Surfside Girls, Graphic Novel No. 3 - The Clue in the Reef

Hard to believe it has been three years since the last Surfside Girls graphic novel.  Although, considering the length of this mystery is pretty much double the size of the last one, I can imagine it took writer/artist, Kim Dwinell, some time to get this one done.  I've also learned, since purchasing this third volume of the series, that the Surfside Girls was made into a television show on ApplePlus TV.  I don't have that streaming service, unfortunately, so I haven't been able to watch any episodes, but I did catch the trailer on YouTube, and I must say, it looks just as fun as the graphic novels!  And after the girls uncovering the secret of Danger Point in the first book, and solving the mystery at the Old Rancho in the second book, I could not wait to see what the third graphic novel held in store!

 

The Clue in the Reef finds Sam Taylor and her best friend, Jade Lee, trying to figure out how a pack of small hedgehogs ended up stranded on an outer reef.  With the tide quickly coming in, Sam and Jade surf out there and rescue the poor animals.  The only clue they uncover is an odd tag with a clover and diamond on it.  Of course, their investigations into this mystery is limited, as both Sam and Jade are helping out Sam's father in the Surfside Days Festival, working in Mr. Taylor's burger hut.  In the last mystery, it was a surfing competition, but in this mystery, it's a celebration of the town of Surfside's founding back in 1853.  Everyone is dressed up in fashions from the 1850s, including poor Sam and Jade - "How did women do ANYTHING dressed like this?" Sam rightfully asks (p. 3), as she is being fitted for her costume.  But the uncomfortable clothes soon become unimportant, when Sam and Jade realize there is something strange going on in Surfside - because not only were the hedgehogs abandoned, but it also seems there is a ring-tailed lemur loose in Surfside, stealing mangos from unsuspecting vendors at the festival!  Where are these exotic animals coming from?  That is mystery Sam and Jade intend to solve!

 

While this particular mystery does not center around any of the ghosts that the girls have befriended and helped in the past, that is not to say they are not present.  Robert, and his fellow pirates, are on the scene, willing to help out where they can (although that does not amount to much).  Dwinell does spend some time, however, focusing on Sam and Robert's human/ghost relationship, and it's rather sweet to see how these star-crossed lovers are trying to find a way to make it work.  There is also an interesting part of the story where Sam and Jade listen to an old-timer spin a beautiful tale of how her people migrated from the mountain in the ocean to the mainland, only to have some of them fall off the "rainbow bridge" and into the ocean, where Mother Earth transformed them into sea dolphins.  It turns out this was a tale Dwinell herself held from a Chumash woman when she and her family were camping at the Malibu Creek State Park, and she incorporated it into this story.  While having no real connection to the mystery itself, it does provide some beautiful background to the fictional town of Surfside and its inhabitants, fleshing out the world in which Sam and Jade live.

 

While the girls do have cell phones and computers, I applaud Dwinell on keeping their usage to a minimum.  She has Sam and Jade do their detective work the old fashioned way, searching for clues outside of the internet!  Yes, they do ultimately use Sam's cell phone as a tracking device to follow the crook who is smuggling the exotic animals into Surfside, they are more reliant on Jade's mystery notebook, where she writes down all the clues, all of their suspicions, all of their ideas and plans, and everything else connected with the mystery.  Keeping the technology to a minimum definitely makes for a better read!

 

Dwinell does through in a surprise character in the form of "Amichelle," a famous pop star who is trying to lay low in Surfside to avoid being mobbed constantly by avid fans.  She plays an important part of the mystery, and she provides readers a clear reminder that although Sam and Jade are successful amateur detectives, they are still teenagers at heart.  With this in mind, it makes the climax of the story somewhat shocking, as the girls are placed in an extremely dangerous situation when they confront the criminal, and their very lives are at stake!  Of course, their quick-thinking and athletic prowess help them escape certain death, and the villain of the story is brought to justice by the end.

 

Dwinell's art remains consistent with the previous two books, for which I am glad.  In the beginning, it felt a bit cartoony, but as the series has progressed, I'm learning to appreciate and enjoy it more and more.  It has now established this world firmly for me, and I could not picture Sam, Jade, and their world drawn any other way!  I hope Dwinell is hard at work on a fourth mystery, as I do not want the adventures of the Surfside Girls to ever end!

 

RATING:  9 tubes of fake gold from an Old Prospector out of 10 for another superbly told mystery with a world that gets more and more fleshed-out with each book!

Surfside Girls, Graphic Novel No. 2 - The Mystery at the Old Rancho

It's been a while since I read the first Surfside Girls graphic novel by Kim Dwinell, but I can still recall the main characters (Samantha Taylor and Jade Lee) and the danger and adventure they experienced in solving The Secret of Danger Point.  Dwinell did an amazing job of introducing the characters, the locale, and the mysterious goings-on around Danger Point.  And, oh yeah - did I mention the ghosts?  It seems Danger Point has their fair share, and after making contact with ghosts in the first book, it's only to be expected that Sam and Jade will find themselves helping out yet another ghost in this second book.

The Mystery at the Old Rancho is set during the Annual Surfside Surf Competition.  Sam is one of the junior lifeguards.  Jade, meanwhile, is preparing for a 5k run.  But when the two meet up or a picnic with their ghost-friends, Sam catches sight of the young ghost boy to whom she has taken quite a liking chatting up a fellow ghost - who happens to be female!  Sam and Jade soon discover that Maria has a mystery of her own - she dies over 100 years ago, yet she is certain that she saw her father, who disappeared and was believed to have died when she was just a little girl.  But if Maria died more than a century ago, how could her father be here now?

