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aashkevr's review
3.0
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first Dresden comic I have read, but I am a fan of the series and I enjoy graphic novels, so I figured, perfect!
Once the comic got going a little, I thought the storyline was well done and interesting. Dresden made the same sort of snap-judgement errors that he makes in the book series (it helps that unlike some book-to-comic series, Butcher is maintaining authorship). A lot of the basic explanations and backstory information was in keeping with the series, again, probably because Butcher took a direct interest in making sure things lined up.
This story takes place right after Fool Moon, which puts it waaaay back there in the series for most readers. I began reading without any time context and was surprised to find the werewolf flashbacks and the funeral for Carmichael. That being said, I had to adjust for who Harry was at that time.
I was not a fan of the illustrations. They were vary inconsistent grom page to page. Sometimes a character looked thin and other times, fat. Faces had sharp features, and suddenly they were muddled. Some characters gained and lost wrinkles and distinguishing marks from page to page. Eyes sunk into skulls and re-emerged willy-nilly. In some scenes, this made sense - characters in the background were distorted or unclear. But sometimes a single character, in the foreground, varied so drastically from panel to panel that it would have been reasonable to assume (from the faces) that the pictured individual was someone different.
Because of this, my enjoyment of the story diminished. This is obviously not the goal for a graphic novel. The illustrations should, ideally, enhance my appreciation of the work. And there were some beautiful effects. Young ladies were all stunning and the colors and patterns for the scenes with "magic" were lovely as was the architecture. If the character faces would have been consistent, I would have been singing high praises right now, but I found the facial inconsistency extremely frustrating throughout the story.
At the end of the graphic novel, there are some interesting addenda. There is a section that details all of the characters and another that runs the reader through the basic plot of the book. The problem here is that the plot and that graphic novel vary significantly in their endings. In the text version, several loose ends are tied up, but the story is much more happy-for-now than happy-ever-after (which really fits Dresden anyway). In the graphic novel, the ending is much more ambiguous, with several characters just *poofing* out of the plot, and there is a sense of things having been "solved" which is not borne out by the text-plot version.
Having both was just confusing, because the graphic version was clearly the "right one" in some ways, but the text one seemed a lot better in terms of planning and general plot. After reading it, I went back to see how I had missed those pages in the graphic section, but they just weren't there. I would have been less upset about the graphic ending if I hadn't have been given access to the original plot which seemed superior to me.
All in all, it was a good read for Dresden fans, and there were many excellent features, but a few "minor" ones drew down my opinion of the book significantly.
This is the first Dresden comic I have read, but I am a fan of the series and I enjoy graphic novels, so I figured, perfect!
Once the comic got going a little, I thought the storyline was well done and interesting. Dresden made the same sort of snap-judgement errors that he makes in the book series (it helps that unlike some book-to-comic series, Butcher is maintaining authorship). A lot of the basic explanations and backstory information was in keeping with the series, again, probably because Butcher took a direct interest in making sure things lined up.
This story takes place right after Fool Moon, which puts it waaaay back there in the series for most readers. I began reading without any time context and was surprised to find the werewolf flashbacks and the funeral for Carmichael. That being said, I had to adjust for who Harry was at that time.
I was not a fan of the illustrations. They were vary inconsistent grom page to page. Sometimes a character looked thin and other times, fat. Faces had sharp features, and suddenly they were muddled. Some characters gained and lost wrinkles and distinguishing marks from page to page. Eyes sunk into skulls and re-emerged willy-nilly. In some scenes, this made sense - characters in the background were distorted or unclear. But sometimes a single character, in the foreground, varied so drastically from panel to panel that it would have been reasonable to assume (from the faces) that the pictured individual was someone different.
Because of this, my enjoyment of the story diminished. This is obviously not the goal for a graphic novel. The illustrations should, ideally, enhance my appreciation of the work. And there were some beautiful effects. Young ladies were all stunning and the colors and patterns for the scenes with "magic" were lovely as was the architecture. If the character faces would have been consistent, I would have been singing high praises right now, but I found the facial inconsistency extremely frustrating throughout the story.
