General Discussions => Spunk => Topic started by: Me! on October 28, 2005, 01:22:39 pm
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on May 29, 2009, 01:30:38 am
apparently the Dark Tower and The Stand comics have been successful, because there is a comic version of The Talisman coming, hope they make it to Black House, personally I thought it was better.
DEL REY ACQUIRES COMIC BOOK AND GRAPHIC NOVEL RIGHTS TO STEPHEN KING AND PETER STRAUB’S THE TALISMAN
NEW YORK, NY – October 13, 2008 – Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today the acquisition of the comic book and graphic novel rights to The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The creative team on the project will be announced soon, and the first issue of the monthly comic is planned for late summer/early fall 2009.
Originally published in 1984, The Talisman is the story of a young teen named Jack Sawyer, who can save his dying mother only by retrieving a magical talisman. To find it he must cross back and forth between our world and the frightening and dangerous landscape of its “twinner” counterpart. The hardcover edition, published by Viking, spent 12 weeks in the #1 slot on the New York Times list. Both The Talisman and its sequel, Black House, are in print with Ballantine Books. Television rights to The Talisman are under development by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy.
“Illustrating The Talisman in the depth that it deserves will involve at least 24 issues of comics, probably more,” said Del Rey Editor in Chief, Betsy Mitchell, who acquired the project from agent Ralph Vicinanza. “It’s a tremendously visual story, filled with images that burn in memory long after the book has been closed.”
King’s Dark Tower comics consistently inhabit the top of the comic book sales charts, and his recent series, Dark Tower: Long Road Home was the top-selling comic book in North America in March 2008.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: inertia1215 on August 27, 2008, 07:58:14 pm
Quote from: Me!;200719
FYI: just a reminder both Dark Tower: Treachery and The Stand: Captain Trips\'s first issues will be released on Sept 10th. I generally subscribe to them so I don\'t have to hunt them down (I usually forget about it till I get it in the mail), if interested I use this site, which is pretty good. http://www.TFAW.com
Oh and King is also doing a webisode thing with Marvel called "N" Haven\'t seen any of it yet, but thought I\'d put the word out to all you Constant Readers out there.
Thanks for that site, I might just get a subscription so I don\'t have to worry about it. Got my Stand sketchbook and it looks great.
N actually looks pretty cool, I have watched a little but would rather wait to watch the whole thing instead of 2 minute teases. It is based of a short story "N" that is going to be released in his upcoming release "Just after Sunset"
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on August 27, 2008, 06:27:09 pm
FYI: just a reminder both Dark Tower: Treachery and The Stand: Captain Trips\'s first issues will be released on Sept 10th. I generally subscribe to them so I don\'t have to hunt them down (I usually forget about it till I get it in the mail), if interested I use this site, which is pretty good. http://www.TFAW.com
Also there is a trailer for The Stand here (http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.4432.Watch_The_Stand_Comic_Book_Trailer)
Oh and King is also doing a webisode thing with Marvel called "N" Haven\'t seen any of it yet, but thought I\'d put the word out to all you Constant Readers out there.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: FrankZappa on July 04, 2008, 06:14:59 am
magic, hu? is that why you have been skipping out on the dungeon and dragon competitions? :lol:
I still never read the comic series. :(
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Lexington on July 04, 2008, 12:50:05 am
i can;t tell if you guys are the geeks or if i am
alright, fine. :exits thread to play Magic the Gathering while paused on FFIIV:
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on July 04, 2008, 12:39:43 am
Quote from: inertia1215;195029
Quote from: Me!;195026
I\'ve got a list of books I want to read. I\'m reading IT now, then either the new Palahniuk book or Talisman, I\'ve been reading alot of King lately.
Me as well.....been all King for a while now, most are re-reads....Talsiman & Blackhouse, half way through Wizard & Glass right now...then Desperation and the Regulators......2 I have never read but have meaning to get around to for a while!
W&G was my least favorite of the series. I like it, but just found it to be such a distraction from the main story. I honestly had to struggle through it at times on both read throughs.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: inertia1215 on July 03, 2008, 11:06:07 pm
Quote from: Me!;195026
I\'ve got a list of books I want to read. I\'m reading IT now, then either the new Palahniuk book or Talisman, I\'ve been reading alot of King lately.
