The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle [Hardcover]

Jim Butcher (Author), Ardian Syaf (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: October 14, 2008

When the supernatural world spins out of control, when the police can’t handle what goes bump in the night, when monsters come screaming out of nightmares and into the mean streets, there’s just one man to call: Harry Dresden, the only professional wizard in the Chicago phone book. A police consultant and private investigator, Dresden has to walk the dangerous line between the world of night and the light of day.

Now Harry Dresden is investigating a brutal mauling at the Lincoln Park Zoo that has left a security guard dead and many questions unanswered. As an investigator of the supernatural, he senses that there’s more to this case than a simple animal attack, and as Dresden searches for clues to figure out who is really behind the crime, he finds himself next on the victim list, and being hunted by creatures that won’t leave much more than a stain if they catch him.

Written exclusively for comics by Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle is a brand-new story that’s sure to enchant readers with a blend of gripping mystery and fantastic adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Author Butcher is the creator of the Dresden Files series of novels (the basis for the short-lived Sci-Fi channel series), and this fun graphic novel is the prequel to his first Dresden book, Storm Front. Blurring the lines between fantasy and noir, Dresden is a scrappy, rough-and-tumble consulting professional wizard who's often hired by the Chicago police to work on those crimes that enter the supernatural. Given only 24 hours to solve an inexplicable and gruesome murder at the zoo, Dresden has to deal with unhelpful zoologists and police, a helpful but confused potential love interest, packs of demonically possessed animals and several deadly enchanters along the way, eventually uncovering a plot by one of mankind's great ancient foes. If the story is not particularly deep, it's breathlessly paced, with plenty of quirks and details (one of Dresden's closest friends and allies is an ancient talking skull), and a compelling page-turner. Syaf's art is always effective, but sometimes ping-pongs between generic action-comic combat poses and more personal and evocative horror art. This book is a decent start to a new medium for the series and may pique the interest of those unfamiliar with Dresden and Butcher. (Oct.)
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About the Author

Jim Butcher is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera books. Since the publication of his first Dresden Files novel, Storm Front, in 2000, Butcher has become a favorite author of millions of dedicated readers around the world. A lifelong fan of comic books, Butcher lives in Missouri with his wife and son.

Ardian Syaf is a rising talent who has received universal acclaim for his work on the comic book Honor Among Thieves. Syaf lives in Indonesia.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey/Dabel Brothers (October 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345507460
• ISBN-13: 978-0345507464
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 0.6 x 10.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (117 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Mystery
  • #88 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Fantasy

More About the Author

Jim Butcher read his first fantasy novel when he was seven years old--
the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. By the time he turned eight,
he'd added the rest of the Narnia books, the Prydain Chronicles, every
book about Star Wars he could find, a great many Star Trek novels and
the Lord of the Rings to his count.

So he was pretty much doomed from the start.

Love of fantasy, his personal gateway drug, drew him toward a fairly
eclectic spread of interests: horseback riding (including trick riding,
stunt riding, drill riding, and competitive stunt racing), archery,
martial arts, costuming, music and theater. He played a lot of role-
playing games, a lot of fantasy-based tactical computer games, and
eventually got into live-action roleplay where players beat each other
up with boffer weapons.

So, really, he can fly his nerd flag with pretty much anyone, and
frequently does.

He took up writing to be able to produce fantasy novels with swords and
horses in them, and determinedly wrote terrible fantasy books until,
just to prove a point to his writing teacher, he decided to take every
piece of her advice; fill out outlines and worksheets, and design
stories and characters just the way she'd been telling him to do for
about three years. He was certain that once she saw what hideous art it
produced, she would be proven wrong and repent the error of her ways.
The result was the Dresden Files, which sure showed *her*.

She has not yet admitted her mistake and recanted her philosophy on
writing.

Jim has performed in dramas, musicals, and vocal groups in front of
live audiences of thousands and on TV. He has performed exhibition
riding in multiple arenas, and fallen from running horses a truly
ridiculous number of times. He was once cursed by an Amazon witch
doctor in rural Brazil, has apparently begun writing about himself in
the third person, and is hardly ever sick at sea.

