I'm familiar with Butcher's Dresden Files, but I've never read any of the books. Reading the graphic novel, thus, became my first Dresden experience, and it's a bit of a mixed bag.

Welcome to the Jungle follows none other than the infamous Harry Dresden, sorcerer extraordinaire turned mystical detective, as he takes on yet another case: a brutal murder at the Chicago zoo with too many unanswered questions for the poor Chicago PD to handle; that's why they've called Dresden, because his specialty is with the supernatural. As Dresden investigates, he starts to learn that there's far more to this case than meets the eye, beyond the typical otherworldly things. The more he digs, the more he comes to realize that he's dealing with forces greater than his own, forces that could kill him if he's not too careful.

Welcome to the Jungle is a fairly stand-alone tale. One doesn't need to have read any of the Dresden books to get a clear picture of who Harry Dresden is or what he does. This might mean that fans of the novels may find this graphic novel a tad redundant, but I understand the reason for trying to make this graphically visualized addition to a popular series separate from the books--it is touching on a new market, and leaving them high and dry would be comparable to career suicide.

That said, there is much to be admired about Welcome to the Jungle. The artwork is fairly standard as far as American comics are concerned, with a glossy, bright coloration and American-style structuring of characters. I'm not a big fan of American-style comic art, but it seems to work particularly well for Dresden. He has that ruggedness that American comics tend to demonstrate both in character and build. My only criticism of the artwork, and with the characterization, is the stereotyping of women in this piece, something I would have thought had gone out of style years ago.

The story is nothing to get excited about, but I suppose that Welcome to the Jungle is less about the complexity of plot and character development, and more about the injection of noir elements to produce a grungy, updated fantastic detective story. It seems to work, though a deeper plot could have helped pull things out from the "shock-and-awe" jumps that existed in the plot.

My biggest issue with Welcome to the Jungle (which, by the way, is the name of a song by an rather popular 80s rock band) is the way the dialogue is structured. Much of the story is told through Dresden's internal thoughts, which might not be a problem except where his thoughts point out the glaringly obvious. In novel form, these sorts of thoughts would certainly work well to establish Dresden's voice, but here it is irritating. We can see most of the detail in the image; telling us about such things in Dresden's mind is redundant.

Overall, I think current fans of the novels would enjoy Welcome to the Jungle. While it is far from perfect, it doesn't lack in interesting elements, and would have much to offer people who are already familiar with Butcher's fiction. New readers might not enjoy it nearly as much, but I suppose that depends on your tastes in graphic novels/comics. As it is, Welcome to the Jungle is an entertaining read. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1254921...

This is a graphic novel based on a series of books by Jim Butcher which had a TV show as well; but it was all new to me, and I only got it because it is on the Hugo shortlist.

It's actually very good. Our hero, Harry Dresden, is a hardboiled private investigator who also happens to be a wizard, and is routinely called in to help solve mysterious cases in Chicago. The plot here, involving odd goings-on and strange deaths in the Lincoln Park Zoo, is pretty straightforward; the villain, being English, is easy to spot, and the rest is just routine defeat the bad guys stuff. But it is told vividly and with a certain humour, and very well drawn by Ardian Syaf. This is my first encounter either with the Dresden Files or with Syaf's work, and it has certainly whetted my enthusiasm for both - especially for Syaf. ( )

I really liked this book but my only complaint is that it was too short and didn't go into a lot of detail because of its length. The artwork is amazing and highly detailed. I recommend this book to fans of The Dresden Files series and/or people who have not yet started the series. ( )

General Background
Welcome to the Jungle is the graphic novel prequel to all the Dresden Files books I've been reading recently. As such, it's a quick read, and I figured I could squeeze it in before I started Angel's Blood... and believe me, I was not disappointed with my choice.

The Plot
In Welcome to the Jungle, a very, very young Harry (well, he seems that way compared to the guy I left at the end of Dead Beat, anyway, despite the fact that only a few years have passed in book time - which just shows how much the boy's been through since I started reading) is investigating the dead of a guard at the Lincoln Park zoo. At least... that's where it starts, anyway

The graphic novel format makes for a different kind of book than a novel would - fewer twists, turns and subplots. And yet, despite the more simplistic plotline, most of the elements that I've loved about the Dresden Files so far are there, so I didn't feel shortchanged in anyway.

The Characters
There are four of the main characters that readers of the novels will recognise: Harry himself, Murphy, Carmichael and Bob . Everyone else has yet to make an appearance. Harry, despite the youth, is pretty much everything I've come to love about the character. And the same can be said of Bob, however little pagetime he gets. Murphy and Carmichael, however, feel more like the first initial shadows of what they're going to become - Murphy gruff and distrusting but willing to at least bring Harry in, and Carmichael cynical and convinced that Harry's little better than a con artist.

Add to this we have Will (short for Willemena) Rogers, who totally makes me think of Fred from Angel; Moe, the gorilla, who's just cool; and a few other supporting character about which I can't say too much without giving stuff away.

Good Stuff
Good stuff? For a start, it's another Dresden Files installment, and one you can read without spoiling yourself for ANYTHING to come. I also liked the way the Harry I've come to know from the novels comes through so clearly in this graphic novel format - both through the words, and through the talents of Ardian Syaf's illustrations. There are some panels where the Harry's personality just *shines* (or occasionally, *glares*) through in the artwork, and such panels inevitably had me squeeing like a crush-struck teenager to myself.

Plus, there's all the snark and banter I know and love from the novels. One particular interchange, involving accounts payable, made me a very, very happy Starfire (although honourable mention should also go to the solliloquy involving the combined media bursting into spontaneous orgasm).

Bad Stuff
OK, as far as I'm concerned, the one and only problem with this graphic novel is that I'm finished it and now I have to take it back to the library, damnit. When I'm working fulltime again, I may just procure the entire damn set of the books for myself... just so I can go back and reread them (and hug them and pet them and yes, possibly, even call them George)

Ratings and Recommendations
Right - for anyone who's been reading my various reviews of the Dresden Files set (and watching them degenerating gradually into fangirlish squeeings), who's said "Y'know, I've got to try out this set, but I have SO MUCH on my reading pile...", this is an EXCELLENT place to start. It took me around 45 minutes to read through the graphic novel, and that included taking time out to sit and lovingly squee at various artwork I particularly loved, or to re-read particular dialogue interchanges that pushed my happy buttons. Not only that, but it doesn't give you any spoilers, and is actually designed as a lead-in for the series, so it might actually be a good thing to read before you hit Book 1.

I'm going to go all out and give this one a 9/10. I loved reading it with much love, and I really look forward to seeing the next graphic novel if/when it happens. ( )

This is the hardback compilation of a comic written by Jim Butcher, and it shows. Both Bob and Harry demonstrate their trademark dark wit, Harry does a fair amount of magical ass kicking, and the artwork isn't half bad either. That said I'm not sure I'd give this to someone who's just gotten into the series. A good chunk of Harry's backstory is hinted at or given away during the course of the story, backstory which you don't learn about in the books until after the first book or two. Still, if you're into Dresden, shucking out the ~$20 for the hardback compilation like I did should be a no brainer. ( )