5.02.2007

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys

Secret confession time: I totally read the new adventures of Nancy Drew when I was a kid. She was so blonde and perky and drove a red sports car and went undercover at high schools; it was Barbie meets 21 Jump Street and I thought it rocked. Of course, I also thought Sweet Valley High books and, earlier, the Babysitters Club books rocked, which shows you I had neither taste nor discernment. Then I moved straight on to bodice-ripping romance novels, and I have no idea what that says about me. Anyway, for a trip down memory lane today, here's some Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys covers. Fun fun!


First up is Goth Nancy Drew. I don't know who the others are and, frankly, I don't really care. I'm just totally digging the lighting scheme on this cover, which brings out their WASPy little ski-jump noses so nicely.




Oh, no, some one's collapsed in the park! Quick, Nancy, go get help, you twit! Don't just flee into an artistic windstorm!




And just to show you that I'm equal opportunity, here's a Hardy Boys cover.


Has any bank robber, in the history of bank robbing, actually worn a gimp mask along with a stylish red string tie? And what is he holding, a drill? I do like the shattering "glass", which gives a nice little covered-in-saran-wrap feel to the scene.




I hope you enjoyed that trip down memory lane. And for those who are into the whole snarky spoofy thang, I totally recommend the Nancy Clue and the Hardly Boys series, a lesbian/gay spoof by Mabel Maney (who also does Jane Bond). There's only one joke, but it's a good one!




9 comments:

Citysqwirl said...

Of course the Sweet Valley High books rocked! It wasn't a lack of discernment -- it was a proper reaction to interesting characters and fun plots, with that particular SVH humor . . . and familiarity. Of course, I'm biased, since I edited the series for three years and wrote two of the SVH books . . .

Love your site. I read it regularly. Keep up the snark!

Miss Maggie said...

Wow, citysqwirl, thanks!

True confessions time: I attribute my NOT doing cocaine to Sweet Valley High books. There was one where a girl's heart exploded the first time she tried cocaine, and I was enough of a self-obsessed hypochondriac to be convinced that if I did cocaine I'd be one of those one-in-a-million who die. Thanks, SVH! And thanks, citysqwirl, for having a job that I totally am envious of.

Alkibiades said...

Yay for Cherry Aimless!! The Case of the Not-so-Nice Nurse is one of my all time favorites...

As you may surmise from the aforementioned heroine, the other series it spoofs is Cherry Ames. I read those after I read Manning's version and they are AWESOME, especially the ones written around WWII.

beajerry said...

Those Mabel Maney books look hilarious!

Awesome site you have here, BTW.
I will be a regular reader.

Unknown said...

Maughta, that is the Worst broken glass I have Ever Seen. Are you sure yonder bank robber wasn't wearing a ghost costume that somehow got, uh, shattered - maybe it got doused with liquid nitrogen?

Tsk, what am I thinking - that doesn't make any sense. Why would he wear a tie with a ghost costume?

DocTurtle said...

p dog: That's not broken glass, it's the power drill-toting nefarious ne'er-do-well's horde of evil origami cranes, brought to life with horrible hellacious magic, bent on wreaking destruction! Quake in fear!

Citysqwirl said...

Regina Morrow was the girl who died from her first try of cocaine. She's mentioned repeatedly throughout all 200+ books of the SVH series. It's funny how many people have pointed out to me that her death was a pivotal moment in their personal relationship with drugs.

Steve T. said...

And there's another masked robber still in the bank, but where the first robber wears a red tie, he wears a blue tie.

There's only one answer! It's the dreaded Republicrat Gang!!

christine said...

Oh, the Hardy Boys one makes me laugh...this entire blog does, actually.