The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
Writer: Jim Butcher
Artist: Ardian Syaf
160 pp. Del Rey/Dabel Brothers. $19.95
Pub. Date: 10/14/2008
ISBN-13: 978-0345507464
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
Del Rey has recently released the hardcover collection of the entire four issue run of The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle written by Jim Butcher and featuring the artwork of Ardian Syaf. One of my absolute favorite comics of the year, Welcome to the Jungle is classic Dresden Files. Focusing on events prior to the first Dresden Files novel "Storm Front", Welcome to the Jungle provides all the action, humor and kick-butt goodness one has come to expect from the novels.
I previously reviewed each of the issues in the series in depth when they were originally released, (Issues: #1, #2, #3, #4) so for an overview of the storyline be sure to check out the separate reviews. To summarize though, series author Jim Butcher cooks up an amazingly fun and enjoyable tale here while artist Ardian Syaf creates some very impressive, and often at times stunning, visuals.
Butcher supplies a new introduction to the collection which reveals, among other things, that when he's writing the Dresden Files novels he visualizes the story as an animated cartoon. So turning the Dresden Files into a comic ends up making a lot of sense.
Aside from the comics themselves, the new collection features a gallery of all the covers (both the regular ones and the variants.) There's also a nice section with Syaf's concept art for the series with Butcher providing some interesting sidenotes to go along with the sketches.
Fans of the Dresden Files novels don't really need to be sold on this series, all they need to know is that they won't be disappointed with Welcome to the Jungle. As for everyone else, The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle is a wonderfully executed bit of urban fantasy filled with action, excitement and the coolest wizard this side of Harry Potter.
Final Grade: 89 out of 100
0 comments:
Post a Comment