Jim Butcher's Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin

The Dresden Files Graphic Novels #3

by Mark Powers, Jim Butcher, Joseph Cooper (Illustrator)

Harry Dresden, a Chicago private investigator and wizard, heads to a small, isolated Missouri town terrorized by Nevernever monsters. The singularly unfortunate Talbot family has suffered a curse that has decimated their number for generations, and only our hero can save them... that is, if he can survive hostile lawmen, the dark secrets of townsfolk, an ancient guardian spirit, and two deadly carnivores! Can Dresden cleanse the Talbot bloodline of its curse without a blood sacrifice of his own?

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Mystery, Magic

159 pages, Hardcover

First published November 20, 2013

About the author

Mark Powers is the writer who created several of the graphic novels adapted The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher and co-writer of The Encoded from Devil's Due comics. He is a writer at Mega Powers Entertainment and a producer at Volta. At Mega Powers Entertainment he has written comic books and graphic adaptations for various companies including Drafted, Rest, GI Joe, and adaptations of The Dresden Files. He was also a Senior Editor at Marvel managing the X-Men line of titles.

Reviews

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adapting Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden files stories to a graphic novel medium was an inspired decision – and this worked very well.

Butcher and illustrators Mark Powers and Joseph Cooper collaborated to make an entertaining, fun to read graphic that further expanded the storyline and pushed back the horizons on Butcher’s fantastic world building.

We get to know more about ghouls and goblins and as in much of the Dresden universe, Butcher has changed the rules some from the Monster Manual as well as more traditional and mythical ideas about ghouls and goblins.

Here, a decades old curse is coming down hard on an out of Chicago family and Harry gets in the middle of the action. We also get to know an ancient spirit and another ancient supernatural being from a foreign mythos.

Altogether a Dresden good time and one that fans will not want to miss.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dresden heads to small town Missouri to help a cursed family whose members are being murdered. It never gets heavily into why things are happening. It's pretty clear as to the division of writing. Butcher came up with the scenario and plot and Powers actually wrote the comic. And there's where it's not as good as the books. Powers completely wiffs on Dresden's humor and snark that make the books so much fun. It all feels a bit generic because of it.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an original story that is part of a long running series and it is in the form of a graphic novel. In this one a rural sheriff hires Harry to travel to his town and deal with some murders that the sheriff believes there are more to them than what meets his eye. Harry gets more than he bargained for.

I have recently become a fan of this series as I am late to the party for this long running series. The novels have been excellent and I have enjoyed the short stories. I liked this story but there is nothing remarkable here or anything regarding the overall arc. I have read another graphic novel from this series and I liked that one better. There are two reasons for that. The main character throughout the whole series is your everyday type of man who chooses to do the right thing. He does this with a sarcastic sense of humor. I felt the portrayal of the main character was off here. His trait of doing the right thing is on full display but I never got a sense of his sarcastic and quirky nature. Instead it was pretty straight forward and you could substitute any down to earth hero here. The second was the artwork. I loved the look of the main character from the other graphic novel. Once again it felt generic. I will say there were a couple of panels that I did love. The artwork was good. It just needed more of the vibe from the series. The story by itself works with no problem for this series.

This was a likeable offering from this series. It is not vital to the overall arc and if one missed it they would not be missing a thing. It was a side adventure that screamed filler.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was my favorite Dresden graphic novel so far. I really enjoyed the story, and I liked this art style so much better than the one in Storm Front Vol 2.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book for review.

I think this is the first actual comic book that I've ever read. I requested it because anything Jim Butcher touches turns to gold, and his Dresden Files are amazing. I wasn't sure about a Harry Dresden comic book but I wanted to give it a try. I am so glad that I did.

The artwork was stunning and the artist did a wonderful job of capturing the emotions of the characters. I couldn't stop looking through the pages even though I had so many other things I was supposed to be doing. Instead of going through a quarter of the book a day, as was my plan, I read the entire thing in one sitting. It wasn't very long, but still.

