Welcome to the Jungle

[lisa]

Welcome to the Jungle is a 2008 hardback graphic novel written by science fiction and fantasy author Jim Butcher and illustrated by Ardian Syaf. It was written as a prequel to Storm Front. It was nominated for a Hugo Award in the Best Graphic Novel category.

[lisa]

A brutal mauling at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo has left a security guard dead. This wouldn’t be a big deal, except the guard had been the son of a prominent politician. Zoo administrators quickly accuse Moe, the alpha gorilla, of the murder and schedule him for termination. Lt. Karrin Murphy isn’t buying this pat resolution. There is something hinky about the way Moe escaped his enclosure, murdered the guard; and then, locked himself in again –- from the outside. Under pressure from her superiors and the mayor’s office to close the case, Lt. Murphy calls in Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only consulting wizard. She needs him to find the real killer in 24 hours. After that, she must close the case –- and Moe the gorilla will be executed. No pressure or anything.

Broke as usual, with the rent overdue, Dresden takes this seemingly impossible case. It is obvious that there is more to this case than a mundane animal attack. A troll could have torn up the guard, but it would have trashed the zoo buildings, too. A vampire could have done it, but it would not have left all that blood on the ground. Puzzled, Dresden hunts for clues. When he interviews the zoo staff, he encounters anger and outright hostility. They refuse to cooperate in his investigation, blaming him for the administration’s decision to terminate the zoo’s beloved gorilla.

Finally, Dresden is able to interview Dr. Reese, Director of the Gorilla Program; and later, he meets Reese’s assistant, Willamena Rogers -- Will. Dresden tells Reese that he doesn’t believe the gorilla did it. Reese hopes that Dresden will find the real killer. When, Dresden and Will are attacked by a lion, he is able summon a wind to blow the predator into a janitor’s closet and slam the metal door. Then, they are attacked by a pack of escaped leopards, tigers and lions. Only a powerful magical spell could have overridden their instincts and coerced those big cats into hunting together. Dresden breaks the magical spell with running water.

The zoo is closed, so the staff can round up all the escaped cats. Could Dr. Watson be involved? She works in the big cat exhibit. She knew Dresden was in Reese’s office. Maybe she was only being nice to Dresden, so he wouldn’t investigate her? Dresden takes advantage of the big cat roundup to break into Watson’s office. Yes, it's all there: a casting circle on the floor, the residue of powerful magical workings, and a filing cabinet with ritual jars full of animal blood.

Back at his apartment laboratory, Dresden shows one of the ritual jars to Bob, a spirit of air and an encyclopedia of arcane knowledge. Bob deciphers the runes on the jar as part of an ascension ritual for a Hecatean Hag. Dresden is up against an ancient evil that is planning to ascend to a greater arcane power. He must stop the ritual before the transformation takes place and before more people die. When Dresden and Will return to the zoo, they discover Watson's office had burned, incinerating all the ritual evidence. Next, they find Moe is sitting next to Reese’s corpse. In a scene worthy of Beauty and the Beast, Will calms the agitated Moe and takes him back to his cage.

Finding a hair on Reese’s corpse, Dresden performs a tracking spell. The trail leads him to the undertown, the world of old subway tunnels, caverns, and empty spaces below Chicago. En route, he is attacked and his car is severely battered. Dresden blasts the monster to a thousand pieces and continues following the tracking spell trail. He surprises and disables the Hag, discovering too late that she was only one of a sisterhood of four. The remaining three Hags encircle and attack Dresden. He defeats two of them and breaks the ritual circle, using a combination of quick thinking, guile, and brute force. With her sisters dead and her ascension rite canceled, Watson vows revenge and escapes. Dresden follows her with the tracking spell. The trail leads back to the zoo.

In the final showdown, Watson has Will by the throat and Dresden by the…. Watson taunts him. She will let him choose how Will dies: evisceration, poison, strangulation, etc. She knows that Dresden used up his power in the undertown fight. Dresden summons enough power to open the door of Moe’s cage. Through the cage’s the safety glass, Moe has been watching Watson torture Will. Freed by Dresden, an utterly enraged Moe attacks Watson, an intruder in his territory and a menace to his friend Will.

It’s over quickly. The Hag never had a chance. When the police arrive, Dresden and Will tell Lt. Murphy that they were attacked by Watson. Will is in shock and denial. She cannot accept or talk about the supernatural things she has seen. Later, evidence take from Reese’s corpse implicates Watson and clears Moe. Murphy is not pleased that she cannot cuff Watson and take her in, but she will pay Dresden his consulting fee. It won't be a lot, but it will repair his car and buy him a burger; for now, that's enough for Dresden.