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Immediately thereafter, I started ordering all his books. For someone who's read thousands of books over the years, that's quite an endorsement for Mr.
Butcher is just a stone's throw away. Butcher and his wizard.What's even more fun is that the author is a "neighbor." Although his wizard is in Chicago, Mr.
I had never heard of the Harry Dresden Files until my son told me about the short-lived television series. I can honestly say this is one of the most original characters I have read in a long time.
Kinda nice to have an author in the neighborhood.Keep 'em coming. I was a fan from the first time I watched it.
I believe I just ordered the most recent two in the series.
Nevertheless, if you're a Dresden Files fan and not a comic book/graphic novel fan, you can't help being disappointed at how little you get in this package. The artwork is fine, but doesn't do anything for me. Can Harry find the big nasty and at the same time clear the poor gorilla. Recommended mainly for hardcore fans and for graphic novel fans. Overall, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is just OK. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is a graphic novel that takes place in professional wizard Harry Dresden's early days as a freelance consultant for the Chicago Police Department.
The police think that the gorilla did it, but they're wrong. You can't fault WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE for being a graphic novel, that's just what it is. As in the rest of the Dresden Files series, diminutive detective Karrin Murphy is Dresden's often-skeptical, sometimes friendly liaison with the PD. There's not a lot to the story, although it does give us some glimpses into Harry's deep dark past. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE does not presume knowledge of the Dresden Files universe and so is perfectly suitable for newbies. In this particular adventure, Dresden encounters an evil somebody/something that is attempting to perform one of those all-too-familiar rite of ascension things (happens all of the time in "Buffy"), using the Chicago Zoo as a base of operations.
And how's about that cute zoologist.
Have the whole series Love Jim Butcher's characters.always a new turn in the road and I love how Dresden just doesn't give up.
If you like this, I suggest you pick up the graphic novelization of STORM FRONT as well.This was great. Harry Dresden must track down the killer and try to keep alive while doing it.In this first attempt at writing for this medium, Jim Butcher (an avid fan of the medium), does a wonderful job at bringing Harry Dresden to life in graphic novel form. Meet Harry Dresden, WIZARD FOR HIRE.In this prequel to Storm Front Harry Dresden works on an earlier case with the Chicago PD. People are getting ripped apart and no rational explanation is available.
Karrin Murphy of Chicago PD's Special Investigations calling in Harry Dresden, the only professional wizard in the phonebook. My only quibbles were that Harry, though saved from the realm of lantern-jawed superherodom by a generous helping of stubble and eye-rolling, seemed too buff for my tastes - I'd like more gangling with my wizard, please. By turns irreverent and gruesome, snarky and slightly cheesily heartfelt, it's what I like to call brain candy: consummate entertainment paired with a modicum of emotional and intellectual content. A prequel to the first Dresden Files novel, "Welcome to the Jungle" is the first graphic novel addition to the series - a full adaptation of the first novel, Storm Front, is to come shortly. "Welcome to the Jungle" is a decent addition to the collection of a Dresden fan, and a good taste of the series for those curious about starting it, though it lacks the stronger emotional draw and character development of the novels. There are some enjoyably subtle touches thrown in, too, like a potion label sloppily applied with bits of Scotch tape in Harry's lab. The hardcover edition also has a number of fun goodies tucked in the end - the original issues' covers, Syaf's concept sketches for the characters and creatures, along with Butcher's notes, and some previews of iconic scenes from the upcoming Storm Front adaptation.
Unsurprisingly, the Dresden Files, with their spectacular action scenes, car chases, and colorful magical rituals, translate perfectly to comic-book form, with quick panels here capably taking the place of the lengthy descriptions required in the book. Overall, this is classic Dresden Files, with Harry brawling, detecting, and quipping his way to the final showdown in wizardly style. I especially liked the scene in which Harry walks the crime scene while imagining potential paranormal culprits, which gives the reader a great visual overview of the series' bestiary.A few sprinkled flashbacks also fill the reader in on Harry's childhood, making this as good an entrypoint as any into the series for any unfamiliar readers (and arguably much more newbie-friendly than the increasingly complicated later books in the series). Indeed, Butcher explains in his introduction that his storytelling is strongly influenced by the multitude of comics that he read when young (something that I definitely sympathize with). Otherwise, many of the creatures and scenes in the comic could have been pulled directly from my imaginings of the novel, which is all that a fan can ask for.
The comic's plot is boilerplate Dresden Files: a gruesome murder, this time at the zoo, has Lt. Likewise, an improbably flowing-tressed Murphy seems a bit out of line with the books' button-nosed, pony-tailed Murph. Crucially, he also renders action scenes well, leading to some spectacular doses of slavering beasties, crashing masonry, and explosions galore. Harry has 24 hours to uncover the killer, and, of course, has no idea where to start; in the meantime, the murder has been pinned on one of the zoo's prized (and innocent) gorillas, lending extra urgency to Harry's search for the real culprit. For the most part, I really enjoyed artist Ardian Syaf's work: he has dynamic paneling and slick coloring that perfectly captures the Dresden Files' noirish ambiance.
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