Hobtown Mystery Stories - The Case of the Missing Men

"Nancy Drew meets David Lynch" is how the back of the graphic novel describes this unique small-town, middle-American mystery.  David Lynch is probably most recognized for his off-beat television cult classic, Twin Peaks.  So take a little Nancy Drew, throw her into a Twin Peaks-type world, and that's a pretty apt description for this first Hobtown Mystery Story by author Kris Bertin and artist Alexander Forbes.  (Of course, I'd also say after reading the story that you could add X-Files into that mix, but that's just me.)

The Case of the Missing Men is a twisted sort of mystery - what starts of innocently enough (six men have disappeared in the town of Hobtown) eventually turns into something not only far more sinister, but somewhat depraved and a bit extraterrestrial.  Lucky for the citizens of Hobtown, the local highschool's Teen Detective Club is on the case!  And in case your wondering, it's clear that not only does the writer of this mystery have an affection for the children's mystery series books from the '60s and '70s, but she also manages to throw in a few fun nods to those series - for instance, the leader of the teen detective club is an young lady by the name of Dana Nance ("Dana" Girls and "Nancy" Drew anyone?), whose mother died when she was young, and she has been raised by a very indulgent father. The other members are Pauline Lormier and the brothers, Denny and Brennan Hale.

The cases this after-school detective club has solved?

The Case of the Tire Fire
The Mayor's Old Watch
The Egg-Thief Mystery

Of course, we only know of these prior mysteries because Dana herself mentions them on page 170 (like any good children's mystery story did in years gone by, one has to reference prior mysteries!). This particular mystery finds Dana and her friends coming to the aid of Sam Finch, a young scientific genius already in the process of earning his engineering degree - and who is also a young inventor as well (a la Tom Swift!).  He is searching for his missing father, who they determine to be the sixth missing man in Hobtown.  A strange man digging in the forest.  Paper plates with animal faces drawn on them and their eyes cut out.  Yellow raincoats.  A murdered lunch-lady.  The attempted drowning of a slow, yet quite observant, man.  A body found bricked up outside an abandoned farm.  And more secrets than you can shake a stick at - all spell one very peculiar, yet thoroughly engaging mystery that is enjoyable from page 1 to page 300!

And just in case you were wondering how the X-Files angle comes into play?  Well, let's just say that there may or may not be an alien menace somehow involved in this whole thing.  The truth is out there...you just have to buy the graphic novel if you want to find it!

RATING:  10 chalkboard timelines out of 10 for honoring children's mysteries of a more innocent time and giving them an adult spin without making it dark and gloomy.