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annathepiperI don't normally read graphic novels, but I went out of my way to find this one, on the grounds that I'm such a huge fan of the Dresden Files that the prospect of a story set just before Storm Front was too tempting to pass up. Happily, I was not disappointed.
Welcome to the Jungle definitely has an early Dresden feel to it, story-wise; it gives us a very young Harry who's already established his off-again, on-again "consultant" gig with Murphy's unit at the Chicago PD. It also gives us a Murphy who hasn't yet brought herself to really trust what this big guy with the staff has been trying to tell her with the verdicts he's giving her on the cases she flings him. This one brings some suitable Weird as well: a murder in a zoo with the most likely suspect being a rampaging gorilla, only the gorilla in question was found still confined in its pen. And, Harry being Harry, he quickly finds traces of supernatural foul play.
There's the obligatory Young Damsel Harry must look out for, and a suitably creepy antagonist with a nice little callback into Greek mythology for an origin story. Bob and Mister both make the obligatory appearance as well.
Art-wise, the book struck me as not phenomenal but definitely an example of promise to come out of illustrator Ardian Syaf. For me he nailed Harry's appearance perfectly, making him tall and wiry with a build that seems mostly legs. Scruffy, check. Tousled hair, check. Duster and badassed staff, double oh my check. Mister looked weird to me, not entirely cat-like and a bit too sleek; Murphy also looked weird, with too stocky of a build for a woman Butcher describes as a dainty little cheerleader type in appearance. But Bob was very good, and the overall layout of the story as well as the specific visual choreography of the fight scenes worked well for me too. Four stars.
Welcome to the Jungle definitely has an early Dresden feel to it, story-wise; it gives us a very young Harry who's already established his off-again, on-again "consultant" gig with Murphy's unit at the Chicago PD. It also gives us a Murphy who hasn't yet brought herself to really trust what this big guy with the staff has been trying to tell her with the verdicts he's giving her on the cases she flings him. This one brings some suitable Weird as well: a murder in a zoo with the most likely suspect being a rampaging gorilla, only the gorilla in question was found still confined in its pen. And, Harry being Harry, he quickly finds traces of supernatural foul play.
There's the obligatory Young Damsel Harry must look out for, and a suitably creepy antagonist with a nice little callback into Greek mythology for an origin story. Bob and Mister both make the obligatory appearance as well.
Art-wise, the book struck me as not phenomenal but definitely an example of promise to come out of illustrator Ardian Syaf. For me he nailed Harry's appearance perfectly, making him tall and wiry with a build that seems mostly legs. Scruffy, check. Tousled hair, check. Duster and badassed staff, double oh my check. Mister looked weird to me, not entirely cat-like and a bit too sleek; Murphy also looked weird, with too stocky of a build for a woman Butcher describes as a dainty little cheerleader type in appearance. But Bob was very good, and the overall layout of the story as well as the specific visual choreography of the fight scenes worked well for me too. Four stars.
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Date: 2009-04-30 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-30 07:22 am (UTC)i was kinda annoyed at the depiction in this book, actually. *annoyed*
because if a woman is a cop, she *MUST* look butch. grrr.
butch would be fine _if she were butch_! she is not! thats why she is SO kick ass, because its stealth-kick-ass.
but yeah, Harry himself was perfect. to be honest, i didn't notice until after you pointed out that Mister was off, but i blame the boyfriend and his force-feeding me random anime :)
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Date: 2009-05-01 02:19 am (UTC)Murphy, though... grf. We'll see if Syaf's ability to draw her gets some fine-tuning; I definitely want to see what they're going to do with the Storm Front graphic novel coming out soon.
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Date: 2009-05-01 02:23 am (UTC)