kinney