He also writes books occasionally.

Jim stands accused of writing the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera.
He's plead insanity, but the jury is still out on that one. He lives in
Missouri with his wife, romantic suspense and paranormal romance writer
Shannon K. Butcher (who is really pretty and way out of his league),
his son, and a ferocious guard dog.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#81 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#6 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#9 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#12 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#79 in Books

#96 in Books > Literature & Fiction

#6 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#9 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#12 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#79 in Books

#96 in Books > Literature & Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 151 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another quality entry in the Dresden Files October 19, 2008

By Timothy Fitzgerald

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

First, I'd like to address some of these more negative reviews.

Yes, it is a comic book, not a novel. But the idea that Amazon "hoodwinked" anyone is ridiculous. The book has listings of its sales ranks and has for a while, and it is listed under "graphic novels". Additionally, it has TWO authors listed, not just Butcher, and the picture used to advertise the product has it clearly depicted at the bottom "ILLUSTRATED BY..."

So you whiners who think Amazon pulled one over on you are just too lazy or stupid to read the product description.

Additionally, this is a PREQUEL, so people whining about this and that not looking right or not addressing larger issues brought up later in the series, it is as it should be based on his Pre-Stormfront days.

It is also funny people whining about how it looks, maybe Butcher is just a liar and he writes forwards to sell his product, but according to his own introduction to the book, much of what is depicted is close to how HE sees it in his mind. So he seems to like it and being that he created the characters that is good enough for me.

It is a joke to say that "comics are for kids and books are for adults". Come on, the Dresden Files is good, but it isn't as if you have to be above the age of 10 to read and enjoy them, and Harry Dresden (and Jim Butcher) are comic fans (Butcher himself even says he has always seen the Dresden Files as an Animated Cartoon) so Harry translates well to the medium.

As to the product itself: I found it a thoroughly enjoyable Dresden Files mini-adventure. It is 132 Illustrated pages detailing a Dresden adventure just prior to the start of Stormfront.

It has all the fun and action that you expect from a Dresden Files story, just on a slightly smaller scale, more in line with the early books than the later "heavier" fare. I like the art for the most part, there are some complaints with how the illustrator draws his women, they just don't seem as attractive as they should. The guy has a real Steve Dillion style, and I think faces are his weakest point, everything else looks really good.

Even with the illustrations, there is a LOT of text for a comic book, so the story still is comparable in length to a long short story.

In all it is worthwhile, especially considering individual issues cost $4 and you can get it all hardback for $12. At the very least it is a nice little Dresden snack that, combined with Backup, will take the edge off the wait for Turn Coat.

Not just that, but Dresden quotes from Big Trouble In Little China, it doesn't get any better than that!

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An Answer to Complaints October 21, 2008

By J. Hanses

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I wasn't going to write a review for this book originally, but seeing the pile of unfair negative reviews, I thought I'd add my two cents to bring the rating back up.

The primary complaint people seem to have is that this is a graphic novel. Yes, readers, this book really is a graphic novel compilation of an original 4 issue comic series by Jim Butcher. If you don't like graphic novels, don't buy it. And if you categorically don't like graphic novels, please stop reviewing it. I hate rap. I don't write reviews on rap music. I would be horribly biased and wouldn't know what I was talking about. Any item should be evaluated on its own terms, not based on flaws with the company selling it. If you feel you were misled, then return the product.

Complaint number two seems to be that the book has no ties to the current Dresden Files plot lines. This book is a prequal. It is set before the beginning of the series. Butcher did it as a side project for a bit of a break, he hasn't forgotten his current plotline. As a prequal, the book stands well on its own, and introduces the characters of Harry, Murphy, and Bob reasonably well. The story is tightly contained, and the only possible flaw is that Harry & Murphy's relationship seems better than it was in the first few books where she was always arresting him for something.

