Dante Shrine: Books

In their infinite generosity, Capcom has allowed the release of a number of novels, manga, comics, strategy guides, and art books about Devil May Cry. Some of them are available in the USA, others you have to import.

...Devil May Cry 3, Code 1: Dante
This series takes place right before Devil May Cry 3 the game and begins with Dante's contractor, Enzo, offering him a job to retrieve a young girl named Alice. At first Dante isn't thrilled at the prospect of a missing persons case, but when he realizes he's down to his last bottle of tomato juice, out of money, and threatened with eviction from his office, he has a change of heart. There are obvious Alice in Wonderland themes all around, complete with a demonic White Rabbit and Mad Hatter. Dante learns that his twin brother Vergil is still alive, and that demons are after their matching amulets. The manga is great, and probably has my favorite visual depiction of Dante across all mediums, but Tokyopop did a bad job of translating it. Some of the changes are amusing, but they break internal continuity and make Dante come off much too vulgar for my liking. Observe:

Dante says...	Tokyopop Dante says...
Dante: "Hand Alice over already. I don't have any more tomato juice at home, you see."*	Dante: "Listen.. You're a loon. I get that. Hell, one time I got so wasted I proposed to a mop. So I'm not one to judge. That said, nutty or not, I'll feng shui this room with your diseased brains if you don't give me the girl."
.....O.O??
Dante: "For tea time, I'd be good with just tomato juice."*	Dante: "Call me when you've got pizza and a keg. In that order."
Remember the tomato juice Dante wanted at the beginning of the manga? Well Tokyopop doesn't think you have the attention span for such quirky details. Personally, I find the original line a ton funnier considering its continuity throughout the story.
Dante: "Well that's nice of you, but NO thanks."*	Dante: "Pal... You can shove that teapot... Up your rabbit hole!"
What was wrong with "no thanks"?
Dante: "You better stop. It's no use." Alice: "No... This tastes really good..." Dante: "If you keep doing it you won't be able to go back." Alice: "Go back? There's no way I'd go back!"*	Dante: "Y'know, a hickey would've been just fine. You'll be getting a bill from my tailor." Alice: "No! I will suck you dry!" Dante: "Damn. Any other time, a chick tellin' me that would be a good thing." Alice: "I must do this! I'll never go back!"
Dante the pedophile... brilliant..... Whereas Dante's original concerned dialogue actually interacted with Alice's lines, Tokyopop's reworking of it makes no sense from either side of the conversation.
White Rabbit: "I'd like you to hand over that amulet." Dante: "Rabbits should stick to eating grass."	White Rabbit: "I want to buy that amulet." Dante: "And I want a smaller dick. I guess we're both assed out, huh?"
My personal favorite, Tokyopop decided to change Dante's perfectly innocent (though highly insulting to a big, bad demon) retort into some kind of compensation for his manhood. Certainly "rabbits should stick to eating grass" might not be the coolest line in the world, but even "piss off, rabbit"* would suffice. Besides, Dante actually tells White Rabbit to eat grass several pages before, too - Tokyopop even translated it at that, so I KNOW they couldn't have just had a brain fart! And that's what makes me love the original line even more. Again, humor through continuity.
Alice: "What do you think? Do I look captivating in my adult look?" Dante: "I wonder. At any rate, you're gonna eat me from the bottom if I were to nod, right?"*	Alice: "Do you like me, Dante? Do you want me? Am I desirable as an adult?" Dante: "Is this a trick question? Let me guess. If I say no, you wear my guts for garters. If I say yes, you eat me, starting with my cock."
I got nothin' ^.^;;
*Based on scanslations at Devil's Lair. (be sure to check the Japanese raw, too)

...Devil May Cry 3, Code 2: Vergil
This issue focuses more on Vergil's ambition for power, his past, and his alliance with Arkham. The Mad Hatter is back, so is Alice, and even Lady has a few scenes. Alice is still looking for male attention anywhere she can get it, but Vergil doesn't give her the time of day (or night). Dante chases after his wayward brother straight into the middle of a skeery demonic ritual.