The story line was just as exciting as I had expected from Jim Butcher. I loved the twists the story took as I made my way to the end. Some things I guessed, some things took me completely by surprise, and it was worth every minute I spent reading it.

Am I suddenly going to become a comic book connoisseur? Probably not, though I'm willing to try some others. And I'll definitely be picking up any comic books based on the Harry Dresden world.

I especially loved Jim Butcher's series summary hidden in the back. There were moments when his wry 'check this shit out' writing made me crack up. It was wonderful. Definitely recommended for fans of the Dresden Files series or anyone who loves a good comic book.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable Dresden story; I enjoy reading original pieces much more than adaptations of the novels. On the other hand, it takes Harry out of his home territory and he's on his own so I missed the interplay with Murphy and the gang and the familiar trappings. The art is all right, nothing great. It's a nice supernatural mystery short that fits in well with the series.

[Dylan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty whatever, I guess it was cool seeing a Naga. It went by pretty fast and was very forgettable. The Panel work besides the beginning was bad, the artwork was very uninspired and finally doesn't offer much.

Interesting this might be the first time, he gives his necklace someone to hold temporarily. Can't really recall any other times.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a Hoopla Bonus Borrow for me so I won't complain about starting the series at volume 3 (weird choice though, Hoopla!) and instead say it was a pretty decent gateway drug for me to the world of Harry Dresden, I will certainly be reading more of these graphic novels as I don't think I can commit to the prose book series and its 19+ volumes.


Welp, Harry.

[Yodamom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these Dresden Files comics. They are so visually complimentary to the story it is almost like watching a TV show. The graphics/illustrations are very well done with emotional details that come across.
A family had a nasty curse and Harry travels to Mississippi to help them. Harry deals with Ghoul Goblin and the Nevernever. This go will as they usually do for Harry and that make sit all the more fun.
A great fun read for the Dresden fan.

[Vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the first two novels were adapted into graphic novels, Mr. Butcher decided to go for original stories for the graphic novels and that was wonderful and worked to expand the universe. Now this book is set after Fool Moon in a small town in Missouri. This was a wonderful tale of curses and supernatural horrors where things are not the way they seem and games within games are afoot Harry is mostly underpowered here or injured most of the story but then there are his favorite spells to keep the action vibrant. Also, I would like to note that Jim Butcher uses all the characters from all the mythologies, countries, and religions. This has made his world expansive and wonderful and once more the characters' growth is just wonderful to see. Another graphic novel adaptation I enjoyed is completely set in the Dresden Universe and I am happy and going to jump to the next graphic novels now till then Keep on Reading folks.

I have always loved comics, and I have I can. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and hope always to love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story
I mostly picked this up since it was an original story and not simply a retelling of one of the novels in graphic novel form like most of the graphic novels seem to be.

I thought the story was pretty good. Nothing special though. It's much more like the early Dresden books than the later ones. This may be because it seems to be set just after Fool Moon.

I'm a total Dresden fanboy, so that may bias my rating a bit. I think Dresden fans will enjoy this, but you shouldn't feel like you're missing out if you don't pick it up.

3.5 Stars

Artwork
I enjoyed the artwork a lot. Harry doesn't look exactly how I'd imagine, but close enough. I loved the artwork for Bob the Skull though.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

It always nice when waiting for the next installment of one of your favorite series to find a nice extra juicy tale containing all the elements you enjoy so much in the Dresden files. This tale is taking place early on in his adventures before everything became harder and more personal. Harry is still learning about his place in the world and is vunerable.

Harry accepteds an out of towne gig to get away from the mayhem from his last adventure in Chicago and he thinks that a cursed family might just offer him an easier exercise for his magic. How wrong could he be.

Nice art and swift story.

