The Dresden Files: Storm Front and Its Graphic Novel
Phase two of the experiment--I'm a little less certain about how this draft turned out.
The Novel
Storm Front is the first book of the series and that's obvious from the beginning. The noir vibe feels stronger here than in any of the other books. Harry's beat up office, shabby apartment, and local bar all appear for the first time. The plot even kicks off when a client comes to Harry for help in the midst of rolling thunderstorms. The novel could become a black and white movie, right down to the running theme of Harry getting beat up and having his stuff destroyed.
The noir vibe is actually strongest in two aspects of this novel that continue to be important throughout the rest of the series. The first is Harry's relationship with Murphy. In Storm Front, like in Welcome to the Jungle, she's not entirely willing to trust him. It's hard to blame her, especially since Harry insists both that he knows best and on keeping up certain facets of the Masquerade. It's particularly satisfying that at the end, Harry admits that he has damaged their friendship by keeping her out of the loop*, because it's actually difficult to reconcile the fact that Harry appears in the phone book with the fact that he refuses to tell people anything. Harry's tenuous relationship with both Murphy and the Chicago PD itself very much feel like the relationship between private investigators and the police in other noir fiction.
The second aspect that feels very noir (to me, at least) is Marcone and the existence of organized crime. The main plot of this book is even about drug dealing and a magic drug. While Victor is a rather unimpressive villain, Marcone shows himself to be incredibly important. Marcone is one of two foils for Harry presented in this book. Harry and Marcone are both far more powerful than the average mortal. Marcone and Harry both seem to be using their power for good ends. Marcone is cleaning up the streets and cutting down on collateral damage, and even Harry has to admit that it's better that way. But Harry refuses to accept that it would be better if he seized control and just made everything in the world work right and be better. Harry, with his run-down apartment and chronic inability to pay his rent is what happens when great power is used primarily for others. Marcone is what happens when it is used primarily for oneself.
It's a decision and a temptation that Harry'll face again and again.
The second foil for Harry is Morgan, the first onscreen representative of the White Council. Morgan is law untamed by compassion. It's important that Morgan really does believe that Harry has done something wrong. He's trying to push Harry's buttons, but he does believe he's in the right. And if Harry faced someone he believed was a psychopathic murderer, he might act very similarly.** Unfortunately, this belief is so strong that it means Morgan ignores evidence to the contrary. Morgan is also the first indication of the same basic problem in the White Council itself: law untamed by compassion and a steadfast belief in the fact that they are doing the right thing while refusing to listen to any evidence to the contrary can leave a lot of collateral damage.
Harry, despite many other flaws, feels compassion. He believes in law (the pentacle is natural forces ordered by the spirit, after all) but feels that individuals are more important than the law itself. This too is a conflict that will play out again and again.
Initially, the plot of this book seems disconnected from the plots of other books in the series. (Harry gets a client who doesn't try to backstab him? Harry gets a client who's not connected to the supernatural world? Wow.) But I was very impressed by one thing that's presented as rather minor in this book. Here, Harry makes an enemy in Bianca. That's not really surprising, Harry makes enemies almost every time he appears on screen. However, Bianca is the one who throws the party in Grave Peril, making that one almost throwaway scene incredibly important. I'm really impressed by that. Despite the fact that this book reaches the most natural stopping point of any in the series, there's an awful lot of foreshadowing.
The Graphic Novel
On the whole, the graphic novel matches up really, really well with the novel. There were a few sequences that I recognized word for word, which was neat. The only change I noticed were a few details (usually about the colors of things) but nothing that was really jarring.
There were two scenes (each two pages each) that were in the original novel. The first involved two junkies on ThreeEye, which provided neat visuals but didn't add much to the plot. The second is Morgan talking to the White Council, which foreshadows them as both more mysterious and much more dangerous (with a side of possibly evil) that could get interesting over the rest of the series.
On the whole, it was an interesting and enjoyable read, but I'm not sure that I'll keep up with the rest of the graphic novels. Even aside from the fact that I'm not a very visual person, a lot of the Harry I like is just missing. His descriptions, wise-cracking, and a lot of his thoughts are cut out and those are some of my favorite parts. I also found that while the comic seemed pretty accurate, I missed Harry's descriptions, since though provide so much context for both his own character and his relationships with others.
Notes
In some ways, rereading Storm Front really surprised me. I'd almost entirely forgotten the actual plot and the fact that it involved a magic drug, though I did remember most of the important plot threads and people that would be continued on throughout the series. Morgan especially stuck out for me, but I'd completely and totally forgotten Marcone was introduced so early. I'm not sure if it's because the book doesn't really feel like a book in a series (it's one of the few where Harry actually ties up every lose end and even gives wrap-up narration) or if it's because the characters, themes, and situations I really like all come later.
With the exception of Murphy. I fangirl Murphy like crazy.
I'd also completely forgotten one detail that occurs just before entering the lake house, Harry considers both giving up and going dark, something that will come to be a running theme throughout the series. What I'd forgotten was that in that moment, Harry feels the touch of someone else's hand in his, and feels suddenly connected to his mother. Thus begins the plot thread that continues to drive me crazy.
*A lesson that he won't learn for three more books, much to my aggravation.
**Harry doesn't admit this fact to himself, but I swear there are periods where he acts exactly the same way. But it's okay when he does it because Harry Knows Best. *eyeroll*
Enjoy!