...Devil May Cry 01
As far as I can tell from the first book, the novels float throughout known Devil May Cry history without any real sense of continuity (or logic, or tie-ins to the games). It was supposed to a prequel to the first Devil May Cry, and was written before DMC2 or DMC3 came out. Dante has forgotten who he is and calls himself Tony Redgrave. He is an unusual mercenary who chooses jobs based on interest instead of money and looks down upon needless killing. But, since he is so good at what he does, others in the ruthless underworld begin to follow his example. We learn that Dante likes alcohol and strawberry sundaes, but hates smoking.

The book introduces Enzo, Dante's friend and contractor who later appears in the manga. It introduces Grue, who is apparently Dante's best friend and frequent partner. It introduces a motherly figure, the gunsmith Nell Goldstein, who keeps fixing and tweaking the lethal toys that can't keep up with Dante's skills. And it brings in the mysterious, bandaged man wielding a katana. His name is Gilver, but we later learn he is none other than Dante's brother Vergil (Gil-Ver...Ver-Gil... get it?? XD), and he gives his twin quite the run for his money by the end of the book. A very odd attempt to fuse Vergil and Nelo Angelo. Incidentally, we learn that Vergil can't hold his liquor.

But even with the strangeness and lack of coherence, or perhaps because of it, I really loved this book! The action was great, and Dante's obsession with his mother really shined! I swear the book would've been noticeably shorter (and more believable) if they didn't spend half of it defending Dante's heterosexuality. He just keeps turning down women! One even draped herself onto his naked body and he still turned her down. Of course, the "I found you passed out on the street so I figured I'd drag you home" pickup line hasn't worked since caveman times. Alas, Dante prefers huddling in the cold with men "to conserve heat" and being emotionally clingy with his best friend.

It's a real fun read to be sure, but still some unanswered questions remain:
1) If Vergil completely disintegrated at the end of the book and left his half of the amulet behind, how is he back (with the amulet, no less) in the first Devil May Cry?
2) Why would the demon world make Dante feel weaker yet strengthen Vergil?
3) Since when can Dante be killed by cutting out his heart?
4) Why is Vergil psychotic?
5) If Nell Goldstein essentially designed Ebony & Ivory, how are they based on Sparda's Luce & Ombra handguns?

