On Friday, I was able to attend a panel with one of my favorite authors, Jim Butcher. This specific panel was almost 1 hour of pure Dresden Files, of which I might be a tiny fan. Really, I own copies pf all the books. I had a blast with hundreds of other fans, some of whom cosplayed as characters from the Dresden Files Universe. With such dedicated fans there was always a chance for some very interesting questions from the audience… and Jim Butcher delivered.
If you are a fan of the series you probably know that there is a TV show adaptation of the books. It was not well received for a variety of reasons including a low budget and trying to push too many key events from the books too quickly into a series without giving the characters the time for proper introductions where the audience could become emotionally attached. Most fans continue to hope that there will be a more faithful adaptation in the future. Jim admitted that if an adaptation were in the works he would like the creative team from Invincible to be behind the project. Can we all start a letter writing campaign now, please!
We heard from Jim that in the future he would be interested in exploring stories with a focus on the kids in the universe. For example, if Maggie were to go to school, what would her experience be like? Would Mouse (the large, protective Fu dog) also be able to get an education if he went to school with Maggie? All I interesting thoughts to consider given that there is so much that children experience and cultures that are created and that we as adults forget over time.
And because this is Dresden Files where darkness encroached into the real world, maybe we will get the real story of the urban legend behind shoes hanging over wires. We also received a tiny hint into the future when a fan asked if Dresden would ever end up wearing a magical hat. Jim already has one in mind and it is currently in the Smithsonian!
What we will not hear more of is the adventures of Bob outside of the skull in Dresden’s workshop. For those of you less familiar with the novels, Bob is a spirit who is bound to a skull in Dresden’s magical workshop. Oftentimes he is bribed with trashy romance novels to provide guidance for complicated spell work. Jim did briefly consider the idea but ultimately provided the repose that we would not be getting a story from Bob’s point of view because he does not write erotica. Most of the audience was in the know because laughter broke out for a full minute. He did mention that he tries to keep to his own rule that if there are sex scenes in the series, they are relevant to the plot.
There were of course some silly questions asked by the audience. I admit that I asked the question if he feels bad for his fans when his April fools’ jokes are made public. It turns out that he does not actually write them and a few times they came up during internal meetings he had to be reminded that they were April fools jokes, especially and he did not actually have to write a 3-hour musical. We as fans may still be waiting!
Overall this was a great panel that will be a highlight of my first Dragon Con experience. I love hearing the backstory of certain decisions, like when his editor read the book where Dresden dies and called Jim for a conversation – “You killed him! I know, now he can do the fun things!”. There will be opportunities this weekend to get books signed by Jim. You can also catch him at several author panels throughout the weekend related to writing, coming up with creative ideas, or discussions about magic.
More to come!
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