Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files Omnibus Volume 1

The Dresden Files Graphic Novels #0.5-2.2

by Mark Powers (Adaptor), Jim Butcher, Ardian Syaf (Artist)

When criminal investigations take a weird turn, the officers of the Chicago Police Department call in Harry Dresden! A wizard and private investigator with formidable yet unrefined skills, the young Dresden is more than capable of tracking down and facing the perps, whether they be black magic practitioners, blood-hungry werewolves, or worse! This first volume of The Dresden Files Omnibus collects three complete comic book story arcs, including the exclusive-for-comics tale, "Welcome to the Jungle", the adaptations of the universe-defining "Storm Front" and "Fool Moon" novels, plus additional content set within official continuity of Jim Butcher's beloved magic noir universe.

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Urban Fantasy, Comics, Mystery, Fiction, Comic Book

534 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2015

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

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know those stupid mellowcreme pumpkins that you end up eating around Halloween every year? The ones that are like candy corn on steroids?

At first, you eat one, and you’re like, “Ugh…why am I eating this tiny neon orange ball of chemicals? It’s like someone put sugar on nuclear waste and dropped it into a pumpkin mold.”

But, something in them makes you want another one (that might be the sugar, of course), and then another, and then another, and before long, you’ve shoved an entire bag into your mouth.

That’s what reading this book is like—at first, you’re a little underwhelmed, but as you get into the groove, you get hooked and want the stories to just keep coming. This was my first foray into the world of the Dresden Files, and I’m glad I dipped my toe in this way instead of diving into a novel; I think it was a good way to whet my whistle. (Unrelated: what’s the deal with wizards named Harry? Harry Dresden, Harry Potter, Harry Houdini, Harry Nethers…it’s an epidemic.) Butcher’s brand of urban fantasy crime noir is not quite my usual cup of tea, but it occupies a space adjacent to the types of stories that I love, so it was a nice foray into something a little different.

And, unlike eating a bag of mellowcreme pumpkins, I wasn’t sitting around on the couch afterward with a hand shoved down my pants, filled with self-loathing and regret and with a tongue that tastes like sugar-blasted sandpaper. So, that was nice.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic novelizations, amirite?



So, this is first volume in the omnibus collection of the graphic novelization of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. It contains Welcome to the Jungle, The Dresden Files: Storm Front, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm & The Dresden Files: Storm Front, Volume 2: Maelstrom, and The Dresden Files: Fool Moon, Volume 1 & The Dresden Files: Fool Moon, Volume 2, and a short called Restoration of Faith that shows the first time Harry and Murphy met.



Normally, I'd only recommend this stuff for hardcore fans of a series, but this one is so well done that I think anyone who enjoys urban fantasy and comic books would have fun reading this. Mainly, because Butcher wrote the dialogue instead of handing it over to someone else. There aren't huge chunks of the story missing that would leave readers who haven't been with Harry for 10 bjillion books scratching their heads.



If you don't know who Harry Dresden is, you can still pick this up and get a really good (albeit much shorter) version of his first few adventures. And if you're already a fan (like me), you'll appreciate seeing some of your favorite characters come to life on the page.



The gist is that Harry's a wizard who works as a private investigator, and sometimes as a consultant to the local police department. This is set in our world, so the vast majority of people think he's a charlatan, because (obviously) magic isn't real. However, every now and then the paranormal crosses over, and that's when Harry's phone starts ringing.
Let the supernatural hijinks begin!



I've read several of these types of graphic novelizations, and quite a few of them are just authors milking the cash cow, seemingly without much care or thought put into the comics. This doesn't feel that way to me, so I feel fairly confident recommending it, especially to Dresden's fans.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted to check out the Dresden Files but didn't want to commit to a novel, this is a great place to start. Long time readers of the Dresden Files may also like to see a visual representation of some of their favorite characters from the series. This Omnibus collects Welcome to the Jungle, an original graphic novel written by Jim Butcher, along with adaptations of the first 2 novels, Storm Front and Fool Moon. Also included is a little story entitled Restoration of Faith which is about how Harry and Murphy first met.

Harry Dresden is a private investigator and wizard for hire in Chicago. Of course, everyone thinks he's a quack because everyone knows magic isn't real. That is, until you come across something that goes bump in the night. Most people don't call Dresden until it's the only option they have left. Luckily for Harry, he's also on retainer with the police when they come across unexplainable crimes. Like when two lovers both have their hearts explode while they are getting it on. Or a zoo keeper is torn apart by an animal at the zoo when all the animals are locked up.