Me as well.....been all King for a while now, most are re-reads....Talsiman & Blackhouse, half way through Wizard & Glass right now...then Desperation and the Regulators......2 I have never read but have meaning to get around to for a while!
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on July 03, 2008, 10:49:15 pm
I\'ve got a list of books I want to read. I\'m reading IT now, then either the new Palahniuk book or Talisman, I\'ve been reading alot of King lately.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: inertia1215 on July 03, 2008, 09:38:34 pm
Quote from: Me!;195021
well I\'m pretty sure no one cares but :shrug:
you got that one wrong, waiting for mine in the mail after yesterdays release!! Been re-reading the entire series.......by far I can say my favorite story EVER. No exaggeration.
Got a signed copy of Issue #1 by Peter David, the author. Artwork is absolutely incredible!!
If you haven\'t read the Talisman yet, some good interesting crosses!! I can NEVER get sick of reading this stuff.....
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on July 03, 2008, 09:02:18 pm
well I\'m pretty sure no one cares but :shrug: The Long Road Home wrapped up yesterday, will receive mine in the mail in a few days, the series hasn\'t been bad my only complaint really is the length of the books, too short. The artwork is definitly beautiful though.
Well, there are already plans for the next part of the series to be called Treachery.
The ka-tet of Roland, Alain and Cuthbert have returned safely to their home in Gilead. But all is not well. Roland has kept the evil Maerlyn\'s Grapefruit and has become obsessed with peering into its pinkish depths despite the deadly toll it\'s taken on his health. And what the young gunslinger sees brings him the darkest of nightmares. Meanwhile, Roland\'s father has led a posse in search of those who threatened his son\'s life in Hambry—John Farson and the Big Coffin Hunters. And in this encounter, Stephen Deschain\'s life may be forfeit.
Apparantly this series has been a big success for Marvel and The Stand is also to be released in September. Also in consideration for comics are Eyes of the Dragon (which would be a great adaption) The Talisman, and Little Sisters of Eluria http://www.newsarama.com/multimedia/img_display.php?pic=c3RhbmRwcm9tb19jb2xfMi0wMi5qcGd8SW5zaWRlIE1hcnZlbCdzIFRoZSBTdGFuZHx8Y29taWNz
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on March 14, 2008, 12:56:29 am
received the first issue in the mail today, excited to check it out.
King was on NPR Wed discussing the comic and other things, you can listen to the whole thing here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88144942
Apparantly, there is a Stand comic in the works.....
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on February 05, 2008, 12:13:17 am
FYI: The Long Road Home Issue #1 will be released on 3/5/08. For all those interested. (if any)
Also saw that "The Talisman" (part of the saga, though not exactly sure how, I plan to read it soon) is in pre-production, for release sometime this year.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384580/
just saw it\'s actually a mini-series, and we all know how well those usually go.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on December 20, 2007, 10:46:34 pm
BALTIMORE \'07: THE DARK TOWER: THE LONG ROAD HOME LAUNCHES IN FEBRUARY
It was a very quiet announcement as far as announcements go, and, given the magnitude the first Dark Tower miniseries was announced with, the announcement of the second was positively subdued.
On the last page of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #7 was a notice that the creative team, consisting of Robin Furth, Peter David, Jae Lee and Richard Isanove would be reuniting for the second miniseries, The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home. The next miniseries in what looks to be a series of miniseries, the announcement said, would begin in February of 2008.
At the Diamond Retailer Summit in Baltimore, Marvel showed advance art from the upcoming mini. We spoke with Furth and David about the forthcoming project.
Newsarama: Robin, the final page of Gunslinger Born pretty much cleared up any ambiguity about a sequel. That said, can you remind us of the larger set up of the story as King initially saw it from that first meeting with Marvel, way back, and how what\'s coming out as The Long Road Home fits into that? Is what\'s coming in this miniseries a chunk of the larger plot that he came up with at that meeting?