At the end of the graphic novel, there are some interesting addenda. There is a section that details all of the characters and another that runs the reader through the basic plot of the book. The problem here is that the plot and that graphic novel vary significantly in their endings. In the text version, several loose ends are tied up, but the story is much more happy-for-now than happy-ever-after (which really fits Dresden anyway). In the graphic novel, the ending is much more ambiguous, with several characters just *poofing* out of the plot, and there is a sense of things having been "solved" which is not borne out by the text-plot version.
Having both was just confusing, because the graphic version was clearly the "right one" in some ways, but the text one seemed a lot better in terms of planning and general plot. After reading it, I went back to see how I had missed those pages in the graphic section, but they just weren't there. I would have been less upset about the graphic ending if I hadn't have been given access to the original plot which seemed superior to me.
All in all, it was a good read for Dresden fans, and there were many excellent features, but a few "minor" ones drew down my opinion of the book significantly.
rashthedoctor's review
3.0
So I think my comic book reviews have been awfully long lately , so I'll keep this short and simple .
This was a decent Dresden files tale , in fact , I would think that if you aren't familiar with Dresden files , you can pick it up , learn of The Dresdenverse and enjoy the book . But , if you already know of this universe , you will find the flaws that made me a bit disappointed with this book .
Where the book works well is in being true to the Dresden verse laws and rules , the art was okay , but it worked , the new creatures and myths explored were also fascinating and to my knowledge well researched . The action was also pretty well done .
Where it didn't work was the lack of the humor , Harry was like a grumpy man doing what's needed to be done , no wit , no charm . There was also a distinct lack of successful contribution from Harry , it all felt too Ex-machina .
That said , a decent plot , good extension to the Dresden verse and solid action scenes. It's a 3 out of 5 for me
This was a decent Dresden files tale , in fact , I would think that if you aren't familiar with Dresden files , you can pick it up , learn of The Dresdenverse and enjoy the book . But , if you already know of this universe , you will find the flaws that made me a bit disappointed with this book .
Where the book works well is in being true to the Dresden verse laws and rules , the art was okay , but it worked , the new creatures and myths explored were also fascinating and to my knowledge well researched . The action was also pretty well done .
Where it didn't work was the lack of the humor , Harry was like a grumpy man doing what's needed to be done , no wit , no charm . There was also a distinct lack of successful contribution from Harry , it all felt too Ex-machina .
That said , a decent plot , good extension to the Dresden verse and solid action scenes. It's a 3 out of 5 for me
malu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
fistofmoradin's review
3.0
Good Dresden short story. Since it takes place during the early years of the series it doesn't have to include all of the Meta detail that Butcher has built for his world. Just a nice magical-noir story.
dalidja's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
apageinthestacks's review
3.0
Unfortunately, this wasn’t nearly as good as the novels, nor as good as the first graphic novel. The writing was off, and while the story itself was intriguing, the way it was presented was not captivating at all. Also, Dresden’s signature sense of humor seemed to be mostly missing here, which was really a shame. The art was okay, but nothing to write home about.
Overall not bad, but definitely not great either.
Overall not bad, but definitely not great either.
rouver's review
3.0
"Ghoul Goblin" is an original story, not an adaptation...and has a terrible title. There is a ghoul & a goblin in it, but this is like saying Lord of the Rings should be titled "Orc Hobbits."
Dresden is hired by a police officer from Missouri to investigate the deaths of a brother & sister. It turns out the family was cursed a few generations ago, causing them to be targeted by supernatural forces or die an early accidental death. By reading the original summary in the back of the book, I learned that the ghoul & goblin were competing to see who can kill the most cursed family members to end a dispute for territorial hunting rights. While a contest was referenced in the novel, you never really know WHY they are having the duel. The fact that the family has been cursed is simply a means to explain why the family was targeted, as opposed to other people in the town. I think Butcher tried to insert all the plot twists he enjoys in his novels, but it made this short story a bit clunky. A family curse, a ghoul/goblin duel, a naga, and a djinn...it just didn't all fit smoothly together. If you're already a fan of Butcher's work, you'll enjoy this. It's a quick little adventure to fill the time while you wait for the next novel to come out.
