Customer Reviews

The Ocean of Osyria (Hardy Boys Graphic Novels: Undercover Brothers #1)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This "graphic novel" is a slap across the face for those who are familiar at all with previous Hardy Boys products. It is shocking that the rights were granted for the production of this series when its writing quality is so low. The original Grosset & Dunlap texts always took care to actually research the subjects and settings that the Hardys would get involved in, but this "graphic novel" is inferior on every count. The writing quality is minimal, with some abysmally bad dialogue and situations, attempts at "technical references" that fail because they make no sense to anyone who actually knows about technology, horribly contrived sequences (and "solutions"), and inferior (supposedly trendy "manga-style") artwork.

I'm sorry but this shoddy product can only be explained in terms of cheap marketing gimmicks. It holds up neither as literature nor as a good comic book, but relies upon the inexperience of readers who are still unfamiliar with the actual Hardy Boys books (and the obsessive nature of Hardy collectors like me) to support its place in the market. Once I had actually read this book, I knew immediately that I could not support any more products of such inferior quality. It is very much overpriced when considering that it will be read in less than an hour, whereas the actual authentic Hardy Boys novels each provide several hours' worth of much higher-quality story (and thus tend to be worth re-reading afterward rather than staring at in resentment) - all for a cheaper price.

A comparison of the 1950s Hardy Boys product (found primarily through the 1960s reprints offered by selected used vendors on Amazon) and this dreck will confirm the truth of my claims. The old lushy painted covers, internal book illustrations that were richly detailed, with exciting and decently-researched stories (over 200 pages long), bound economically yet durably within a hardcover format. Although it was a step down when the stories were shortened (175-180 pages) and rewritten during the 1960s and 1970s, some of them were still good stories, and the durable illustrated hardcovers were still very nice. Similarly, the durable hardcovers gave way to cheaply-bound paperbacks, and were made still shorter (145-150 pages) but at least many of the stories remained of decent to good quality. Now, it has come to the point where the glossy paper is the most appealing thing about this overpriced drivel full of nonsensical plot problems, now delivering very little story at all.

I wrote a detailed letter of complaint to the publisher when this first came out, explaining all the problems and asking for the series quality to be maintained, but the letter was ignored by these people who care nothing about story quality, and who appear to be totally ignorant of the original source material of the Hardy Boys!! This is the rock-bottom of pointless hack-writing at its very worst, an insult to the very name of the Hardy. The original conception of one hardcover book per year was best for this series. Churning out things like this product many times a year does no one any good, merely cheapening the quality of the whole enterprise. Stratemeyer Syndicate should never have allowed this sort of thing. The poorly animated tv series from the 70s was better!! (Along with the related Gold Key comics at that time.) The original series had its "clunkers" to be sure, but also had many fine entries! (Check out, for example, the original versions of "The House on the Cliff" [212 pages]or "Hunting for Hidden Gold" [214 pages]. Even the shorter, rewritten versions of these stories are decent. To reduce the Hardy adventure format to a hackneyed comic-book semi-story format is truly a low point...especially when the new novels themselves look like they're fading from bookstore shelves.)

"The Hardy Boys", a staple of adventure detective fiction for several generations of American grade school males, has been recreated for the 21st century in the graphic novel format, with new and updated story lines. The first installment, "The Ocean of Osyria", features computer fraud, jewelry theft, and an exotic globe-trotting adventure for the two sleuths from the New England town of Bayport.

This series resurrects the characters from the traditional stories, including brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, their detective father Fenton Hardy, girlfriends Callie and Iola, and buddy Chet Morton. Frank and Joe are still in high school and still well-behaved role models. Not a lot else translates from the older stories. The plot of "The Ocean of Osyria" is very exciting but wildly improbable. The artwork borrows from the Japanese Manga style. Frank and Joe have some sort of ill-defined status as undercover investigators, which is their avenue to exotic and topical storylines.

"The Ocean of Osyria" is worth a good look as a recreation of the traditional characters, designed to appeal primarily to the latest generation of young readers. Older fans of the series may or may not be as enthralled by the updating.

Frank and Joe Hardy are on the case. Their friend Chet has been ascused of stealing the Ocean of Osyria. He bought the item online and it turns out that the item was stolen. It's up to the Hardy Boys to find the clues and clear their friends name! Will they be able to prove that Chet was a victim not the suspect in the case? Read the first graphic novel of the Hardy Boys series to find out!

The book was written in comic book form. It was full of supence and keep the reader wondering what might happen next.
We would recommend this book. Boys who enjoy comics would enjoy reading this first book in a new series.

The Hardy Boys are back in town with a mystery. Their friend Chet Morton has been accused of stealing off the internet! Of course, the Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe, know that Chet is innocent and uncover some very interesting facts...

I really enjoyed this book and liked the comic book format! I would also reccomend this book to girls. (I am a girl and really enjoyed this) All in all, a very enjoyable start to a new series. 5 stars out of 5.

While I'm not really a fan of the Hardy Boys, I have read more than a few of their adventures. This exploit is worthy of them -- there's adventure, mystery and highjinx, without too much violence or gimmickry. All the characters are here -- not just Frank and Joe, but also Chet, Iola and Callie. And the artwork, by American manga pioneer Lea Hernandez, is exceptionally well done.

After this, the series drops remarkably in quality, not just of the artwork (adieu, Ms. Hernandez!) but of storytelling, with the introduction of an unnecessary government agency to explain why the Hardys keep running into cases, and quite a bit of angsting on Fenton Hardy's part about the dilemma he faces in letting his sons do investigative work.

So get this one, and forget the rest.