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A review by ericbuscemi
Ghoul Goblin by Mark Powers, Jim Butcher
4.0
I stopped reading [a:Jim Butcher's|10746|Jim Butcher|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg] Dresden Files series somewhere during the fourth book, and that oddly tailors this graphic novel to me perfectly, as it is set not too far from that point in the series.
But the true triumph of this graphic novel is that the complaints that led me to stop reading the series were totally alleviated by the change in format. The compression of a full-length story into a 150-page graphic novel eliminates a lot of the repetition from the books, and the switch from first person narration to the graphic format means this is not taking place entirely in Dresden's headspace, which can get a bit tedious at times.
Don't get me wrong, the Harry Dresden character is still there -- the humor, the issues with technology, the White Knight complex -- and that is a great thing. Butcher's idea for the wizard detective character was and is a highlight of the urban fantasy genre, my mileage just ran out at some point during [b:Summer Knight|91478|Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, #4)|Jim Butcher|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1345557469s/91478.jpg|912988].
This graphic novel, which is an original story and not an adaptation of one of Butcher's Dresden novels, has a lot to recommend it -- solid artwork, faithfulness to the characters it borrowed, a strong storyline, some nice character development (for both the protagonist and some of the minor character players), some unexpected twists and turns, and even a little fish-out-of-water adjusting for Dresden, who is in small town Missouri and not his usual stomping grounds in Chicago.
While reading this did not spark a desire in me to pick up the Dresden novels again, it certainly has me looking forward to the next graphic novel in the series.
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
But the true triumph of this graphic novel is that the complaints that led me to stop reading the series were totally alleviated by the change in format. The compression of a full-length story into a 150-page graphic novel eliminates a lot of the repetition from the books, and the switch from first person narration to the graphic format means this is not taking place entirely in Dresden's headspace, which can get a bit tedious at times.
Don't get me wrong, the Harry Dresden character is still there -- the humor, the issues with technology, the White Knight complex -- and that is a great thing. Butcher's idea for the wizard detective character was and is a highlight of the urban fantasy genre, my mileage just ran out at some point during [b:Summer Knight|91478|Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, #4)|Jim Butcher|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1345557469s/91478.jpg|912988].
This graphic novel, which is an original story and not an adaptation of one of Butcher's Dresden novels, has a lot to recommend it -- solid artwork, faithfulness to the characters it borrowed, a strong storyline, some nice character development (for both the protagonist and some of the minor character players), some unexpected twists and turns, and even a little fish-out-of-water adjusting for Dresden, who is in small town Missouri and not his usual stomping grounds in Chicago.
While reading this did not spark a desire in me to pick up the Dresden novels again, it certainly has me looking forward to the next graphic novel in the series.
Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.