Lovely inbetween for fans of Harry Dresden.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little over a year ago I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try the Dresden Files series. I am not a fan of Sci-Fi/Fantasy other than The Lord of the Rings. A bunch of my friends on Goodreads kept raving about how great this series was, and I was intrigued by the description of the first book. I love detective stories, and these are written like a noir detective novel but with magic, vampires, and faeries. The writing was great, and the one liners Harry Dresden kept throwing out where hilarious. I was hooked from book one.

When I found out there were comics based off the books, I couldn't get to my library fast enough to get them. There are more I need to read, but a little while ago I was on Netgalley and saw the new Dresden Files graphic novel available. I downloaded it and couldn't wait to loose myself in the world Jim Butcher builds. Thank you Netgalley and Dynamite publishing for allowing me to read this. There are a bunch of books in the Dresden File series that I haven't read, so I am not sure if this is based on one of them, so for me this is an individual story and very well done.

In this book Harry is approached by a small town sheriff who has some violent and strange murders on his hands. Harry is interested in finding out what is going on and makes a trip outside of Chicago fighting the flu and a recent battle with a water creature. The story was pretty good. My attention was held all the way through, and I did enjoy this. I didn't think this was as good as some of the books I have read in the past, but this was a fun read. The art work in this book isn't bad, but not as good as it has been in previous comics adaptations. This book didn't have the same feel to the Dresden character that I picture in my head and has been in other comics.

I have read so many amazing graphic novels this year that when I compare this to those I feel this book could have been better. The story could have been a bit stronger, and the art work could definitely been better. Still, I liked this book, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to read this. I can't wait for the next Dresden Files comic to come out. I am going to give this book a solid 3 out of 5 stars. This is for any fan of the Dresden Files books and comics, but if you are a fan of comics and not Jim Butcher's big series this is not where I would start.

[Mitticus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set after Fool Moon.

Gritty,tragic, full of action.
Great coloring.



Harry esta deprimido, sintiendo haber fallado tras lo ocurrido en Fool Moon. Cuando un policia viene a pedir ayuda para salvar una familia, no lo piensa mucho y viaja hasta alli. Pero nada es fácil, y vemos una vez a un aporreado Harry que se enfrenta a fuerzas superiores a él, y está a punto de fallar una vez más...

Esta es una historia original, que no aparece en las novelas. Por supuesto que falta la profundidad que puede explorarse en un libro, pero el personaje esta bien presentado, y todos los detalles 'gore', y el conflicto con las leyes sobrenaturales.

El policia es un personaje muy dulce, y en un momento me hice recordar a Takleberry :)

[James Morpurgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun short story in graphic novel format set I think after Fool Moon, ideal for Dresden completionists and new comers alike. I had a good time with this and would consider picking up more like this in the future...

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can we get a graphic novel on the mayor and the djinn?!?!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally requested this book for my husband. He finished the Dresden File books (the entire series) in a 2 month period. When I found out that Ghoul Goblin was an original story I was in! I read the series up to like book 6 or 7 and then got a little burnt out. So I hadn't read the series in a while. What I really like about this particular graphic novel is that you don't have to be a reader of the books to follow along. Actually, you get totally introduced to the world of Dresden.

I did read the other Dresden graphic novels, Storm Front and Fool Moon which are retelling of the books. I really don't love those types of graphic novels and am usually disappointed in them. This on the other hand is a fun new story. I mean... the comic book even had a little twist in the plot! I liked the artwork but didn't love it. The backgrounds where beautiful but I pictured Harry Dresden a little more manly... he seemed young in this book to me. Though I guess in the timeline of the series this book takes place between books 2 and 3 when Harry is around 25 years old. So the art is accurate my imagination is not (artist is Joseph Cooper). :)

I like all the supernatural characters that are featured in the comic. Just like in the books... someone comes to hire a wizard which is Harry Dresden to help them solve a case that seems supernatural. In this case it's a police officer and we discover a family that has had an ancient curse on them from Egypt (some of my favorite art in the book was the Egypt scenes). By the way.. anyone else think the title is a spoiler of sorts?

