NEW YORK • The Hardy Boys stand over Nancy Drew's grave.

The beloved teen detective, who has survived countless scrapes, cliffhangers and close calls, is dead - or so it seems - killed while pursuing a high-stakes investigation of organised crime.

And it is up to the Hardy Boys to solve the mystery of her murder.

The forthcoming comic-book series, Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys: The Death Of Nancy Drew!, was to commemorate the publication in 1930 of the first Nancy Drew book by putting a noirish spin on the classic tale of the roadster-driving, truth-seeking sleuth.

But the possibility that Nancy - whose pluck and valour has helped her triumph over villains - was murdered infuriated some of her passionate fans.

It also sent her name trending on Twitter last Friday.

"I'm very surprised" by the blowback, said Anthony Del Col, who wrote the series, to be published in April.

"What we tried to do is create one of the ultimate mysteries of Nancy Drew," he said. "How did she die? Who killed Nancy Drew?"

Perhaps the bigger question on the minds of fans is, is she really dead?

Del Col refused to say, adding only that readers would find "more than meets the eye".

Some fans complained that killing Nancy and having the Hardy Boys work to crack the case played into antiquated gender stereotypes, the kind Nancy herself tried to upend in the books, which have sold more than 80 million copies.

Nancy first sprang to life as the brainchild of Edward Stratemeyer, head of a children's literature syndicate who created the Hardy Boys in 1927.

NYTIMES