The Dresden Files is one of my all-time favorite book series. I encourage everyone to check it out in whatever format they prefer.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

I loved this omnibus! The graphics are amazing! There are the three novels that I loved and a little one at the end that was ok.

The first one is Welcome To The Jungle which is one of my favorites. I loved the zoo setting and that Harry had to get the animals off the hook for the killings.

And for the love of Bob :)



I just think he is great! I love how he helps Harry out in the books.

There is a powerful, or she thinks she is powerful, witch up against Harry in this first book. She sends all kinds of things after Harry like this black dog!



But... she can't keep Harry down.

The next is Storm Front and this is the first and only Harry book I have read yet! I have to read more! When I read that book I wanted there to be a graphic novel out so I could see Toot Toot and I had no idea there was one out, or the comic anyway. Here he is in all his glory :)



I think he is an awesome fairy! There is a lot going on in this book as well. Someone is making people's hearts explode to put it mildly. And once again someone is sending creatures after Harry!



Here he is fighting naked, but it's censored...sooo. Boo!


I loved Fool Moon, I was actually sad about it because I love wolves and werewolves and in this book the one werewolf couldn't control himself. I mean it is what it is right? And he's such a nice guy ordinarily.

Harry makes some wolfy friends in this one :)



Ok, not in that picture obviously. That is good wolf gone bad. He's got Murphy down too!

I think anyone that loves Harry Dresden or just the Dresden Files, should get this book because it is awesome!

[Stacey Chancellor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storm Front was handled every well. Loved the art, and the story still holds. I did not like the art all that much for Fool Moon. It was just odd and not as well done...which doesn't help with the fact that it is the weakest story in the entire series..

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

If You already like or love this series this Omnibus is a delicacy. The artwork fluctuates a bit in quality from story to story. But that's a minor issue. One of my favorite series in a graphic novel format? Awesome.

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

What it's about: This is a graphic novel adaptation of the first two books of the Dresden Files series, along with two short stories.

"Welcome to the Jungle" (short) - Harry investigates a murder at the zoo. This is an interstitial that takes place between books in the original series.

Storm Front - The first book of the Dresden Files follows Harry Dresden, professional wizard and private eye, as he helps the Chicago Police investigate a mysterious double homicide. Harry's investigation lands him some powerful enemies; soon, it's a race against time - either Harry solves the case, or he'll die. And it might not be "either-or"!

Fool Moon - The second Dresden Files book. After a series of murders, Harry is brought in by Chicago PD. His diagnosis: Werewolves. But it turns out there's more than one kind, and they're not all playing by the same rules. Harry is going to have to team up with new allies and old enemies if he hopes to survive!

"Restoration of Faith" (short) - Harry is hired to find a runaway ten year old girl, but soon finds himself accused of kidnapping. And things go downhill from there. This is a prequel to the original series.

What I thought: I haven't read through the Dresden Files books in a while. This omnibus was a nice reminder of why I enjoy those books. It was more like a primer for the books than actually reading them - because the books rely so heavily on first person narration, a graphics-focused representation is going to end up leaving out quite a bit. But I am curious what some of the other stories might look like when translated into this medium.

Why I rated it like I did: It was interesting to see someone else's interpretations of what Harry and the gang look like, but I didn't love those interpretations. I prefer the mental models I've built up over the years of reading the novels. Plus, a graphic novel adaptation of a book is a lot like a movie adaptation - even the best one is not going to capture all the details and intricacies. While these are not bad adaptations, they leave out most of the narration, which means they leave out most of the best parts of the books, because Harry is a fun wiseass in his first person narration, which is peppered with pop culture references and a joyful, winking blend of tropes and trope-bending.

[Rogier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had an enormous slump the past few months an in order to get back into Dresden's world i figured why not pick up the omnibus. It was great re-reading the first two in comic book form. I forgot a few things but those are minor. I love how the art is drawn and seeing Harry drawn on paper strengthens the hots from this guy( roro) for Harry. I do hope that the other novels will be adapted to the comic medium some day . It will take a while , haha.

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars overall"
Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher, Ardian Syaf - Welcome to the Jungle was another enjoyable short story in the Dresden Files series, this time in graphic novel format. I rarely read graphic novels, but have to say that this one was quite fun. It was kind of like reading a movie or watching a book.:-) The illustrations were very appealing and complimented the text perfectly. They also expressed the emotion and action of the scenes quite well. The illustrator, Ardian Syaf is billed as a rising star in the comic book world, and I'd have to agree. He is very talented.