The Novel
Storm Front is the first book of the series and that's obvious from the beginning. The noir vibe feels stronger here than in any of the other books. Harry's beat up office, shabby apartment, and local bar all appear for the first time. The plot even kicks off when a client comes to Harry for help in the midst of rolling thunderstorms. The novel could become a black and white movie, right down to the running theme of Harry getting beat up and having his stuff destroyed.
The noir vibe is actually strongest in two aspects of this novel that continue to be important throughout the rest of the series. The first is Harry's relationship with Murphy. In Storm Front, like in Welcome to the Jungle, she's not entirely willing to trust him. It's hard to blame her, especially since Harry insists both that he knows best and on keeping up certain facets of the Masquerade. It's particularly satisfying that at the end, Harry admits that he has damaged their friendship by keeping her out of the loop*, because it's actually difficult to reconcile the fact that Harry appears in the phone book with the fact that he refuses to tell people anything. Harry's tenuous relationship with both Murphy and the Chicago PD itself very much feel like the relationship between private investigators and the police in other noir fiction.
The second aspect that feels very noir (to me, at least) is Marcone and the existence of organized crime. The main plot of this book is even about drug dealing and a magic drug. While Victor is a rather unimpressive villain, Marcone shows himself to be incredibly important. Marcone is one of two foils for Harry presented in this book. Harry and Marcone are both far more powerful than the average mortal. Marcone and Harry both seem to be using their power for good ends. Marcone is cleaning up the streets and cutting down on collateral damage, and even Harry has to admit that it's better that way. But Harry refuses to accept that it would be better if he seized control and just made everything in the world work right and be better. Harry, with his run-down apartment and chronic inability to pay his rent is what happens when great power is used primarily for others. Marcone is what happens when it is used primarily for oneself.
It's a decision and a temptation that Harry'll face again and again.
The second foil for Harry is Morgan, the first onscreen representative of the White Council. Morgan is law untamed by compassion. It's important that Morgan really does believe that Harry has done something wrong. He's trying to push Harry's buttons, but he does believe he's in the right. And if Harry faced someone he believed was a psychopathic murderer, he might act very similarly.** Unfortunately, this belief is so strong that it means Morgan ignores evidence to the contrary. Morgan is also the first indication of the same basic problem in the White Council itself: law untamed by compassion and a steadfast belief in the fact that they are doing the right thing while refusing to listen to any evidence to the contrary can leave a lot of collateral damage.
Harry, despite many other flaws, feels compassion. He believes in law (the pentacle is natural forces ordered by the spirit, after all) but feels that individuals are more important than the law itself. This too is a conflict that will play out again and again.
Initially, the plot of this book seems disconnected from the plots of other books in the series. (Harry gets a client who doesn't try to backstab him? Harry gets a client who's not connected to the supernatural world? Wow.) But I was very impressed by one thing that's presented as rather minor in this book. Here, Harry makes an enemy in Bianca. That's not really surprising, Harry makes enemies almost every time he appears on screen. However, Bianca is the one who throws the party in Grave Peril, making that one almost throwaway scene incredibly important. I'm really impressed by that. Despite the fact that this book reaches the most natural stopping point of any in the series, there's an awful lot of foreshadowing.
The Graphic Novel
On the whole, the graphic novel matches up really, really well with the novel. There were a few sequences that I recognized word for word, which was neat. The only change I noticed were a few details (usually about the colors of things) but nothing that was really jarring.
There were two scenes (each two pages each) that were in the original novel. The first involved two junkies on ThreeEye, which provided neat visuals but didn't add much to the plot. The second is Morgan talking to the White Council, which foreshadows them as both more mysterious and much more dangerous (with a side of possibly evil) that could get interesting over the rest of the series.
On the whole, it was an interesting and enjoyable read, but I'm not sure that I'll keep up with the rest of the graphic novels. Even aside from the fact that I'm not a very visual person, a lot of the Harry I like is just missing. His descriptions, wise-cracking, and a lot of his thoughts are cut out and those are some of my favorite parts. I also found that while the comic seemed pretty accurate, I missed Harry's descriptions, since though provide so much context for both his own character and his relationships with others.
Notes
In some ways, rereading Storm Front really surprised me. I'd almost entirely forgotten the actual plot and the fact that it involved a magic drug, though I did remember most of the important plot threads and people that would be continued on throughout the series. Morgan especially stuck out for me, but I'd completely and totally forgotten Marcone was introduced so early. I'm not sure if it's because the book doesn't really feel like a book in a series (it's one of the few where Harry actually ties up every lose end and even gives wrap-up narration) or if it's because the characters, themes, and situations I really like all come later.
With the exception of Murphy. I fangirl Murphy like crazy.
I'd also completely forgotten one detail that occurs just before entering the lake house, Harry considers both giving up and going dark, something that will come to be a running theme throughout the series. What I'd forgotten was that in that moment, Harry feels the touch of someone else's hand in his, and feels suddenly connected to his mother. Thus begins the plot thread that continues to drive me crazy.
*A lesson that he won't learn for three more books, much to my aggravation.
**Harry doesn't admit this fact to himself, but I swear there are periods where he acts exactly the same way. But it's okay when he does it because Harry Knows Best. *eyeroll*
Enjoy!