Nancy Drew's Birthday and the Big Lie #5

[SkyWarp]

Anthony Del Col spent time answering questions about his Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys comic book series on Reddit in honor of Nancy Drew's 87th birthday.   He gave some interesting insights into what other series he is allowed to use in the comic book as well as the time it takes to produce a comic book. 

You can view the entire conversation on Reddit. 

[SkyWarp]

How long do we expect the series to last?  That depends on how well it is received, but Anthony Del Col had plans for more than two years worth of monthly stories before the first issue even came out.

I originally conceived of THE BIG LIE as an ongoing series - probably something close to 25 - 30 issues with a BIG "big bad" that'll face off against Nancy, Frank and Joe.

I've drafted it so that each "arc" (5-6 issues) is a complete story that slowly unveils a bigger world. So THE BIG LIE will start out as 6 issues and we'll find out in Issue 6 who killed Fenton Hardy.  But, like all good stories, not EVERYTHING will be solved. And that'll allow for a second arc to unwind more.

Are there plans to go to Nancy's home town too?

Well, I don't want to give away too much, but the big ongoing arc that I've created we're definitely heading back to River Heights. I've really enjoyed coming up with the look and feel of that city.

Do we expect to see more Stratemeyer characters than what has already been seen?

Technically, the publishing company SIMON & SCHUSTER owns the rights to all of the Stratemeyer Syndicate characters. And for comics, Dynamite Comics (who I brought on as the publisher) has licensed them all - Drew, Hardy, Swift, Bobbsey, Dana, etc.

I hope I'm not giving too much away here but... my goal is to get ALL of the Stratemeyer Syndicate characters into this story as it goes on. The first arc will heavily lean into the Rover Boys but as the series goes on Tom Swift, the Bobbseys and the Dana Girls will be playing bigger roles.

And yes, the boarding school will play a BIG role as well. I love basing stories around cool settings like that.

How long does it take to produce one comic issue?

BIG PICTURE PREP. I spend a couple weeks figuring out what's gonna happen in the big picture, and specifically the "arc" (the 5 or 6 issues). The major plot and character beats, etc. ISSUE WRITING PREP. 2-3 days going into the story, figuring out what'll happen on each page, the major set pieces, the character moments, etc. WRITING. This is about 2 - 5 days, depending on the issue. And then often I'll do a rewrite based on the notes from my editors. ARTWORK. Werther normally takes about 4-6 weeks to pencil and ink an issue. COLORING. Stephano does this pretty quickly. I'd say about 3-5 days, with notes and revisions. LETTERING. Simon is REALLY quick. This normally can be done in a day or two, with some revisions. PRODUCTION. This is putting it all together - the covers, the credits, the letters in the back, etc. A day or two.

So, from start to finish, about 6-8 weeks for one issue?

Where does Anthony Del Col get inspiration for what Bayport and other towns look like and feel like within the comic book?

I love to explore real towns to come up with inspiration.

For Bayport, my wife and I took a trip to Portland, Maine last year so there are a lot of references taken from that trip (some general and some specific).

What was it like to convince the powers that be to let Anthony Del Col run with his ideas?

I originally spoke with the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys licensing agent, Laura Becker (Moxie Co.). I pitched her my taken on the series (modern hardboiled noir story) and she really liked it. I put it all on paper and the peeps at S&S also liked it. So we were then onto the races - and then lined up publishing companies and worked out the deal with Dynamite Comics.

[MacGyver]

Thanks for the link to the interview. It's interesting to hear the ideas for the comic and plans to bring in most all the available Stratemeyer Syndicate characters- that is pretty cool. However, what I find disparaging is the way they are brought in. I flipped through the second issue today and sorry to be negative, but I am generally pretty disgusted with the portrayal of the characters in this whole series. For those who enjoy it, have at it- I will pass on collecting this (though I will probably wind up trying to follow the stories somewhat anyway, out of morbid curiosity- lol.)

[Hardy Sleuth]

I haven't read any of this comic series and it's not because I haven't had the opportunity and with how much I love the Hardys, Nancy, comics, and graphic novels, that says it.

Thanks for the link to the interview. It's interesting to hear the ideas for the comic and plans to bring in most all the available Stratemeyer Syndicate characters- that is pretty cool. However, what I find disparaging is the way they are brought in. I flipped through the second issue today and sorry to be negative, but I am generally pretty disgusted with the portrayal of the characters in this whole series. For those who enjoy it, have at it- I will pass on collecting this (though I will probably wind up trying to follow the stories somewhat anyway, out of morbid curiosity- lol.)

Yes, thank you, Skywarp, for posting the interview and thank you for letting us know, MacGyver, about your reaction to these comics. They don't sound like ones I want to read. I hope maybe the second arc will be better...I really dislike the main plotline of this one and if it continues then I won't want to read any of them.   

It's interesting that the various Stratemeyer characters might show up, but character portrayal and facts from the books are important to stick with in my opinion. The Hardys are from New York, not Maine. Birthday and Anniversary are two different things. In the original 1930 The Secret of the Old Clock she was 16 and she was 18 in the revised edition. This has been pointed out before. Here's a quote from Hardy and Drew Mysteries that there's no way Nancy Drew could have been born in 1930 when the book takes place,

"– because she would have had to have been a baby in The Secret of the Old Clock – and maybe people really matured a lot quicker than us today, but she could drive a car, etc, so that's just not in the realm of possibility for her to be an infant in the first book."

Lol, yep. 

[tomswift2002]

It's interesting that the various Stratemeyer characters might show up, but character portrayal and facts from the books are important to stick with in my opinion. The Hardys are from New York, not Maine.