Robin Furth: During that first meeting Steve really laid the groundwork for the series. He wanted the story to begin with Roland’s coming of age test, then move on to his adventures in Hambry which are recounted in Wizard and Glass. After that Roland and his friends return to Gilead, and once they return home things really start to fall apart for the Gunslingers. I don’t want to say too much, except that our tet is going to encounter a lot of death and destruction. The Good Man’s forces regroup after their defeat in Hambry, and they rise triumphant—eventually sacking Gilead. Roland and his friends survive, but . . . well I’ve probably let too many cats out of the bag already! At the end of the series we’ll witness the infamous battle of Jericho Hill, which is the Gunslingers’ last stand. Steve went into a lot of detail about that final battle! What Steve envisioned in that original meeting was a series of thirty comics divided into five individual story arcs which function as individual tales. The Long Road Home is part two of five. Because it covers a smaller time period than Gunslinger Born, it will consist of five comics whereas Gunslinger Born consisted of seven.
The Long Road Home is exactly what the title implies. It covers our tet’s difficult journey back to Gilead and is a part of the larger story that Steve envisioned, both in the novels and during that meeting. As Dark Tower fans know, over the course of the five novels Roland tells us a lot about his early adventures. The Long Road Home expands on many of those tales.
NRAMA: Peter, you\'d said previously that you\'d be willing to continue on with these if Marvel asked. So - from the ad in the last issue of Gunslinger Born, they asked? Did it take you very long to say, "yes?"
Peter David: Not at all. The opportunity to work with such talented individuals as Robin and Jae and Richard is a once in a lifetime opportunity. So being given a twice in a lifetime opportunity...I couldn\'t wait to get started.
NRAMA: Robin, can you go into the continuity and the “when” you’re going to be exploring?
RF: The Long Road Home begins where Gunslinger Born left off, namely with Susan Delgado’s terrible death and Roland’s horror as he sees that death reflected in the evil seeing sphere known as Maerlyn’s Grapefruit. In the Gunslinger Born, Cuthbert and Alain’s devotion to Roland was tested, but in The Long Road Home it’s tested again. Their leader is gone—his mind and soul have been swallowed by the Grapefruit—so they are thrown back upon themselves. As we learn at the end of the final comic book . . . “and the thing that will ride west with Alain and Bert toward Gilead will not be Roland, or even a ghost of Roland. Like the moon at the close of its cycle, Roland is gone.” Well, in The Long Road Home, we’ll find out just where Roland went, and how horrible that place was! We’ll also discover how Cuthbert and Alain managed to get Roland’s body home, and how Sheemie managed to follow them.
PAD: Right - we\'re now into the realm of exploring events that were only hinted at in the books. We\'re filling in the gaps, as it were. And there is no one better equipped to be charting this endeavor than Robin. Aside from King himself, she\'s the foremost expert on Midworld. If I were told to do this on my own, I\'d probably be curling up in a ball somewhere.
NRAMA: So is what we\'re going to be seeing in Long Road Home an all original tale in that Dark Tower fans won\'t have read it before?
RF: Yes, it’s going to be an original tale, but it will be a familiar world for long term fans. As all Dark Tower readers know, over the course of the five Dark Tower novels Roland tells us about many of his boyhood adventures. Sometimes these adventures are told in full; sometimes we only get tantalizing hints. The Long Road Home expands upon many of those stories as well as explaining some of the mysteries of the series, such as how Sheemie’s psychic powers became so powerful. I really hope fans enjoy discovering these things as much as I did.
NRAMA: That said, you certainly proved your mettle in the back up stories in Gunslinger Born, but what\'s it like to be co-crafting these stories with King? As I mentioned at the panel in Charlotte, what you and Peter were doing was pretty rarefied air in sharing the storytelling with him, but this - this is like super-rarefied air...or something...
RF: Thanks so much for your kind words about the stories. I’ve loved writing them but as you can imagine the writing is a little scary at times since I’m trying to remain true to so many things—the Dark Tower universe, Roland’s mythic history and ancestry, the saga of Arthur Eld as glimpsed in the Dark Tower novels, and most of all the vision of Steve King. As I said during the panel, I try to run my story ideas past Steve just to make sure I’m hitting the mark. I think the longest back-and-forth we had over email was about the origins of the Wizard’s Rainbow. That was a lot of fun, and quite a bit of info about the relationship between Maerlyn and Walter came to light, but I’ll save that for a later story! Steve has been incredibly supportive of these tales. (He sent me an email telling me that I’ve developed into an excellent tale-spinner, which I think I’m going to have cast in gold so that I can put it above my writing desk forever!) That being said, I’m about to send him another batch of tales for The Long Road Home, so I hope he likes those too!
