Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files - Bigfoot

Author Jim Butcher seemed to take FOREVER between books 15 (published in 2014) and 16 (published in 2020), those six years being the longest gaps between any of his books since he published the first one all those years ago.  Then, book 17 came out just months after book 16, mainly because the two books told one great big (and devastating!!!!) story.  Since that time, I've been waiting patiently to hear news of the next book and when we might expect to see it.  Butcher's website lists the title as Twelve Months, but there is no indication of when it will be published - it simply says Butcher "has started writing" the next book.  Thus, the only thing I have had to fill my Dresden Files need is the graphic novel published by Dynamite Entertainment, which was published over a year ago.  I've been holding on, waiting to read it, because I know once I do, that's the last Dresden I will get until the next book is finally written.  But I could wait no longer.

Bigfoot, as it turns out, is a comic book adaptation of three short stories Butcher wrote involving Dresden helping out Strength of a River in His Shoulders, a real, honest-to-goodness sasquatch ... yeti ... or, as they are commonly called, a bigfoot.  I was not aware when I bought it that this was an adaptation of already written short stories - I thought this was going to be new material.  So, when I started reading it, my mind kept telling me that this story felt awfully familiar.  The more I read, the more deja vu I felt, and when I realized I knew what was happening and how the story would end, it dawned on me that these were short stories I had previously read in the collection of short stories, Brief Cases (published back in 2018).  But, honestly, I didn't mind - first, it was rather cool seeing the stories in full color images, and second, Butcher provided some framing sequences that involved Dresden visiting the son of Strength of a River in His Shoulders, who is basically the focus of all three short tales (he he he - "short" tales for a "tall" son of a yeti!).

The framing sequences find Dresden helping Irwin (yes, that's the son's name) and his girlfriend, Connie, move into a new apartment.  When Connie learns that Dresden has known her man since he was a "pup," she wants to hear all about it.  So, without further ado, Dresden begins to share some of the stories .. and those stories happen to be the tales previously told in prose form.

The first story relates how Dresden first met Irwin's father, who asked Dresden to look after his son, who is being bullied at school.  Of course, there are some other supernatural beings involved, and Dresden has to be careful how he intervenes, otherwise it could create a deadly war between unseemly creatures!  The second story is a few years later, as Irwin's father once again asks for Dresden's help, because Irwin has become ill while at a boarding school, and no one seems to know why.  Needless to say, Dresden uncovers the supernatural source and puts a stop to it.  The third, and final, tale jumps ahead again, and Dresden is called in to help with Irwin, only now he is in college.  Dresden discovers his girlfriend is a vampire of the White Court (which means she feeds on sexual energy - and yes, this is the same girlfriend with whom Irwin now lives!), but the only problem is, young Connie has no idea what she is!  This one results in a huge battle between Dresden and vampires, when Irwin's father finally steps in to help save his son.

It was fun revisiting these stories, and it was actually rather creative tying them all together with the trip down memory lane.  Reading all three stories together like this,you realize just how cohesive they are (and really, let's face it, Butcher has done an unbelievable job of keeping all of his continuity between the books, short stories, and even the original comic book stories all on point).  In this way, the reader gets to see young Irwin go from an awkward "pup" to a confident college jock - and after all of the events of the last two books, it's rather nice to see that even with this supernatural characters, there is still some bright, everyday moments that can inspire hope for the future.

And now, I must sit back and patiently wait for Butcher to finish the next novel (as I have seen nothing in a while solicited from Dynamite, which makes me think they may have lost the license to do more comics based on the Dresden Files) ... at least while I wait, I have PLENTY of other books to read and keep my mind busy until the next Dresden finally appears!

RATING:  10 black magic shrines out of 10 for keeping the magic alive!