Last Wednesday at the stroke of midnight, Marvel Comics released one of the most anticipated new comic books of the year: "Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born," based on the bestselling series of novels by perhaps the best-known author of our generation.
Stephen King himself oversees the comic book much like he does his movies and contributes dialogue and plot points with scripts turned in by comic book legend Peter David. The art is by superstar penciler Jae Lee and digital painter Richard Isanove.
Marvel put a lot of effort into "Dark Tower." The "Spider-Man" publisher assembled a great creative team and launched a huge PR campaign to hype its release, hoping to draw members of King's audience who had never read a comic book before. But is it any good?
From the first page, this project has been a labor of love for the creative team just as much as the "Dark Tower" novels were for King. For those unfamiliar with the series, "The Dark Tower" is an epic fantasy like "Lord of the Rings" set in a land called Mid-World. It is the story of a man named Roland Deschian who is the last of an order of knights known as Gunslingers. The series revolves around Roland's pursuit of the Man in Black across Mid-World and the dimensions that surround it until they all converge at one point: the Dark Tower. "The Gunslinger Born" tells the story of how young Roland became a Gunslinger and his first encounter with the Man in Black.
The script captures the novel's tone perfectly and does so in such a way that does not overwhelm readers who may be picking up the book out of curiosity. The dialogue covers everything from the different patterns of speech to the inner monologues of each character.
However, the biggest selling point to this series is the art. Jae Lee and Richard Isanove were born to draw this book. In fact, "Dark Tower" would be money well spent for the art alone. Lee's use of shadow and light is perfect for Isanove's coloring. A two-page spread of Roland standing over a cliff during a sunset evokes the classic image of the outlaw in the American west with its darks and lights and use of yellows and reds.
As if the solid story and art weren't enough, Marvel packed the first book with maps and information in the back.
So is Stephen King going to conquer the comic book world like he's conquered every other? It's too early to tell but it seems like a definite possibility.
Update: The Boys Are Back in Town
A few weeks ago The Eagle reported that DC Comics had cancelled Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's popular series "The Boys." Since then, Dynamite Entertainment has picked up the rights to publish. No word yet on when the first issue will hit stores, but it's definitely good news for Ennis fans.