I think that people who love Dresden will get a kick out of this book and those who haven't discovered the series will read it and want to read the books. I actually started reading the Dresden File novels because of a short story Butcher wrote in an anthology about Dresden. I knew then I must read these books! I still wish the Dresden Files TV show would've got more then one season on the SYFY channel. I was really surprised when it got canceled because shows on there usually get a long run.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really enjoyable to read. The Dresden Files get very different as they go on; less about Dresden playing detective, more about him being basically a superhero. This was a throwback to Early Dresden, being set between Fool Moon and Grave Peril, but with the quality of storytelling that you find in the later books.

Good mystery, well-developed story, and a couple of characters I hope Dresden runs into again before the end.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this as the individual comics and not the trade paperback. It was a decent original story set in the Dresden Files world. The artwork was better than it was in Fool Moon, so that’s a plus.

Harry is contacted by a small town cop who wants him to come out and investigate a series of murders. The cop thinks that something paranormal is involved in the murder of a series of people from the same family. When Harry finds out the family has been cursed, he sets about seeking a way to both protect them and remove the curse. Little does he know he is in the middle of a contest of sorts involving goblins and ghouls.

This is a decent original graphic novel story in the Dresden Files series. The artwork is better than it was in Fool Moon (they switched illustrators again from Brett Booth to Joseph Cooper), but still not as good as it was in Welcome to the Jungle and Storm Front.

This was a decent read and I enjoyed it. It has a lot of Dresden elements we are familiar with. There is humor here, a good paranormal mystery to be solved, and Harry gets the stuffing beat out of him more than once...just like normal.

We don’t really see any of the other Dresden Files characters outside of Harry and Bob, so that is a bit disappointing but understandable since this story takes place outside of the normal series.

I did think it was strange that the first issue in this collection spends so much time recapping. If you have read the previous graphic novels or the novels you don't really need more explanation about what Bob the Skull does or more recapping about what Harry does. It was weird to have all this background thrown in again since this is the fifth trade paperback released in this series.

Overall this was a fun read and an engaging story. The artwork is improved over Fool Moon (but not as good as the first couple trade paperbacks) so that is a good thing. It was fun to read an original story that I didn’t know the outcome of and have it be set in this world. Recommended to Dresden Files fans and urban fantasy graphic novel fans.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic Plot: Harry Dresden gets called to small-town Missouri to stop a family's curse before it kills them all.

I love Harry Dresden, and I love comic books, but there were some definite peaks and valleys to this particular volume.

First the good stuff: I like the art. It's clean and each character is distinct. The settings are clear. Both the beautiful and the horrible are equally well-done. It was definitely a Dresden story, with Harry getting his butt kicked six ways from Sunday throughout the book.

The lows were pretty low. There was no characteristic Dresden snark. None. Maybe it was just because of the nature of the graphic novel, but the story also seemed a bit jumpy. The use of a deus ex machina at the end, or rather, a Djinn ex machina, was also rather disappointing. It was all a bit too convenient. I also saw the Ambre twist way early in the story.

Overall, there was enough positive in the general story and artwork to place this solidly at 3 stars, but I have a lot of reservations about these graphic novels. This was an "original" story not based on one of the novels, and while Butcher wrote the treatment for this, he didn't write the script, a fact which is painfully obvious as one reads the book.

[Dr Rashmit Mishra · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't get enough of the Dresden Files. And this graphic novel was the perfect thing to read to carry me over to June.

[Lys · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Tyrell ⚔️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghoul Goblin started off very slow and I wasn't sure that I would honestly like it. After about 15 pages, the story started getting more and more intense. 5/5 stars.