NRAMA: What\'s the working process like on this story, given that it\'s not coming from a previously established novel? Is Steve more actively involved in the plotting with this one, or did he deliver a outline that you and Peter are working from, and the workflow is similar to before?
RF: In many ways it’s similar to before in that the plot is based on Steve’s ideas and Steve’s plan. However, instead of drawing the details from a single novel as in Gunslinger Born, to plot The Long Road Home I had to dip into multiple sources. I had my notes from that initial meeting with Steve and I had the novels where—in more places than you might imagine—Roland tells us about his return trip from Hambry to Gilead. My Dark Tower Concordance gives descriptions and page refs for all of Roland’s early adventures, so it was pretty easy to go to the exact scenes that we needed to transform into comic book adventures. In the end though, everything goes through Steve - he’s both Creative Editor and Executive Editor. I’ve just sent him a section of The Long Road Home to look over (it’s in the process of additional changes), so we’ll see what alterations he makes! As I said, he’s been really supportive of this project and likes the fact that we’re all so enthusiastic.
NRAMA: Back when you started this and we spoke, you tried, and said you’d had some success, at covering up your nervousness. Seven issues later, and a new miniseries on the horizon, have those nerves quieted? Has the working relationships with Peter and Jae changed in the interim time?
RF: I think the nervousness has quieted down some, especially because everybody has been so enthusiastic about the project and so supportive of what we’ve done. Steve has been great, Peter, Jae, and Richard have been great, and the editors—Ralph Macchio, John Barber and Nicole Boose—have been absolutely fantastic. I think the biggest change is that Peter, Jae, and I have been working together long enough now that we’re not afraid to really hash things out when changes are needed. I think that’s great, because the final product will be a lot stronger for the group work.
NRAMA: Story-wise, and yes, we’re looking for more teases, there’s still some elements of Wizard and Glass to get through, right? A very tragic return to his mother, for one…
RF: Ah! That’s the hard part isn’t it? Telling enough but not too much . . .
There’s definitely some Wizard and Glass to get to, namely the period of time when Roland’s mind is trapped in the Grapefruit. As Steve King mentioned in one of his emails, a lot happens while Roland is in that Grapefruit—a lot of things he doesn’t consciously remember in the Dark Tower books . . . like perhaps meeting the Crimson King himself? (HA!) Readers will also see how well Cuthbert and Alain cope when their leader Roland is out of commission, and they have to take care of him while out-riding their enemies. There are going to be mutants and collapsing bridges and debilitating poisons . . . We’re also going to get to see some of Mid-World’s other Dogans—places where magic and technology can be merged by the evil followers of the Outer Dark. So, much is to come, and I don’t want to ruin it for you!
NRAMA: Finally then, how far are we away from the Battle at Jericho Hill, time-wise for Roland? In terms of the miniseries, is that what all of them are building to?
RF: Yep, we’re building up to that battle. We’ll be forced to witness the carnage of it in the final volume, which will be volume 5, or the last six issues of a thirty issue run. The Long Road Home is five issues long—issues 8 to 12. By the end of issue 12 the boys make it to the gates of Gilead, but Gilead itself is far from safe. John Farson and Walter O’Dim are hatching some wicked plans…
NRAMA: King went back and re-worked the first novel, he did so with an eye on making the entire work more cohesive and whole. Will he, or you, be doing any of that with The Long Road Home, that is, tightening the larger storyline, adding in references to things that were seen in the novels, either before or after Wizard and Glass, or foreshadowing specifics of what is to come?
RF: Most definitely. While working on these plots I’ve really tried to keep the bigger picture in mind. Long time readers of the Dark Tower novels will recognize references to the final books of the series every bit as much as they see the stories taken from the early books. That’s been one of the great pleasures of working on these comics. Luckily we always have Steve to back us up, otherwise it would be scary. But this way, it’s like skydiving with a parachute you know works. You throw yourself out into the blue and know that you’ll land safely, but wow—what a trip!
NRAMA: Finally Robin - you and Peter are one miniseries into this, and have started on the second. Safe to say that the Tower and Roland have a hold on you as much as you do on it?
RF: Most definitely! I’ve been dreaming about that Tower for years now. One of these days I’m going to draw me a doorway and follow Roland. Won’t he be surprised!