The story itself is a fairly simple one with Harry investigating the mysterious and brutal murder of a security guard at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Those who don't believe in the supernatural are quick to blame it on a gorilla, but Harry knows better. Each of the Dresden Files shorts I've read so far have drawn me into Harry's world. He's almost like a super-hero with his wizard powers, but at the same time, he's just an average everyday guy who's easy to relate to. He's something of a hard-boiled detective, but also has a softer side and seems to really care about people. The tidbits of Harry's backstory that are revealed in this graphic novel really intrigued me, and make me eager to read the first full-length book of the series so that I can delve into this character and learn more about him. The two Chicago PD officers Harry works with, Murphy and Carmichael, are introduced in this story as well. Overall, Welcome to the Jungle was a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours of my reading time and really has me looking forward to continuing the series. Star Rating: 4

Storm Front by Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, Ardian Syaf, Brett Booth – This review is in two parts, because I originally read the graphic novelization of Storm Front in its two separate stand-alone volumes.

Part 1: The Gathering Storm is a graphic novel adaptation of the first half of Storm Front, the inaugural novel in the Dresden Files series. The book contains four chapters, and each chapter was originally released in comic book format, then collected together into this one volume.

I won't bother critiquing the overall story, because I've already done a review on the full-length novel version of Storm Front, a book that I very much enjoyed. What I will say is that IMHO, The Gathering Storm is an excellent adaptation of the novel into graphic novel form. Even though it's been a while since I read Storm Front, it's all coming back to me, and now in living color.:-) I really like Ardian Syaf's illustrations. I feel like they capture Harry and the other characters, as well as the situations in which they find themselves, quite well. While I've categorized some of the other Dresden Files graphic novels under young adult as well as adult, I would say that The Gathering Storm is firmly in the adult category. It contains some mild to moderate sexuality. Harry is seen naked throughout one scene, although the important parts are strategically covered. There is also a fair bit of violence, including a particularly bloody, gory murder scene.

Overall, I very much enjoyed The Gathering Storm and don't think they could have done any better job of capturing the look and feel of the novel as well as the salient plot points into a comics style format. It was extremely well done, stayed true to the original source material, and is highly recommended by this reader for graphic novel fans. Star Rating: 5

Part 2: Maelstrom is a graphic novel adaptation of the second half of Storm Front, the inaugural novel in the Dresden Files series. As with the first volume, The Gathering Storm, the book contains four sections, and each section was originally released in comic book format, then collected together into this one volume.

Once again, I'm not going to review the overall story, because I've already written a review on the full-length novel version of Storm Front, a book that I very much enjoyed. Just like with The Gathering Storm, I thought the adaptation of the story was done extremely well, definitely hitting all the important plot points and staying true to the original source material. Again I would consider this book to be firmly in the adult graphic novel category as there is a fair bit of violence, some of which can get bloody and gory, both male and female nudity is depicted with the important parts strategically covered, and in two frames, a couple is seen in the background in the throes of passion. None of this bothered me, but since graphic novels tend to be popular with teens, I wanted to provide the information for those who might be concerned. My only small complaint is that this time, the illustrations were done by two different artists. I guess overall, I was generally satisfied with both artists' renderings. They each had something unique to offer, but I still have a bit of a preference for Ardian Syaf's work. Where I had a slight issue with it is that I found the switch in styles about halfway through the book a little jarring. I'm not sure why the book publishers did it this way, but I do wish they'd stuck with one artist for the entire series. Otherwise though, I thought it was an excellent graphic novel adaptation that I would definitely recommend. Star Rating: 4.5

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, Chase Conley - Fool Moon is the graphic novel adaptation of the second full-length novel of the same name in the Dresden Files series. Much like with my review of Storm Front, I’m not going to critique the story too much, because I’ve already written a review of the novel. Overall the story was adapted to this shorter format pretty well, hitting all the important points. Since it’s been a couple of years since I read the novel, I didn’t remember a whole lot of the story, so this was a great refresher. My only complaint in this regard is that there were a few places where the narrative felt a little choppy to me, like something was missing, and I was having a hard time following it. This made me wonder if I wasn’t already familiar with the story if I would have been able to figure things out at all, but it wasn’t too bad.