Dwinell sets up a pretty good mystery for Sam and Jade to solve, all the while dealing with the new developments in their personal lives.  Maria's family used to own the the rancho house out on the hill just beyond town.  Sam and Jade visited the house on a field trip back in the fourth grade, so they are familiar with it, since it is now a museum.  The girls convince Maria to go with them to the house and help them investigate - and sure enough, they discover a hidden desk drawer, a secret journal, a room behind a wall, and so much more!  There's also a trip to Mission San Simon, where the girls get help from the most unexpected source.  The clues continue to be uncovered, until ultimately the girls not only solve the mystery of what happened to Maria's father all those years ago, but they make a fantastic connection to the present that turns out to benefit more than just Maria!

And while all of this adventure and mystery is going on, Sam must deal with her feelings for the ghost, Robert, who she is afraid is more interested in Maria than her!  And Jade is surprised to meet a young man competing in the surf competition who takes a quick liking to her as well.  

Dwinell knows how to write a very down-to-earth mystery (albeit with ghosts) that does not depend on technology to solve the case, while making her characters very real and very relatable.  At the same time, the story and art are not so simple as to appeal to both older and young readers alike.  And Dwinell has a superb way to utilizing wordless panels to perfectly portray the excitement and determination of the two young sleuths in her story (check out pages 119, 135, and 183 to see exactly what I mean).

Sadly, though, while I see that there is "A Surfside Girls' Guide to Surfing" that was published in December 2021, I don't see any indication that there will be a third Surfside Girls mystery coming our way.  Which is a real shame, as I could easily see this being a successful series for young readers that combines the comics with the prose to create a unique reading experience for the reader.  Maybe with a little luck, Dwinell will be inspired with some more mysteries, and the future will see Sam and Jade return to solve a third, fourth, and maybe even a fifth mystery!

RATING:  9 lucky singlets out of 10 for not taking the easy way out and keeping the technology and ghost-aid to a minimum in solving the mystery!

Surfside Girls, Graphic Novel No. 1 - The Secret of Danger Point

Let's face it - I'm a sucker for a new mystery series - and when that mystery series happens to also be in a graphic novel (comic) format, it only whets my appetite all the more! I had noticed the first Surfside Girls graphic novel numerous times at the bookstore, and I had even picked it up and flipped through it.  It appeared interesting enough, but it was not numbered, and there was nothing in this book to indicate it was a part of any series, so inevitably, I would put it back on the shelf each time. Until a second graphic novel hit the shelf, and I then knew that this was a series! So, obviously, I bought both books and brought them home, and I recently sat down and read the first book....

The Secret of Danger Point gives readers the plot for this story quite plainly. There is something going on at Danger Point, and Samantha and her friend, Jade, are determined to find out what it is. When Sam spies something shining under the water just below Danger Point, she swims under to check it out - only to find a hidden cave under the water! When she climbs up through a hole in the ceiling, she finds herself right at the heart of Danger Point - only, she's not alone! The young girl is surrounded by ghosts from the past, all of whom appear to have been waiting for her.

This, of course, sets off the mystery - are the ghosts real? Why is Sam the only one who can see them? Why do they need her, and what do they need her to do? Sam brings her friend back to Danger Point, but Jade can see only Sam - so is Sam going crazy, or are the ghosts really there?  Time to do some digging!  After some lengthy research on the internet, Jade discovers some of the history surrounding the ghosts that Sam claims to have met. And that's when the real investigating begins!  A strange bird found on the shores below Danger Point. A construction company preparing to clear all of the land at Danger Point.  Two strangers that Jade identifies only as "Bird Man" and "Yacht Lady." And a cryptic message from the ghosts that Sam has a duty that has fallen on her shoulders, and she alone knows what must be done.

Writer and artist Kim Dwinell tells a fun story of mystery and adventure, filled with surf and sand, spirits and strangers, and a dastardly villain who only Sam and Jade can stop from destroying Danger Point!  Despite the supernatural aspect of the ghosts, the characters are very down-to-earth (Sam even gets punished for sneaking out at night to go visit her ghosts), and there is a tense moment when Sam nearly drowns while trying to figure out what treasure may lie beneath the ocean waters!  It is exciting to follow along with Sam and Jade as they ferret out clues and try to figure out what they all mean, and the reader, right along with Sam and Jade, find themselves surprised when everyone in the story is not necessarily who they appear to be!

Now, I will admit - the art is not the most realistic, as the characters are drawn very simplistically, and often times, the backgrounds in the panels are pretty non-existent. However, the story is so engaging that these drawbacks in the art do not at all take away from the story - in fact, in some ways, they allow the reader to focus MORE on the story itself and not get caught up with the "oooooo, pretty art" that seems to be the focal point of most mainstream comics today.  And this is fine by me, as I am much more interested in a good story than pretty art.

I would definitely say that Dwinell has a success with the Surfside Girls, and this first mystery definitely sets the tone for the characters, the stories, and the series as a whole, and I can pretty much guarantee anyone who picks this up is going to love it!

RATING:  10 St. Christopher charms out of 10 for providing a superb start to a brand new series, combining mystery and comics - two of my favorite things!