Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers 7 in 1 graphic novels from Euro Books India

Searching for “graphic novels India” on Google one day, I was led to a listing of a 7-in-1 compilation of Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers comics on FirstCry.com. The book was hardbound and cost Rs499, which I thought was a steal for seven Hardy Boys comic books. As it turned out, there were two such compilations, published by Euro Books India.

Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries were a big part of my childhood, so I couldn’t resist getting the comic books, not for myself but for my son, who was beginning to outgrow his Geronimo Stiltons.

Each hardcover measures approximately 16.5 x 3.5 x 24.5 cm and runs more than 600 pages. The comics are a re-print of the Papercutz editions. The full-color illustrations are printed on matte paper, as opposed to the glossy paper used in Papercutz comics. Nonetheless, the books are a steal at 499 rupees each.

Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers Teen Detectives (7 in 1) includes the following titles:

• Haley Danelle’s Top Eight
• Board to Death
• The Deadliest Stunt
• A Hardy Day’s Night
• The Opposite Numbers
• Identity Theft
• Sea you, Sea Me

Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers Trouble Shooters (7 in 1) has the following titles:

• To Die or Not to Die?
• The Ocean of Osyria
• Malled
• Mad House
• Hyde & Shriek
• Dude Ranch o’ Death!
• Abracadeath

The books were published by Euro Books India, a division of EuroKids International Private Limited. Euro Books specialized in children’s books, from Barbie Dress Me Up activity books to Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers series. They also published Tintin, Archie, Iznogoud, and Nancy Drew comics in individual copies and compilations. Don’t bother looking for their website. It seems to have vanished all of a sudden. Such a pity, as I was hoping to get the Nancy Drew compilations, too. Moral of the story: If you find a really good deal on a book, grab it! You’ll never know if they’ll go out of print or if the publisher ceases operations altogether.

These days the only places where one might find the Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers 7-in-1 (and other comics published by Euro Books India, for that matter) are in used-book stores in India. I’d thought to selling the books to declutter, but I’m glad I decided to hold on to them. Being a packrat has its perks, too, don’t you know?