CRAWLING WITH ZOMBIES

Not the total reset the title and cover might lead readers to believe, this is nevertheless a relatively fresh graphic-novel retooling of a very old franchise. Joe and Frank Hardy (yes, those Hardy Boys), agents for the quasi-secret A.T.A.C. (American Teens Against Crime), receive an assignment through their brand-new video-game console: Zombie flash mobs appear to be on the rise and far from the innocent fun they may seem to be. A quarrel as they consult with Chet and Belinda on strategy—“[H]ow about, just this once, we do this Indiana Jones style and make it up as we go along?” an exasperated Joe demands after Frank begins for the millionth time to make a plan—splits the brothers, sending Joe to join a zombie flash mob and Frank to discover the sinister plot behind it. Henrique’s renderings are not always consistent, but they provide a visual edge to support the simmering friction between the brothers. Although the resolution is disappointingly Scooby-Doo mundane, the story’s on the whole not a bad makeover for the goody-two-shoes detectives. Nancy Drew receives a similar fresh start in Vampire Slayer, Part One (ISBN: 978-1-59707-214-4). (Graphic mystery. 8-12)