Writer: Stefan Petrucha
Artists: Vaughn Ross, Luis Lundgren(cgi)
Publisher: Papercutz
Stefan Petrucha adds another spiffy mystery to Papercutz's Nancy Drew manga. Let me emphasize once again that I loathe manga. Sho Murase's artwork for Nancy Drew is the exception that proves the rule.
Murase doesn't contribute to the panels for this volume, but Vaughn Ross makes for an able substitute. I still hate manga, but Ross' work is solidly okay. He gives the characters greater expression and fluid movement.
On the flipside, I've always appreciated Petrucha's work on The X-Files comic books. Here, he seemed to disappoint me in the construction of the mystery. Within a few scant pages, I seemed to have little difficulty narrowing my focus to one prime suspect and deducing the whereabouts of the McGuffin.
Petrucha knows exactly what type of person reads Nancy Drew. We're mystery buffs, and we look at mysteries as challenges to be met. To obfuscate the reader's vision, he builds numerous events in the book to instill doubt in the reader. Sneaky, sneaky writer.
Petrucha adorns Nancy with his typically brilliant characterization, and he develops Ned Nickerson, Nancy's boyfriend, quite nicely. He surprises with George and Bess and expands on their talents in several good scenes. These facets in addition to Petrucha's trickery and Vaughn Ross' decently illustrated manga make "The Charmed Bracelet" a thoroughly entertaining Nancy Drew read.
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