A review by rouver
Wild Card by Mark Powers, Jim Butcher
4.0
An extra star for introducing a fun, quirky new villain. A lot of reviewers were disappointed by the ending, but not every solution is going to involve explosions. I think trying to do this story as a graphic novel meant that Butcher couldn't build up the ending like he would have liked to, to make it feel more satisfying & a bit less like random chance. We finally get to see Butters and Harry's godmother, Leanansidhe, too.
Harry tries to prevent a war that's brewing between the White Court vampires, Johnny Marcone's mobsters, and the police force...something that would definitely tear the city of Chicago apart & result in a lot of innocent deaths. But who is orchestrating the mysterious attacks that seem to be blamed on one of the three factions?
It follows Butcher's standard template: some big problem is brewing, Harry gets the stuffing pounded out of him, time is running out, but he somehow manages to pull it off and save the day. It's what we like & it keeps us coming back for more. I don't have a problem with that.
What I do have a problem with is the Esher Girl illustrations. The skin tight clothing can be excused because this IS a succubus, but we really need to educate illustrators on the human form.
If this doesn't look strange to you, it's because you've become used to it. Go and look at some of the work on Escher Girls where they're fighting the good fight against ridiculous T&A illustrations & sculptures. It's shocking what all is out there, and how we have become desensitized to it.
If you're a fan of the Dresden Files, go ahead & pick up this graphic novel.
Harry tries to prevent a war that's brewing between the White Court vampires, Johnny Marcone's mobsters, and the police force...something that would definitely tear the city of Chicago apart & result in a lot of innocent deaths. But who is orchestrating the mysterious attacks that seem to be blamed on one of the three factions?
It follows Butcher's standard template: some big problem is brewing, Harry gets the stuffing pounded out of him, time is running out, but he somehow manages to pull it off and save the day. It's what we like & it keeps us coming back for more. I don't have a problem with that.
What I do have a problem with is the Esher Girl illustrations. The skin tight clothing can be excused because this IS a succubus, but we really need to educate illustrators on the human form.
If this doesn't look strange to you, it's because you've become used to it. Go and look at some of the work on Escher Girls where they're fighting the good fight against ridiculous T&A illustrations & sculptures. It's shocking what all is out there, and how we have become desensitized to it.
If you're a fan of the Dresden Files, go ahead & pick up this graphic novel.