This article is written from the Real World point of view

"Five years and twenty cases! Thanks a lot, Joe and Frank - it's been a blast!"

— Scott Lobdell^[1]

Deadly Strategy
Publication information
Publisher	Papercutz
Publication date	September 2010
ISBN	ISBN 1597071838
Creative team
Writer	Scott Lobdell
Artist(s)	Paulo Henrique
Chronology
Series	The Hardy Boys Graphic Novel
Preceded by	Chaos at 30,000 Feet!
External links
Official website
The Hardy Boys Encyclopedia

Deadly Strategy is the 20th and final title in The Hardy Boys Graphic Novel series. Papercutz originally planned to release it in March 2010 but due to multiple delays it wasn't published until September of that year.

Since it was the last story of the series and the last Hardy Boys story he would write before Gerry Conway took-over writing duties for the new series, Scott Lobdell treated Deadly Strategy like the "grand-finale" of the series with many characters from almost all of the previous 19 titles making cameos.

Back cover summaryEdit

IS THIS THE END OF THE HARDY BOYS?!

Frank and Joe Hardy are wanted men- falsely accused for crimes they never committed that involve almost every one of their past missions! On the run, Frank and Joe encounter old friends and foes but must find out who has framed them before it's too late- and A.T.A.C catches them!

Plot summaryEdit

After being debriefed on their last ATAC mission, Frank and Joe Hardy head to the Bayport Museum of International Arts where the Ocean of Osyria, one of the Middle East's most valuable jewels, is on loan from Osyria. While the Hardys are there, the jem is stolen and security cameras show Frank and Joe are the thieves. Realizing they've been framed, the Hardys break-out of custody in a search for the real culprit.

With the help of fellow ATAC agent and friend Lindsay Rider, the Hardy brothers escape the Ocean of Osyria's security force and learn that the theft of the Ocean is just a small part of a bigger plan. Frank and Joe have been falsely accused for multiple crimes involving many of their past cases. The Hardys' enemy has been going through their cases in order and Joe deduces that Board to Death, a skateboard competition they investigated, could be the next target.

At the competition, Frank and Joe stop the hold-up of the ticket booth by two people who look just like them! After a fight with the impostors, the Hardys discover that the hold-up "men" are actually the Noir sisters, Nicolina and Shira, wearing masks. They claim someone kidnapped their father, Poppa Noir, and threatened to hurt him if they didn't do what they were told.

Both the Noirs and the Hardys are taken into police custody but, with the assistance of The Great Marconi - a man they helped during a past case, the Hardys escape and head to American Teens Against Crime Headquarters where they hope to get to the bottom of the mystery.

At ATAC HQ, Frank and Joe find that all ATAC personal are unconscious. The brothers now suspect Poppa Noir, the man responsible for the last attack on ATAC, and when a projection of Noir appears on the wall and they are hailed over the PA system by someone who claims to be Noir, they're suspicions seem to have been correct. When they break-into the projection room, the Hardy boys are surprised to find that the real culprit behind all the events of the day is not Noir, instead it is actually a young girl named Sarah. A girl they came-up against in a past mission but who they thought was in rehabilitation.

But Sarah had got "bored" of rehabilitation, and one night she got out of her halfway house, and started researching everything she could find about the Hardy brothers. It took some time and effort but eventually she was able to put together a chronological history of all the Hardys' ATAC missions. As she was taken away by ATAC security, she said that the goal of her plan was to prove to the Hardys that "some people can't be saved".

AppearancesEdit

CharactersEdit

• Regulars
  • Brian Conrad
  • Haley Danelle
  • The Great Marconi
  • Trey Gelbman
  • Fenton Hardy
  • Frank Hardy
  • Joe Hardy
  • Chet Morton
  • Iola Morton
  • Vijay Patel
  • Pink Shadow
  • Poppy
  • Nicolina Noir
  • Poppa Noir (mentioned only)
  • Shira Noir
  • Nigel Penhurst (mentioned only)
  • Lindsay Rider
  • Sara
  • Callie Shaw
• Butch Cassidy (mentioned only)
• Joe Dubois (mentioned only)
• Frank Gallagher (mentioned only)
• The Sundance Kid (mentioned only)

LocationsEdit

• American Teens Against Crime Headquarters
• Bayport
  • Bayport High
  • Bayport Mall (mentioned only)
  • Bayport Museum of International Arts
• Nevada (mentioned only)
  • Sorrow Ranch (mentioned only)
• Osyria (mentioned only)

Businesses and organizationsEdit

• American Teens Against Crime
• eBay (mentioned only)

OtherEdit

• Board to Death
• The Ocean of Osyria

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ The Hardy Boys Graphic Novel #20 Deadly Strategy, page 79.

External linksEdit

• Deadly Strategy on Bookmanager.com.