The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher
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Book Reviews of The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
Book Review: Excellent graphic novel! A great read.
Summary: 4 Stars
Welcome to the Jungle, based in the Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files universe, is one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in a long time. I'm one of those annyoing people who tends to read books based on very specific standards-- if it's unoriginal in general, I don't care, but if it's identical to other books in the series or books written by the same author, it'll drive me up a wall.
As such, I approached this book, with which I had little to compare it to (I'm not a big graphic novel reader, but I am a huge fan of the regular books), with an open mind and LOVED IT. There are very few things to be actively annoyed by-- the art is very good, and varys in tone well (one thing I have noticed in comic books as a whole is that the tone of the art tends to remain the same throughout the book). The story is, well. It was written by Butcher, and as anyone who's given his books a go will know, that means fantastic.
Said plot is set before Storm Front, the first book in the Dresden Files books. It features Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, in his role as the consultant Karrin Murphy (head of CPD's Special Investigations unit) calls when things get weird, and things are definately weird. A man if found mauled to death near the gorilla enclosure, and the beast is blamed. However, some things just don't click, and so Harry sets off in his coat to find the truth. You'll have to read the book to find out what happens, and doing that is something I highly recommend. The one thing about this book that set me off a little was in 4 instances, the artist reuses panels-- I don't know if thats an industry standard or what, but it just rubbed me wrong. Anyway, if you don't have a rabid hatred of graphic novels, this is something you should definately consider reading.
As a side not to all the whiners who gave this book 1 star revues because you "didn't know it was a comic book": a, you should read the description, b, you should at least give it a shot before sending it back, c, do a forum post or something so people who actually know what the product is don't get a misrepresentation from the ratings, and d, read the description, morons! (did I mention that already?)
Book Review: Beautiful Graphics for Beautiful Words
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, the book is a graphic novel--a comic book (I'll defer to Butcher's wishes and not put that in derogatory quotes). Please don't jump to conclusions based on that alone. Yes, not all stories translate well into a visual form, and not all writers can manage the lower word counts needed for the medium. That isn't a problem here. The visuals are gorgeous, and the writing is very, very Jim Butcher.
The artwork is always something to be aware of in graphic novels, and I have been turned off more than one series because I couldn't stand the artist chosen. This one really works for me, though. Not being an art major (or minor, or really knowing anything about art), all I can say is that I found that the characters look enough like I pictured them to be, and the art always seemed to add to rather than distract from what was happening.
There's a fair bit of internal monologueing being done in this book, more than you usually see in a graphic novel. Given how the Dresden books are usually written in first person, though, it really works. The words never seem to overwhelm the art, but rather to work with it. I have no issues with it whatsoever.
This isn't like the first book of the new Thor, or *that* chapter in Watchmen (the one that's never going to translate to another medium, because it's pretty much perfect as is). It's a Dresden book, and it sidles quite nicely into its new format, keeping everything that was good about the novels (the characters, the poignancy, the humor) and adding some nice visuals. If you like Dresden, you'll probably love this if you give it a fair chance. It's shorter than a novel, yes, being only four comics long, but it's a well-made, well-drawn book none-the-less, and the price being asked for it is not outrageous. (Go look at other hard-cover graphic novels if you don't believe me.) If you're into graphic novels, this gives a fair representation of the series, though without quite as many twists as you would normally find in one of the novels (again, it's only four comics long). Give it a try.
I'd have to say Dresden Files is one of the best fantasy series of our time, and this makes a fine prologue to the series. There's one line that might give some continuity issues (about Justin and Elaine), but that can be handwaved away as the character ossilating between two possibilities.
Anyway, hopefully this will be helpful to someone. If you're still uncertain, hop into a bookstore and flip through a copy. It won't be a waste of time.
Book Review: The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
Summary: 1 Stars
Didn't bother to read it just sent it back. I had not planned on buying a comic book.Book Review: Joke of a Book
Summary: 1 Stars
This is a joke of a book. If I had known what type of a "comic" book this was I would NEVER have purchased it! This book should be labled and put into the comic section. I buy books to READ and not to look at the pictures! Book Review: Graphic Novel?
Summary: 1 Stars
I wish that the words "graphic novel" had been more prominent in the info. It would have saved me this purchase.