Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: War Cry

Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files: War Cry by Carlos Gómez, Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, Stjepan Šejić
Series: Dresden Files Graphic Novels #4
Published by Dynamite Entertainment on November 11, 2014
Genres: Comic, Paranormal, Wizards
Pages: 143
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
Purchase on: Amazon// Barnes & Noble
Add to: Goodreads

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

rating
three-stars

A war is raging between the vampire forces of the Red Court and the White Council - a war that the wizards are losing. So desperate are the Council that they've dragooned the experienced and the outcast to reinforce their thinning ranks of Wardens. One of these draftees is one Harry Dresden, Chicago's only wizard-for-hire and a guy who's long been looked upon with suspicion by the supernatural authorities. Now, he's one of them, and his first big mission as a Warden is a doozy: take a small team of greenhorns to a frigid town in the middle of nowhere to rescue a handful of mortals who've been targeted by the Red Court. The question is, why exactly are these particular mortals so crucial to the outcome of the war? The answer will come only if Harry can keep them, and his team, alive for one very long night.
This graphic novel collects the critically acclaimed, five-issue series in one volume, and features a bonus section with Jim Butcher's original story outline, sketchbook artwork from Carlos Gomez, cover gallery with roughs from Stjepan Sejic, and more!

Review

I am a huge fan of the Dresden files, so when I was given the opportunity to read the graphic novel, I was excited. Sadly, my excitement did not pay off as the realisation that novel to comic is much harder to pull off than it appears on the surface. The bulk of the novels rely mostly on Dresden’s inner narrative. In the novel, it works. Sure, every now and then Harry comes up with a zinger and it’s all fun and we have a laugh, but most of his action takes place within his own head. Now, trying to translate that into comic book format is difficult, as comics rely mainly on dialogue. Put in too much narrative, and it just doesn’t read right. That’s one of the biggest faults with this graphic novel.

The first few pages dealt with sole exposition. Yes, I can appreciate that it is likely filling in gaps for new readers that have no idea what’s going on. But, that is a weak excuse as new readers will need a lot more than what was given to fully understand what is going on. Secondly, the illustrations were simply not my cup of tea. Some of the illustrations were well done, and fantastic, such as the Red Court vampires. Then, you have the horrific attempts at drawing women. I could not take anything seriously when women were put in the most ridiculous, unrealistic poses simply to illicit a provocative reaction.

Aside from those flaws, the comic was enjoyable. The story was fast paced and fit in well with the Dresden universe. Plus, Thomas Raith made an appearance, and that’s always a fun thing. In spirit, it is very much like the Dresden file novels, and if you like those, you’ll like this.

three-stars

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