They brought in a new illustrator with this one and I enjoyed his work. Cooper suffers from the typical graphic novel problem; a lot of his female characters look the same (I got a couple mixed up for the first half of the book). Even so, I hope they used him for subsequent Dresden books.
Dresden is hired by a police officer from Missouri to investigate the deaths of a brother & sister. It turns out the family was cursed a few generations ago, causing them to be targeted by supernatural forces or die an early accidental death. By reading the original summary in the back of the book, I learned that the ghoul & goblin were competing to see who can kill the most cursed family members to end a dispute for territorial hunting rights. While a contest was referenced in the novel, you never really know WHY they are having the duel. The fact that the family has been cursed is simply a means to explain why the family was targeted, as opposed to other people in the town. I think Butcher tried to insert all the plot twists he enjoys in his novels, but it made this short story a bit clunky. A family curse, a ghoul/goblin duel, a naga, and a djinn...it just didn't all fit smoothly together. If you're already a fan of Butcher's work, you'll enjoy this. It's a quick little adventure to fill the time while you wait for the next novel to come out.
They brought in a new illustrator with this one and I enjoyed his work. Cooper suffers from the typical graphic novel problem; a lot of his female characters look the same (I got a couple mixed up for the first half of the book). Even so, I hope they used him for subsequent Dresden books.
carroq's review
3.0
The Dresden Files is a book series featuring the character Harry Dresden, who is the only private eye in Chicago that is also a wizard. This means pretty much every case he gets involves magic or the supernatural in some way. He can be gruff and a bit of a smart mouth, much like the PI characters that he is based on, but his heart is in the right place.
This is set shortly after the second book in the series, Fool Moon, but it isn't necessary to read either of the first two books to enjoy it. The premise to this story is that a family in Boone Mill, MO is cursed and recently members of the family have been found dead. A deputy from the town asks Harry for help, and they soon discover that a ghoul and a goblin are involved in those deaths. Harry is out of his element a little bit here as he tries to stop them away from his home turf, but he always does some improvising so he gets by just fine.
There are moments where I feel the creator would have gone more in depth in his normal format. Overall I liked the story. It felt true to the character and setting that the author created. The art threw me a little bit because Harry didn't look how I imagined him and I thought there wasn't enough variation in the images used for his spells. The drawings of the Blue Beetle, Harry's car, and Bob, his magical assistant that is trapped in a human skull, were spot on.
Fans of the series will enjoy this addition and newcomers might just whet their appetite for more of this character. Anyone that enjoys a good detective/mystery story should be able to get into it as well.
This is set shortly after the second book in the series, Fool Moon, but it isn't necessary to read either of the first two books to enjoy it. The premise to this story is that a family in Boone Mill, MO is cursed and recently members of the family have been found dead. A deputy from the town asks Harry for help, and they soon discover that a ghoul and a goblin are involved in those deaths. Harry is out of his element a little bit here as he tries to stop them away from his home turf, but he always does some improvising so he gets by just fine.
There are moments where I feel the creator would have gone more in depth in his normal format. Overall I liked the story. It felt true to the character and setting that the author created. The art threw me a little bit because Harry didn't look how I imagined him and I thought there wasn't enough variation in the images used for his spells. The drawings of the Blue Beetle, Harry's car, and Bob, his magical assistant that is trapped in a human skull, were spot on.
Fans of the series will enjoy this addition and newcomers might just whet their appetite for more of this character. Anyone that enjoys a good detective/mystery story should be able to get into it as well.
bloodravenlib's review
4.0