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The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle | 
| Authors: Jim Butcher, Ardian Syaf
Publisher: Del Rey/Dabel Brothers
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $13.57
You Save: $6.38 (32%)
Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 1405
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.3 x 6.6 x 0.7
ISBN: 0345507460
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9780345507464
Publication Date: October 14, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 54 more reviews...
 It's a jungle out there October 14, 2008
28 out of 33 found this review helpful
"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.
 not what i wanted or expected October 14, 2008
14 out of 61 found this review helpful
Well I'm sure its a fine Graphic novel (comic book) but when i ordered this months ago there was no editorial review and no mention of it being a graphic novel. A couple of days a ago i get notice that the book has been shipped. Imagine the look of horror on my face when the book arrived as a graphic novel instead of "a new adventure of dresden".
Yes im sure i could have done some reasearch between the time i ordered and the time the book came out but really, should i have to do research to find out that what im ordering is not a novel but a "Graphic Novel". Now back to waiting impatiently for the next dresden book in APRIL.
 Another quality entry in the Dresden Files October 20, 2008
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
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!
Pretty impressive graphic novel debut October 15, 2008
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
You're read him in books, you've seen him on television, now Harry's in the funny papers. Okay, graphic novels, but I had to say it.
"Welcome to the Jungle" is a collaborative effort between author Jim Butcher and artist Ardian Syaf. In my opinion, most of the characters (except Harry) look more like what I expected in the graphic novel version than the televised one.
Our story opens with a murder at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. A zookeeper is found outside the gorilla house mutilated. All fingers point to Moe the gorilla. The only folks coming to Moe's defense are Harry and the gorilla's custodians. Harry's got to solve the case before the police opt to put the gorilla down.
Regardless of whether the story's written or graphic, Jim Butcher's humor comes through. Syaf's renderings are well done and definitely resemble the images of the characters I had in my mind. Syaf's a talented illustrator and very much worthy of keeping an eye on.
Rebecca Kyle, October 2008
For a fan of Harry Dresden October 16, 2008
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I love the harry Dresden novels. Liked the tv show but really was much more of a fan of the books. The books always paint such an awesome picture of Chicago but the Chicago that no one knows about. I have to say that they're some of the most fun novels out there.
That being said, when there was a shot to read another Dresden novel of sorts, I took it. This one will keep fans who are waiting for the next book in the series satisfied for a little bit longer. It's hard waiting for Jim Buthcher to write the next novel so having a comic book to hold me until then works quite well. The story and characters are true in keeping with the story line. They look like how you would imagine they would look. The art is decent if not good. I'm happy with this and very happy with the story.
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