The illustrations are beautiful. I'm not fond of the cover art, but that's not the style used on the interior, which is more lush and less photoshop-ish. I have one small problem with the artist representations in that Harry is drawn too short and Murphy is drawn too tall. This is most noticible when they're in the same frame together. Murph is 1-1/2 feet shorter than Harry, but in the comic she's as tall as his shoulder, about 1/2 foot shorter than he is. I suspect the artist tinkered with the heights so that he could fit Harry & Murphy's faces together in the comic frames more often, but it can be irritating to know Harry is an almost freakishly tall 6 foot 9, but in the book he is merely tall. I would suggest the artist pick up Back to the Future and study how the movie managed to fit the small Michael Fox and tall Christopher Lloyd in the same scenes together.

Butcher has a nice intro to the book, talking about his love for comics, and he clearly learned well from them. The number of narrative boxes is high, but somehow the story still flows and they don't overwhelm the pictures. The end result has me considering purchasing Storm Front's graphic novel version despite already owning the standard novel. If nothing else, it makes me hope he'll write a graphic prequal to book 3.

Extras!: Yes, there's additional stuff in this book. The standard and varient covers are included, as are some concept art and writer's notes on the characters. And of course there's the lovely introduction/homage to comics.

The book is worth it if you're a Dresden fan. It's high quality, beautiful, and fun.

47 of 52 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a jungle out there October 13, 2008

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

"Like any jungle, it is a world of predators and prey. Some of the most dangerous creatures in the world live here. Very few of them are in cages..."

Having appeared in bestselling books and on TV, detective/wizard Harry Dresden now has his own comic book series, the four-part "Welcome To the Jungle". And it loses nothing in translation -- author Jim Butcher wonderfully preserves the sharp, witty, literate fantasy-noir flavour of his books, which is brought to colorful life with Ardian Syaf's solid artwork. This is one to keep an eye on.

A mangled corpse is found outside the monkey house, but the facts don't add to the "gorilla attack" the city wants. So Murphy calls in Harry Dresden (who was killing a Rawhead and Bloody Bones), and after casting a spell to see what killed the man, Harry knows it definitely wasn't a gorilla, especially since the man filled his opponent with bullets before dying.

Unfortunately Harry only has twenty-four hours to find the culprit. And as he starts poking around the gorilla house, he and nervy zookeeper Wil are attacked by bespelled jungle cats, and later by the Big Bad Black Spectral Dog. Harry suspects the mysterious Dr. Watson, but has no idea of her true plans -- or her true monstrous nature.

I'll give it to Jim Butcher -- not only can the man pen two vastly different series and assorted short stories, but he can turn out a pretty thrilling graphic novel prequel. Though "Welcome to the Jungle" is a short work, it's still crammed with action, monsters, magic, and a unique new supernatural threat that Harry alone can deal with. Basically, what one expects of the Dresden Files.

The plot is a pretty straightforward one, and most of the first quarter involves Harry poking around at the zoo. But soon it speeds up as Butcher introduces lots of splattered blood, glowy eyes, monstrous hags, and some solid action scenes involving train tracks, car chases and flying boulders. By the time Harry rushes into the underground lair (complete with bubbling cauldron), Butcher is officially on an action-packed roll.

Since this is Jim Butcher, there's a hefty dose of humor (Harry getting whacked in the head with a notebook, or chatting with a lecherous talking skull), and also some wonderfully snappy dialogue ("I've taken your staff. I've taken your rod." "You should have taken my gun"). But there are also moments of poignancy, such as Harry recognizing the accused gorilla's grief over his human friend's death.

And Ardian Syaf does a simply lovely job with this book's art. Lots of shadows, blurry corners and just enough gritty fantasy realism -- one stunning image portrays the hags as hooded clawed creatures reaching to a blood-tinted moon. Harry is the tall, rangy, stubbly guy you'd expect, and though Murphy doesn't look quite as "cute" as you'd expect, she's a convincing hard-edged cop.

Butcher's anti-hero is no stereotypical wizard -- he's rough, a little sarcastic, and just trying to make the rent with his magical powers. And in the story's quieter moments, we get to see how Harry became such a cynical loner. And on the ordinary-people front, Wil... acts the way you'd expect an ordinary gal suddenly confronted by magic fire and evil hags to act.

"The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle" is a primo example of what graphic novel spinoffs should be -- fast, sharp and action-packed. Definitely a good read.