The artwork in this graphic novel were absolutely amazing. The ghoul and goblin were excellent editions to the Dresden universe.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll preface this by saying that I am not a graphic novel fanatic/expert. I just tend to prefer the wordiness of novels.
Harry is in full-fledged damaged, idealistic hero mode in this one, with flak coming at him from all sides. The plot contains some interesting elements--the family curse, the competition between the ghoul and the goblin, the Egyptian angle, the quarin, the naga. Yet again, this is a Butcher story that makes use of an interesting array of concepts from various cultures/traditions. The villain situation is more balanced than the one in Welcome to the Jungle, one male and one female. I thought quite a bit of the art was rather good.
I liked Airavata, the naga...although I wish she'd looked more like Parminder Nagra and not so Caucasian.
There's quite a bit of gore and gruesomeness, not something I'm that fond of (as a person who looks away from the autopsy scenes in police procedurals), although the ghoul looks exactly as Butcher describes in the novels.
I didn't understand why the mayor looks very old and withered in the present-day story. ...Unless her supernatural lover has sapped the life out of her?

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I've read comic books before when I was way younger, but never an entire graphic novel, so this was my first. And I'm glad it was a Dresden story. I am so hooked on Dresden!

The RECAP:
Harry heads to SmallTown, Missouri, to help a local cop solve the mysterious case of a family dying off one by one. Come to find out, this family is cursed because an asshole relative way back in the day decided to be, well, an asshole. Talk about your unfair inheritances! Anywho, to make a long story short -- goblin boy and ghoul girl are out to get said Talbot family members, and Harry has to stop it. Getting in his way are local town politics, an annoying sheriff, and two powerful Nevernever creatures. Oh, and a giant ancient snake. Duh, you should have expected that!

The REVIEW:
Definitely a lot of fun to SEE it in action rather than just imagine it, though Butcher usually does an awesome enough job of describing things so you can visualize it easy anyways.

Definitely won't be my last graphic novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this comic collection.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small town cop requests Harry Dresden’s aid in a pair of grisly murders that seem different in M.O. but share one important factor: a family curse. Dresden is struggling in the aftermath of werewolf events that got his best friend Murphy’s partner killed. Murphy no longer trusts Dresden, and on top of that, he’s developed a nasty head cold. But ever the good guy, Dresden joins Pres and stumbles into the typical small town strangeness as he tries to solve the mystery.

There’s not a lot of meat to this rather predictable story, but it was still enjoyable and definitely worth the read for any Dresden Files fan. I was worried that the art would lean too much into the bulky, over-muscled superhero type that is sort of implied in the covers, but Joseph Cooper did a great job of making sure Dresden’s appearance matched his self-deprecating manner. And of course, there was the obligatory trench coat.

With thanks to NetGalley and Dynamite Entertainment for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume in the Dresden Files graphic novel series was entertaining, but not as good as the first one I had read, Welcome to the Jungle. It seemed that Butcher's story here moved slower. And whereas I was a fan of Ardian Syaf's artwork throughout the first series (he does the covers here, so that's cool) I wasn't as impressed by Joseph Cooper's artwork and while completely workable, in places it just seemed too cartoony. But, it was fun to see Harry's Blue Beetle make an appearance throughout this volume. The overall story follows Harry as he intervenes to rid a small town Missouri family of its hereditary curse while at the same time fighting off a couple of the local demons. Part of the story also ties in some of what happened prior to this in the Fool Moon series, and Butcher provides a brief explanation to catch the reader up on those events, but if you (like me) hadn't yet read that volume first I would say that it isn't entirely needed to do so to enjoy this. Overall, good enough to make me want to continue on with the Dresden graphic novels.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say, I'm a sucker Harry. This one took him out of the city and made him have to work a little harder. It fits perfectly within the world of Harry because he is always managing to end having to save someone from something mystical. The art work is good and depicts the characters well. The dialogue is pure Dresden and keeps you wanting more.

A deputy from Boone Mill Missouri has come a long way to see Harry about some strange deaths in his town. It seems that a local family, the Talbots are cursed and keep dying in horrific ways. Because he believes that Harry is a wizard he wants him to come and help. But many in the town do not believe and would be just as happy if he would go away.

Nice diversion while we wait for next book. Anything Dresden is better than nothing Dresden. If you are a fan then you have to read it. :)