Well, in the Original series, except for the later Mystery Stories, it is never stated where Bayport was located, accept that it was on Barmet Bay, 3 miles in from the Atlantic Ocean.  Although the Original's did imply that it was in New York State by the fact that a number of books stating that New York City was about 3 hours by train and car (plus Atlantic City was also around the same length away by car), and in the case of plane only a half hour or so.  So by these descriptions a lot of fans assume New York State, or even New Jersey.  This is in direct contradiction to the Tom Swift series where in the Tom Swift Sr, Jr., Archway & Young Inventor Series Shopton is identified as being in New York State (in the Wanerer series Shopton was placed in New Mexico, and Central Hills from the Archway series was in California).

The Casefiles do locate Bayport in New York State, while the UB's locate Bayport in both New York and New Jersey States.  The Adventures seem to have Bayport in New York State.

But Bayport has even been located in Massachussets in the 1970's Hardy Boys TV series (see Acapulco Spies).  And in the 95 series Bayport seems to be somewhere on the US/Canada border, possible along the Great Lakes.

[SkyWarp]

And to clarify, I don't think the comics say they are in Maine. The writer just used a city in Maine as his inspiration for the city of Bayport.   

[Hardy Sleuth]

Well, in the Original series, except for the later Mystery Stories, it is never stated where Bayport was located, accept that it was on Barmet Bay, 3 miles in from the Atlantic Ocean.  Although the Original's did imply that it was in New York State by the fact that a number of books stating that New York City was about 3 hours by train and car (plus Atlantic City was also around the same length away by car), and in the case of plane only a half hour or so.  So by these descriptions a lot of fans assume New York State, or even New Jersey.

Oh, I'm not just assuming. In my family we don't just assume. I mean, we might sometimes, but we know better than to make assumptions. We're taught to think things through, whether it's big or small things, to question and seek out answers, not just blindly accept whatever is said, online or offline. Of course, there are some things that wouldn't be assuming. Such as knowing we can trust God and believe in Him, that's not assuming, that's trust based on the fact that He can be trusted and His infallible credibility and reliability.
The clues in The Hardy Boys series, 1-190, are pretty good and that's where I find out that Bayport is in New York (particularly the NY/NJ area). Sometimes it's stated plainly and also when they talk about Bayport, you can tell from the context it's in the same state as New York City, for example when Fenton served in the NYPD and moving from NYC to the coastal/waterfront/seaside town of Bayport, such as referred to in The Great Airport Mystery and more.
In The Hardy Boys 58 The Sting of the Scorpion, the brothers ate breakfast, worked in their basement lab, cleaned up, got on the bus and pulled into NYC a few minutes after 11am. Quote from The Hardy Boys The Shadow Killers: "The Kinshasu probably have people in most of the major ports - New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, maybe even Bayport - it's on the Atlantic, and pretty close to New York Harbor."
Bayport being in New York can be found in pre-Casefile and post-Casefile volumes of The Hardy Boys series. As you mentioned, it states very plainly in various volumes of The Hardy Boys series (1-190) that Bayport is in fact in New York. One of them is The Hardy Boys The Alaskan Adventure, it says Bayport, New York. The most important details for a writer to be accurate about is the characters, not the location and that sometimes can be a real fail, which is sad and disappointing.

And to clarify, I don't think the comics say they are in Maine. The writer just used a city in Maine as his inspiration for the city of Bayport.

No confusion there, it was already clear from the quote in the interview. He's not saying Bayport is in Maine, but that what he's writing in this comic series is patterned after places in Maine. Maine and New York are different, so he's going to make it more like Maine than NY. How the characters are portrayed means a lot more to me than where an author writes Bayport as being located.

[tomswift2002]

Oh, I'm not just assuming. In my family we don't just assume. I mean, we might sometimes, but we know better than to make assumptions. We're taught to think things through, whether it's big or small things, to question and seek out answers, not just blindly accept whatever is said, online or offline. Of course, there are some things that wouldn't be assuming. Such as knowing we can trust God and believe in Him, that's not assuming, that's trust based on the fact that He can be trusted and His infallible credibility and reliability.
The clues in The Hardy Boys series, 1-190, are pretty good and that's where I find out that Bayport is in New York (particularly the NY/NJ area). Sometimes it's stated plainly and also when they talk about Bayport, you can tell from the context it's in the same state as New York City, for example when Fenton served in the NYPD and moving from NYC to the coastal/waterfront/seaside town of Bayport, such as referred to in The Great Airport Mystery and more.
In The Hardy Boys 58 The Sting of the Scorpion, the brothers ate breakfast, worked in their basement lab, cleaned up, got on the bus and pulled into NYC a few minutes after 11am. Quote from The Hardy Boys The Shadow Killers: "The Kinshasu probably have people in most of the major ports - New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, maybe even Bayport - it's on the Atlantic, and pretty close to New York Harbor."
Bayport being in New York can be found in pre-Casefile and post-Casefile volumes of The Hardy Boys series. As you mentioned, it states very plainly in various volumes of The Hardy Boys series (1-190) that Bayport is in fact in New York. One of them is The Hardy Boys The Alaskan Adventure, it says Bayport, New York. The most important details for a writer to be accurate about is the characters, not the location and that sometimes can be a real fail, which is sad and disappointing.

Yeah, in the later paperback volumes of the series, Bayport was mentioned as being in New York State.  However, when you go back to the Original 58, and even the revised 38 books, Bayport is never explicitly stated as being in New York State.  To put it another way, it's only been since the 1980's that Bayport has been pinned to either the state of New York or New Jersey.  Prior to the 1980's the only mentioned state was Massachussets from the Hardy Boys TV in the 1970's, and even then the books never use Massachussetts, and were still vague about Bayport's location in the Stratemeyer books.