	...Devil May Cry 02 The second Devil May Cry novel is supposed to be set just before the game Devil May Cry 2. Trish is gone, but another woman squeezes her way into Dante's life. Her name is Beryl, and she hires Dante to help her destroy the Beastheads. That's singular, by the way: "Beastheads." As in, "the Beastheads is over there." Threw me off every time. Anyway, the Beastheads is a magical artifact shaped like three dog heads that consumes humans and empowers demons. It also allows you to see into the past, the future, and even travel to parallel dimensions.
Dante gets thrown into one such parallel dimension where humans betrayed Sprada and Nelo Angelo led DMC's boss monsters in a failed attack against Mundus. Then it got weird. The Beastheads eventually falls into the hands of a deranged mob boss named Chen the Cannibal. His hobbies are world domination, demonic experiments, and storing Dante in jello. Creepy little man, but at least he has a sense of humor. This second book was not quite as amusing as the first, but it was worth it to hear Dante say: "I wasn't in the mood for a bath, but what the hell. I bet I look dashing with this water dripping everywhere. Tell me the truth. Do you think I'm hot?" Yes, darling, yes you are.
	...Devil May Cry 3: Note of Naught A lush Artbook of Devil May Cry 3, covering official art and sketches of all the major characters, bosses, enemies, devil trigger forms, weapons, and architecture. But that's not all! It also covers fun tidbits like a visual list of where all the mission numbers are hidden in the cinematics and the entire script (in both English and Japanese!) with storyboards. If you can read Japanese, there are interviews with the producers, the action director (he choreographed Versus!!), and the voice actors of Dante, Vergil, and Arkham. All in stunning full color, I only wish there would've been more Dante in it. Oh yeah, it comes with a Region 2 UMD disc playable only on Japanese PSPs which has some movies on it, but I doubt I'll ever get to watch it.
	...Devil May Cry Memorial Album: Precious Tears This is basically a detailed script, in both English and Japanese, of the first Devil May Cry. It is illustrated in full color with screencaps of the cinematics, stunning concept art, and gameplay shots complete with Japanese descriptions. It is divided by Missions, and each Mission bears an English introduction, giving rise to such beautiful Engrish gems as this intro to Mission 5: "Dante points his leg toward the sealed door in the middle of the limited time." At the end is a Japanese text interview with two of the producers.
	...Devil May Cry Graphic Edition An impressive collection of artwork, sketches, computer graphics, advertisements, solid models, and promotional goods all in one book. It is a particularly invaluable reference of rare pictures and detail not found anywhere else.
	...Devil May Cry Book 1: Evil Woman These beautiful comics are colored with smooth, shiny, almost impressionistic splashes of color that really set a moody tone for the series. They were released by Dreamwave, a USA-based company that dared to blend the traditional Western drawing style of comics with the prettier, more stylish Manga styles of the East. The story is based on the first Devil May Cry game. Book 1 covers Dante's introduction, Trish's dramatic arrival through his door, all they way up to the lava spider Phantom. Alternate Cover 1, Alternate Cover 2, Alternate Cover 3, Alternate Cover 4, Alternate Cover 5
	...Devil May Cry Book 2: Super Beast Dreamwave comics' Book 2 continues to follow the Devil May Cry game, covering all three Phantom fights and the arrival of Nelo Angelo. A significant difference from the game is that at one point the comic has Dante and Nelo confront each other civilly for a bit, exploring more of Nelo's character. Alternate Cover 1, Alternate Cover 2, Alternate Cover 3
	...Devil May Cry Book 3: Angel With The Scabbed Wings Dreamwave comics' Book 3 has Dante spending more time with Trish than he did in the game. It covers Dante's fight with Griffon on the ship and his final fight with Nelo. Trish zaps him right after he defeats Nelo, and the issue closes with her standing over his unconscious body saying "Not as sorry as you're going to be, Dante." To be continued... Except that Dreamwave went out of business and the fourth and final issue never came out. Quite a cliffhanger there. >.< Oh well, the game shows the gist of what happens next. Alternate Cover 1, Alternate Cover 2
	...Devil May Cry Book 4: Shout At The Devil NEVER RELEASED... GRR!!! But, from what I could tell from the previews, the art was already suffering greatly: Preview 1, Preview 2, Preview 3. Even the cover didn't have original artwork. Still, it's very frustrating having the series be cut off right before the last installment. Alternate Cover 1
	...Devil May Cry Strategy Guide (Brady Games) A very comprehensive guide that covers all the characters, histories, items, move lists, boss strategies, maps, and tips on how to beat the secret missions. On top of that it has a little concept art gallery and interviews with the creators of the game.
	...Devil May Cry Strategy Guide (Prima) I don't have it and know nothing about it... but apparently it has wickedly detailed 3D MAPS!! And is only $9.99!!
	...Devil May Cry Strategy Guide (Versus Books) Don't have it but it... err... exists!!
	...Devil May Cry 2 Strategy Guide (Brady Games) Covers the game strategies as both Dante and Lucia mission by mission, as well as descriptions of items, weapons, maps and unlockables.
	...Devil May Cry 3 Strategy Guide (Brady Games) My most used guide, although more for the pretty pictures than information. It is very comprehensive but not perfect, and does not include the Special Edition. Specifically, it is wrong about one of the places to get a blue orb fragment. It is actually in the ceiling of the Subterranean Garden in Mission 9.
	...Devil May Cry 3 Strategy Guide (Prima) This is an okay guide, but not without its frustrations. It makes unfounded assumptions (Nero was NOT born with Devil Bringer, damnit!) and has some amusing typos, but its biggest fault is the omission of several blue orb fragment locations (most notably the Experimental Disposal and Dante's detour in Mission 12). Read with a grain of salt and enjoy the pictures!

DISCLAIMER: All artwork, characters, stories, music, video, and books are Copyright CAPCOM, ATLUS, Tokyopop, Dreamwave Comics, Brady Games, Prima, Versus Books, etc. They are NOT of my making. No copyright infringement is intended.