Detective Graphic Novels Round-Up

Detectives don’t only appear in manga—there are plenty in graphic novels, too!

Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum
by Hannah Tunnicliffe and Erica Harrison
Flying Eye Books, $12.99 paperback
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 5-9

Detective Stanley is an adorably determined retired detective who finds himself investigating once again when something is stolen from the museum. He has to find out what’s really going on while avoiding being framed! His world feels comfortably Richard Scarry-like, with various animals and roles in the background.

It’s a great short read, with plenty of twists, as well as puns and amusing nods to the genre for those who pay attention. For instance, Stanley lives at 221 Barker Street and is reading Cat Among the Pigeons (the Agatha Christie classic). The exhibit at the Museum is by Bleat Mondrian, a goat, and there are background pages included on Piet Mondrian’s life and works. There’s a second book coming next year, Detective Stanley and The Green Thumbed Thief, which is something to look forward to. Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum is lots of fun and an excellent introduction to mystery stories for young ones.

Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat
by Li Chen
Andrews McMeel, $24.99 hardcover, $12.99 paperback
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 8-10

Kitten Beans loves detectives. He wears a trench coat and fedora to better mimic the hard-boiled investigator he wants to be. But one morning, his hat has gone missing! He sets out to find it, meeting all kinds of characters—a bird mom, twins in the park, a magician, a community gardener, a jazz singer, a fishmonger, a snooty antique store owner, and more—in a very packed day of encounters. This isn’t a mystery so much as a shaggy-dog Rube Goldberg-style “and then the hat was picked up by THAT person!” extended tale.

Beans is a bit silly, and readers may enjoy realizing they know more than he does about what’s going on. The elements here have been kiddified, but for example, substituting a juice box straw for a cigarette in the classic noir look is funny. There is a bit of “this couldn’t happen in reality” when it comes to magic, but we are starting with talking cats who wear clothes, so…

The second book, Detective Beans: Adventures in Cat Town, is already out.

Who Killed Nessie?
by Paul Cornell and Rachael Smith
Avery Hill Publishing, $19.99

Lyndsay is a new employee at a deserted lakeside Wisconsin hotel. She’s been left alone this weekend, when the only guests are there for a very special convention. It takes Lyndsay a while to realize that all the attendees are cryptids and other supernatural creatures, including Bigfoot, fairies, a mermaid, the Kraken, the Wendigo, the Jersey Devil, Baba Yaga, and a whole lot more. Plus Bob, the Beast of Bodmin Moor, who’s basically a talking cat, and darned cute.

Then the Loch Ness Monster is murdered. Lyndsay has the weekend to solve the mystery, complicated by the many shapeshifters at the weekend, while the attendees continue with their panels and debates. Smith’s fluid art makes this all kind of cuddly, even though there are deaths involved. (This book has the most adorable version of Cerberus ever.) It’s a terrific idea for an escapist mystery, comfortably drawn and easy to get sucked into. Once it’s been read, another pass through is worth it just to identify all the creatures in the panel backgrounds.

Who Killed Nessie? is also appealing in its everyday, relatable use of fantasy elements, where these magical creatures are beings just like anybody else, partying at a weekend convention and caught up in their own drives and grudges. An excellent example of supernatural mystery that still plays far and doesn’t require the investigator being put in harm’s way to find the solution.

The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor
by Shaenon K. Garrity and Christopher Baldwin
Margaret K. McElderry Books, $24.99 hardcover, $14.99 paperback
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 12+

The sequel to The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor moves from the Gothic to the mystery genre.

As we’re reminded in the prequel chapter, Willowweep is a mini universe shaped by our collective unconscious. In this volume, survivors from another universe have sought refuge in the stately manor. They are:

• Crickers, an idiot fop, and his comedy relief dog Jerome
• Maybury, the butler
• Miss Meadowsweet, the village spinster
• Colonel Shotcroft
• a “capable young lady” wearing a cloche hat

Their appearance means a conservatory also appears in the manor, and then someone gets a dagger in the back. Our lead, Hayley, moves from interdimensional science adventurer to detective as characters start disappearing. Others try reading mystery novels to better understand the new rules of the universe.

Cuthbert, the easygoing youngest brother of the Willowweep family, hits it off with Crickers immediately, as they’re both rather Bertie Wooster-like, and their pairing provides much of the humor. This series, although devoted to the appeal of a particular genre, manages to combine a bunch of them, with suspense, adventure, science fiction, comedy, and a bit of romance all included.

The love of genre that made the first book so appealing isn’t as visible here, as Hayley admits she doesn’t know mysteries very well. But the elements work together well enough, with some detecting and some world-saving and some heartwarming emotion all on view.

The Great British Bump-Off
written by John Allison; art by Max Sarin
Dark Horse Books, $19.99
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 12+

There are so many wonderful things in this story:

• A determined student detective investigating
• A weird and unusual range of contestants in a
• British baking show competition
• Where a jerk baker is poisoned
• Plus jokes about odd and old-fashioned expressions and other obscure topics
• And a cat co-host
• All cartooned with feeling and detail.

I wanted to spend a lot more time with these characters in this situation. It’s so entertaining and hilarious. Thankfully, there’s a sequel out now, Kill or Be Quilt.

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Reviews