The artist for this graphic novel, Chase Conley, is a new one to me, who hasn’t done the artwork for any of the comics up to this point in the series. His illustrations were OK, but I’d have to say they’re my least favorite in the Dresden Files graphic novels I’ve read to date. For the most part, his renderings weren’t as spot on with how I’ve imagined the characters, and I was also somewhat annoyed by the fact that he created most of the female characters with impossibly huge breasts. This didn’t seem to be the case with any of the previous graphic novels I’ve read in the series, or at least, if it was, the artwork overall was so good I didn’t notice. I was also somewhat confused at times by his framing techniques and occasionally it was difficult to discern who was speaking in dialogue. All of this somewhat distracted from the story for me, hence the reason I gave this graphic novelization a lower rating than the novel.

As with the Storm Front graphic novel, Fool Moon is IMHO firmly in the adult category. There is one brief moment that implies sex. There are also numerous frames depicting nudity, both male and female, but mostly it’s one female character who is almost constantly running around naked. At these times, the characters are either only seen from the back and/or with sensitive parts strategically covered, but I thought it worth mentioning since teens often read graphic novels and some sensitive readers, teen or adult, could be offended by it. Overall, Fool Moon was a pretty good adaptation, but I felt there were a few things that could have been better, mainly the illustrations. If one of the other artists whose work I previously enjoyed had done the illustrations for this one it probably would have earned keeper status from me. Star Rating: 4

Restoration of Faith by Jim Butcher, Grant Alter, Kevin Mellon - The graphic novelization of Restoration of Faith was done very nicely. When I read the short story, I must have missed that Karrin Murphy was the cop who helped out Harry and his young charge. It was probably because I wasn't yet familiar with the characters who would be playing key roles in the books, so it was nice to get that little blast from the past. I didn't like the art work in this one quite as well. It was done by a different artist, and there was just something about it that didn't quite speak to me in the same way as Ardian Syaf's work on The Gathering Storm did. But overall it was a nice addition to the book. I also enjoyed seeing the original comic book covers at the end. Star Rating: 4

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice collection of Dresden stories. I actually read it as a refresher because it had been I while since I read some of these stories. I was delighted to find that they maintain a lot of the key plot points and had some interesting and entertaining artwork. Nothing is quite so surprising as turning the page of a gruesome crime scene and seeing it set out before you. It really helps drive home how obviously unusual these crimes are compared to the book where you might be tempted to imagine something more ambiguous.

[Vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Dresden Files series and have read the entire series just the graphic novels were remaining. I had a few already in my collection courtesy of Humble Bundle. But thanks to Amazon Kindle Unlimited I got others to read as well. This first Omnibus collects 'Welcome to the Jungle', 'Storm Front', and 'Fool Moon' and is a very short story. I had recently read Jungle and have read the other two adaptations earlier so it was nice to go through the stories once more. You can appreciate the way the story and the characters have grown and progressed after reading these first two stories. So this one does and now time to read other graphic novels with original stories. Ok then one more done and with that I will move to another one and then going to Keep on Reading.

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.

[Liina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed bag

Mixed bag. Welcome to the Jungle and Storm Front had both a good story and excellent art, Fool Moon was a lot more ridiculous than I remembered and I didn't get with the art style at all - it was all quite muddy and all the characters looked the same. Final story was fine I guess, nothing particularly standout.

[Cora Pop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, witty, pretty much unputdownable...

[David Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Vs. Of Butchers 1st 2 Entries in the Dresden Files Comic Series

Honestly, I approached this with some hesitation. I was disgusted by the TV series, and was skeptical that the is series would be more of the same. I was more than pleasantly surprised to find all of the little touches, beat up be, cat named Mister, actual power staff, much compression of the plot and story lines but that's to be expected with the format. I had wondered what Butcher had been doing since the book series has stalled over the last couple year's, now I know. Good job, now find some one who can redo the butchered(pun intended) TV series, maybe one or the excellent anime production companies, sigh.

[BJ Haun · Rating 4 out of 5]

All told, I thought it was pretty good. "Fool Moon" was the weakest part of the omnibus by far, in my opinion. However, "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Storm Front" were good enough to make up for it. If you are a fan of the Dresden Files, this is an interesting way to revisit the first two books in the series.

[Pturingan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories were really good, in fact good enough to overcome my dislike for the art in some of the stories. Storm Front is probably the best overall in the collection and Fool Moon was pretty good too, only slightly ruined by the art.

[Richard Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the graphic novel version of the first couple novels in the series, plus some extra bits, and I thought it was well done. All the stars.

I already liked the original books, and while I seldom re-read novels, these aren't quite the same thing. I was glad to try the stories in a new format. The art in the graphic novel versions adds a lot (is a thing that everybody already knew). The stories are faithfully retold in very similar levels of detail, so there are no real surprises, but that's fine; it's still a new experience reading it in this format. I imagined some things here and there a little different, but that didn't put me off. If anything, the artists improved on what I saw in my head.

