A beautiful book, with color pictures on glossy paper. Also a book with a plot-line that works well within the context of the Harry Dresden series of books. There is a murder at the zoo -- was it the gorilla? or something demonic? Given that this is a novel of Harry Dresden, wizard, we know it was not the gorilla.

I sometimes find graphic novels hard to follow - when I read, I'm looking for the richness of imagination, rather than the dramatically drawn and already visualized view of the world offered by comics and what are now called graphic novels. So I don't read many of them. I was drawn in by this one and quite enjoyed it. When I started, comic books were a dime an issue, and it was a big deal when they went up to twelve cents. Times have certainly changed.

I have to say that I enjoy the novels more than the graphic novel. This is not to say that the comic form is not good or that this is not a good medium for this series, but that it is just a personal preference for me. Transfers beautifully. ( )

I have to say that in spite of my current manga obsession, comic books have never been a preferred medium of choice for me. Because of this, along with my not so wonderful experiences with manga/graphic novel interpretations of books I've read so far, it is true to say I was a bit apprehensive about starting this. However, over the last couple months I've become quite fond of Harry Dresden and his universe so my curiosity won out over any reluctance I may have had.

I was actually surprised that I kind of enjoyed the story. I wasn't thrilled with the artwork generally speaking (not saying anything was wrong with it, it just doesn't jive with my personal preferences) but Dresden's ironic, self-depreciating wit managed to come through in the short narratives and dialog and the mystery itself was interesting. I especially liked Moe the gorilla.

There are some interesting tidbits at the end of the graphic novel, or comic book as Mr. Butcher insists it be called, such as a cover gallery and concept artwork. Although the comic book feel artwork wasn't my cup of tea I will admit that I did like the "variant covers" which appeared to take both the artwork of the original Dresden novels along with some real life photography, and with a bit of photoshopping made them quite atmospheric and something I really wouldn't mind seeing turned into wall posters.

Overall, this is one of the better book adaptations I've seen so far and I would be willing to take a peek at more original stories in this format. ( )

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. ( )

Nice prologue to the series. Cant wait to see Storm Front as a Graphic Novel. ( )

This was my first forray into graphic novels, I am a big fan of the Harry Dresden Novels so thought it was worth having a go. It was nice to see how Jim envisions Harry to look, and my own thoughts aren't far away at all. The story was short [for a novel fan, it is] but good. A different view to Harry. ( )

Book 6 in my 50 book challenge is a graphic novel lent to me by my friend Irish. it is [The Dresden Files; Welcome to the Jungle] by [[Jim Butcher]]. I loved all the other Dresden books so reading this one I thought I would feel the same.

The story was good but I am not sure about the graphic novel. I have always had a picture formed in my head of what all the main characters looked like and the drawings in this book didn't meet my idea of each character. The story line was great and Dresden still had the same sense of humor he has in the other Dresden books just not to sure about the graphics.
with that in mind I wont write off graphic novels complete as they are a fast and easy way to read a story and are enjoyable.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes the Dresden series. ( )

The graphic novel was okay, but I like the books so much better. The graphic novel I felt was a bit lacking in emotion, and the characters didn't match up to what I thought they should look like. ( )

A trademark blend of magic, noir and sarcasm Welcome to the Jungle is a full color example of why Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden is so popular.

A special consultant to the Chicago police, Harry is called in when a man is found dead at the zoo under mysterious circumstances. The brass wants to blame Moe the gorilla, put him down and be done with it. Special Investigations lead Karrin Murphy knows the evidence isn't adding up so she leaves the legwork that she can't explain to her bosses to Harry. After all, the list of things that can choke a man bare handed has to be small, right?

But before Harry can put the monster who did this down, he has to dodge great cats under compulsion spells (to kill him, of course) and supernatural dog assassins, save the girl and save the gorilla.

Spiked with humor, fast paced and fabulously drawn, Welcome to the Jungle is a welcome addition to the Dresden mythos and a must-have for Dresden fans. ( )

This is the first graphic novel created of the Dresden files and it is a doozy. Jim Butcher wrote the story and the artist was Ardian Syaf. The Story takes place as a prequel to Storm Front. In this book, Dresden is hired by CPD to investigate a mysterious murder at the zoo. The police and the public believe that a gorilla is responsible, but Dresden knows otherwise. After the bloody beginning, the rest of the novel is a fast paced romp through the thaumaturgical underworld of Chicago until Harry Dresden has a final show down with an ancient evil. The book is full of Jim Butchers humor and proficient word usage. The illustrations are so good that you almost don't need the words. Harry Dresden is a fully realized character that seems to have taken on a life of his own and Chicago will never be the same. ( )

As a story written just for comics, Welcome to the Jungle is supposed to be a prequel for Butcher's Storm Front. (The first issue of the comic adaptation of Storm Front is available now in comic shops.) In this story, Harry Dresden, Wizard P.I., is called in by the Chicago police to investigate a mysterious killing at the local zoo. As Dresden soon discovers, something magic and evil is behind the grizzly murder. And he's the only man that can hunt down the killer.

True to feel of the novels, this urban fantasy noir transitions well to comic form, and can open up to a wider audience. With several familiar characters, such as Lt. Murphy and Bob the talking skull, long-time fans will enjoy the attention to details as well. The story itself is exciting and action-packed, much like the novels. Of course, the comics have to be a bit more fast-paced and skip over some of the character development to keep to standard length. But the story doesn't suffer for it.

The artwork by Syaf was a good choice, with his attention to detail and the ability to capture scenes without the need for long narrative. This is an exciting new media that will hopefully keep the series going, while we have to wait for longer periods between novels. ( )

Welcome to the Jungle is Harry Dresden's first foray into the world of comic books. Butcher has written a prequel to his wildly-popular series, in which we see Harry investigating a mysterious death at the zoo and trying to disprove the theory, well, “the gorilla did it”. The story is classic Dresden, as he snarks his way through some scary situations. The art, by a relative newcomer, is by turns really quite good and really quite bland. I often felt I was looking at images colored before they were really finished. But despite that quibble, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Seeing these characters come to life, in a different way than they did in the TV series, was great fun. ( )

A terrific graphic novel--has the flavor and humor of the books-and hopefully this will be the start of something great, as they are promising this to be a series. Harry looks great in Ink !! ( )

I love Harry Dresden. And with each new format I get to experience this universe in, the more I fall in love with it. And this did for me, what the television series did not, it truly brought to life what I see in my head when I read. Murphy, Harry, Mister... they were all perfect. And even in this new format, I lost none of the flavor that makes Harry Dresden an amusing character. He's not a superhero. But try to kill him, and you'll find it might have been easier to take out Superman. This is a brilliant prequel to a series I love and adore and cannot recommend enough to my friends, my family, and the random strangers I meet on the street. ( )

Prequel to Storm Front, this is an original Harry Dresden story done in a graphic novel containing four chapters. The graphic stories from Storm Front are to be released soon.

This story centers around the killing of a guard at the zoo and the attempt to lead police to believe that a gorilla escaped from it’s cage, killed the guard, and locked itself back in. Harry is given twenty-four hours to find out what really happened.

The graphics are well done, very close to what I imagined them to look like from the descriptions in the novels. The only ‘way out there’ characterizations belong to the monsters. I found the first four pages a little confusing until I understood that the rectangular boxes were a type of narration - picture watching a show with a narrator opening the scene while some action is taking place. After those pages, they were used to either tell us what Harry is thinking or what’s going on.

Harry’s sarcastic wit isn’t lost in this format and the action in this story is exactly what you'd expect from this series. ( )