Dynamite Entertainment 2015
Written by Jim Butcher & Mark Powers
Illustrated by Carlos Gomez
Coloured by Mohan
Alright so Harry, Molly, Mouse and Marcone are now facing the man in Undertown responsible for the Golem’s attacks. So let the fun, action and mayhem begin. I’m such a huge dork because while I’ve been a huge fan of the adaptations of the books from Dynamite this new original story that fits in between books, could be any one of them too, is what readers and fans live for. So it’s just so delightful that we get a new original tale set in the Dresden universe.
The writing, characterization, plot advancement and dialogue are just amazing and keep the feel, tone and mood of this series so incredibly true to the original source material. That the old man is a wizard of some serious power himself and that the fight goes down between them all and focuses between Harry and the nameless sorcerer well lets just say that the whole thing is choreographed in such a way to make this so incredibly exciting.
The fight scene takes up a lot of space this issue but it’s packed with characterization and just some incredible storytelling while in the midst of all that fighting. I should also mention all of this wouldn’t be as successful without the work Carlos and Mohan do on the interiors. I mean it’s so vibrant, alive and pops with so much electricity that we see translates the words with such an ease and beauty all their own. They really bring to this life wonderfully and add a whole new element to the storytelling process.
I have to admit that with all his faults and arrogance, plotting and scheming Marcone is one of the best recurring characters in Dresden’s life. Never a dull moment when he’s involved in anything so seeing him in action here taking such a direct hand in the events after manipulating his way in with them is remarkable. He is the perfect opportunist, power hungry, ladder climbing kind of man whose ability to think and use those around him effectively that while he’s one of those guys you love to hate you also can’t help but just really admire him.
The fact that this was set up for next issues action packed climax really gets to you as a reader. Since Marcone and Harry worked together to take down the nameless sorcerer they thought things would end but alas when magic is involved nothing goes as planned or is what it seems and the Golem is still moving forward to it’s next target. Can our assembled group get it together and figure out how to stop it here in the sewers before it reaches it’s destination? Again the dialogue and writing here is exceptional and the encouragement from Marcone of all people telling Harry he can do this are part of what makes this so uniquely special.
I’m down for a yearly limited series that puts Harry and company in between various novels if they are going to be of this quality. Seriously this a perfect companion to the novels and it’s a perfect segway for those who haven’t read them yet.
Dynamite doesn’t take chances as they know what will work and deliver it to us.