In case you haven't read any of these books, they're about a guy in Chicago who is a trained wizard and works with the police whenever there are strange cases like werewolves or something. Harry Dresden is capable and well intentioned but can't always sort out the best way to solve a supernatural problem. He's not a screw-up, but he's often in over his head and has to do his best just to survive and keep the bad guys from tearing up the city. Inevitably, he's in trouble with somebody. There's a reason these are very popular stories--Dresden is an amiable everyman who is always stuck in a tough spot but does his best to protect everybody.

I am often out of tune with comics and graphic novels, so much so that I don't turn to them very often. Sometimes, I struggle to make sense of the information conveyed in the images ("Which guy is that?" and "Wait, who's winning that fight?" and "what's happening there?" are my frequent thoughts) and so I stumble into frustration and confusion. The graphic novels I enjoy most, not surprisingly, are the ones that I don't struggle to understand, where I get what's going on in the text and the art, and I would definitely include these in that group. It helps that I've read the source material, of course, but I think new readers would do just about as well.

So--fun stories with good plot and pacing come alive even more in this adaptation. Recommended.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Dresden can best be described as "Harry Potter" meets Sherlock Holmes". The streets of Chicago hide a lot of strange people, and many of them are not quite what they seem. When cases are unexplainable, the Chicago PD calls the Special Investigations unit and when things get really strange the call in their consultant, the only openly practicing Wizard in America.

Avid Dresden file reader's who want even more of Harry can enjoy an original story that was written specifically to start off the graphic novel series. and is not available in a text only format. Graphic novel afficianados will also enjoy the next four books in the series. The first two Dresden File novels were each rewritten as two volume graphic novels.

I enjoyed Welcome to the Jungle immensely. It established the characters and set the scene with all of Butcher's usual wit. The story was exciting as well. You can find my more in depth review of that book. Having already read Storm Front and Fool Moon in the original format, I found that the drastic editing necessary made the books suffer by comparison. But if I had not read the originals I would have enjoyed the adaptations.

[Luka Christensen]

The first volume of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files Omnibus (Jim Butcher's the Dresden Files Omnibus, 1) is currently keeping me occupied. I also really like the second story in this volume of the Dresden Files. What Morgan did for him to save (hint CPR), between performing CPR and sweeping out the poisonous scorpions, was nothing short of a miracle. Truly enchanted. I will write a fuller review when I am done with the first volume. I have not watched the series. Was it good? What do you think?
Omnibus 1 includes; Welcome to the jungle, Storm front, Fool moon, Restoration of fate.

War up: Diving into "The Dresden Files Omnibus: Volume One" was an electrifying experience, immersing me in the magical world of Harry Dresden, Chicago's wizard detective. Butcher's storytelling prowess shines through, crafting a gripping tale that nearly earns a perfect score. While the sudden shift in the "Fool Moon" story arc was a bit jarring, and the length made it occasionally daunting, the vibrant characters and intricate plots kept me hooked. Despite these minor hiccups, I found myself irresistibly drawn into the narrative. By the end, I was left hungry for more, eagerly reaching for the second volume. Despite its flaws, this omnibus is a must-read for urban fantasy enthusiasts, offering a captivating blend of mystery and magic that's hard to resist.

[Honza Prchal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently finished Peace Talks, and so I checked out this, which I've read before, from my local library. It was a fun read and a solid refresher on some of our hero's back-story.
I was able to appreciate the contrasting artists' styles more on this latest read-through.
I like Butcher's Harry Dresden work more than Dashiel Hammet's Nero Wolfe, in part because, more in the novels than the comics, Butcher takes the time to learn about the real-world elements he writes about and strives to keep the details grittily accurate. Even the made up elements, like the magic, are rooted in tradition and are kept realistically consistent as the main character and those around him grapple with and come to understand them, in contrast to Hammet's statements about Serbian (and Montenegrin) politics before during and after WWI, which get weaker the more he gets into them, or in the way he makes mistakes in writing about actual police procedure.
Butcher reminds me a bit more of Mickey Spillane, in the ways he puts his main character through the wringer, and also in the almost knightly adherence of his flawed and deeply tempted protagonist to an admirable moral code.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a big fan of the Dresden Files, I was worried that the graphic novelization would be ok but nothing grand. Boy was I happily mistaken.
The stories are completely intact. The artwork is compelling (mostly... not a huge fan of the climax of Fool Moon artwork).
Some have complained that there was some artistic license taken with heights of characters and such, but in these first comics, they seem very in tune with what the books say. Harry is tall, but not freakishly so... characters look roughly like they are described... Susan looks exactly like I had pictured. A great adaptation over all.
If you like the Dresden novels, you will like these. If you have never read them, do yourself a favor and check them out. If it happens that you le graphic novels, this is a wonderful easy to be introduced to the characters (although they should have put restoration of faith first).

