The Dresden Files: Storm Front #1 ( Dabel Brothers / Butcher / Powers / Syaf )

“Following hot on the heels of the bestselling The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle, the Dabel Brothers are proud to bring another chapter in the Dresden saga — The Dresden Files: Storm Front. Meet Harry Dresden, the only practicing wizard listed in the Chicago yellow pages ó and the only person Chicago P.D. calls when they encounter a case that just can’t be solved using traditional methods. Harry’s unique gifts allow him to see beyond the everyday world into a strange realm of magic and monsters. Unfortunately for Harry, the pay isn’t all that great. When the police call Harry in as a consultant on a brutal double homicide, he quickly finds himself tangled in a web of missing persons, murder, and black magic!”

Storm Font kicks off the next arc in the Dresden Files line of comics.  I do have to say that this particular adventure has taken a bit more of an adult turn.  The case Dresden is working involves a couple who, through the use of magic, have had their hearts explode out of their chests.  Now while that may not seem too far out of context with of mainstream press, this depiction has the couple in flagrante delicto and covered in blood. Red, red blood.  Through in some swearing and we have crested over from an all ages book into the “Not for Kids” zone.

That is not so much of a bad thing.  Some of the best crime novels I’ve read definitely have their touch of gratuitous sex and violence.  I’m not sure if the Dresden novels are like this or not.  I’m too busy reading comics to fit in too many novels.  If this is the new direction for Dresden, then I’m still on-board.

As with the last books, Butcher takes well to the art of crafting a comic story.  Yes he’s written all the novels, but a good novelist and good comic scripter don’t always exist in the same intersect.  He’s got a great sense of the Chicago dialect and overall attitudes of the police and public.  It may seem stereotypical, but I’ve been kicked out of places by Chicago cops…and Butcher pretty much nails it.  The art by Powers and Syaf was a bit less impressive than it was in “Welcome to the Jungle”.  It didn’t seem quit as crisp and clean as it did before, but it may be a style choice.  Either way, it didn’t hit me as hard as with the last arc.

Grade: B