[Benjamin Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The adaptations were all condensed, but very faithful to the novels and short stories they were based on. Seeing a story you are familiar with from words alone being presented in a visual medium is always a little weird, but you get used to that pretty quick.

Having read all the novels, it's interesting to see what details they preserve and bring to the forefront. Knowing which things will come back later on change what you notice, and shaped what they told as well, I'm sure.

The original story centering around the zoo was fun. However, even with the insistence that the original graphics are in cannon, they don't seem to add to the long arc of the series or be referenced in the novels the way the short stories are.

Overall, these graphics are still fun, but the audiobooks are still the best experience I've encountered with this series.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gritty and Dark Urban Fantasy

I tried to read JB's novel Storm Front a while ago, and maybe it was my mood, maybe the writing style, but I ended up DNFing. I've still learned to revisit at some point but when these graphic novel omni uses became available on Kindle unlimited I thought it was a great way to ease back in.

I enjoyed the graphic novels. I found the shorter format to be more palatable than what I remember from my novel read, and the art style was dark and gritty in a manner well befitting the tone and style of the story.

I'll likely pick up the next volume was it's on K.U., and am feeling more willing to give the novel (s) another shot when I'm in that kind of mood.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read through the Graphic Novels mostly to see how they compare to the first few books since 2 of the main volumes are based on the first 2 books in the series. I have to say it was nice to actually see the stories play out visually but I do maintain that the earlier novels have got nothing on the later ones. Also because the novels are 1s person there was a lot of exposure and writing which I don't tend to love in graphic novels, let the art speak for itself. Nonetheless super fun to read. I enjoyed the original one Welcome to the Jungle in the omnibus more than the Stormfront and Fool Moon volumes.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

First foray into the world of the Dresden files, supposedly Harry Potter for adults. So far loving the stories. Will say, and did have to look up, the fact artists changed a couple times makes the transition even in the middle of the stories a little odd. But it didn’t take away too much. The magic and dark arts was really cool. Glad the first few books are done as graphic novels giving a really vivid and new insight into the world! Would recommend for anyone who is fans of magic with a dark twist!

[Sarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ensi ihastuksen jälkeen sain vähän liian suuren annostuksen Harry Dresdenistä. Ehkäpä tämä toimisi paremmin ihan luettuna romaanina. Nyt jatkuva mätkityksi joutuminen ja Harryn epäonni säilyä ehjin nahoin mistä tahansa tilanteesta tuntuu sarjakuvamuodossa aivan liialliselta. Tarinoissa vaihtuu piirrostyyli useasti, mikä osaltaan vaikuttaa siihen, etten ihan täysillä näistä pitänyt. Tässä omnibus-kokoelmassa on neljä tarinaa, joten lukemista näissä riittää.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was meh at best. Two stories more or less from the novels (which doesn't make these great either). There is just no depth to the characters - the novels are full of bad comic book depth villains and heroes. Harry routinely gets his ass kicked until he can barely stand at the end of the story - just not interesting nor heroic.

Would 100% recommend the Rivers of London series over the Dresden Files

[A.K. D'Onofrio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I borrowed this on Hoopla instead of buying it ... I only liked the art in Welcome to the Jungle and Storm Front ... the rest was sub-par. The first story, the prequel, was the best part about it. I'll definitely keep borrowing these to get the stories in between the novels, but considering how variable the art quality and styles are, I'm definitely going to forego dropping money on a physical copy unless I really, really like it.

[Bobsome · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is the same as the novel, which is fine because I quite enjoyed that story. Except the art doesn't really hold up it's end of the format change, not really adding much in my opinion and removing some of my imagination from the equation. It's still quite good, but I'd rather re-read the books than the omnibus.

[Luis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this along with the second book. Overall i think a comic version of the second book is better than the actual book, but definitely liked the first book better than the comic version.

There was a subtle art change towards the end that me off a bit, did not mind that.

Overall, the Stormfront carried this Omnibus of the first two Dresden files but still a fun read as well as the books.