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: jocelyn on November 17, 2007, 08:30:03 pm
Awesome. Thank you!
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on November 17, 2007, 08:11:28 pm
there are 7 in the series. But the one I got is the hard cover collection of all 7. It\'s nice. amazon link (http://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Kings-Dark-Tower-Gunslinger/dp/0785121447/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195348262&sr=8-1)
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: jocelyn on November 17, 2007, 07:40:43 pm
So... my friend Jon was really into the Dark Tower books and I would like to get him whatever is available with the hardcover comics for his birthday or Christmas. How many are there? Could someone give me links to Amazon or the titles of what is out? Thanks.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: FrankZappa on November 17, 2007, 06:27:49 pm
I think I\'m going to get the hardcover version. Are the comics in good condition? I used to be a comic geek, paper inlays, individually sealed bags, etc. If they are in good condition I\'ll gladly take them, but don\'t mail them, wait for the next time we\'re all in jersey (http://www.thebreakfast.info/forum/showthread.php?t=10893) and I\'ll pick them up from you. I\'ve got a bunch of cds you wanted copys of, we can work something out.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on November 17, 2007, 01:30:37 pm
I just received my hardcover copy of this from amazon. Psyched to check it out. I\'m also about 1/2 way through re-reading Wizard and Glass, so it\'s good timing actually.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Yoda on September 19, 2007, 08:40:53 am
Paul - I have all 7 issues. I can send them to you if you want to read them. It\'s pretty good, but feels out of place and really doesn\'t give King\'s storytelling justice. It feels similar to the way TV did the Godfather Sage, where everything was edited in linear order. But it\'s still pretty good. Let me know.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on September 18, 2007, 11:39:02 pm
FYI: the hardcover graphic novel of The Dark Tower The Gunslinger Born (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785121447?ie=UTF8&tag=pbfanscom-20&creativeASIN=0785121447&link_code=as3&creative=373489&camp=211189), will be released on Nov 9th
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: obsession600 on January 26, 2007, 07:22:43 pm
(https://thebreakfast.info/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.midtowncomics.com%2Fimages%2FPRODUCT%2Fcommunity%2Fimages%2Fsigning_dark-tower.gif&hash=706562a6a5cbc6db0e0aef979ba73231a3399b7b) I might just do this.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: FrankZappa on January 26, 2007, 05:09:35 am
that\'s a good part of the story when he tests his trainer. Using the bird as a weapon and all.
Remeber when they went to see the cook on the gallows? vivid. Still, I\'m probably just going to wait for the graphic novels to come out. :shrug:
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on January 25, 2007, 07:21:58 pm
OK, I went onto a Dark Tower message board, and asked about this conundrum and here was my reply:
Quote
Quote
ekkatin wrote: can someone help me out here? I\'m a little confused, I\'ve gotten from some sources that this will pretty much be a comic version of Wizard and Glass, but I had also heard that it was just from that time period i.e. Roland\'s childhood. Does anyone know for sure?
The first 7 (which is the "trial" run of the book) will be pretty much a recounting of the flashback in W&G. Assuming these books sell well (and lord knows they will) then the series will continue beyond 7, at which point the story will be "all new" and start at the end of W&G. Bascially it\'s going to fill in what happened between W&G and The Gunslinger
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on January 24, 2007, 06:14:31 pm
:D
there\'s actually a few interesting things on youtube and elsewhere of fan montages and what not. But this one is official, from Marvel.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: obsession600 on January 24, 2007, 05:24:29 pm
I remember reading that. That is what had my hopes up. But isn\'t that earlier article from a year ago or so. It sounds like things have changed.
Quote
Furth added her own stamp of approval to Lee\'s striking artwork, and detailed a visit to England during which she and King inspected some of the finished pages. King reportedly remarked, “It\'s like seeing the stories that you\'ve had in your mind all these years step onto a page.”
“[Stephen King\'s] really, really pleased with it,” said Furth. “You can\'t get higher praise than that!”
King does not sound all that involved with the project at this point. His only quotes for this story are all second hand and old.
Quote
Succeeding story arcs will see where Roland and his friends go, what adventures they have, and will lead to what longtime “Dark Tower” surely wish to see , the last stand of the Gunslingers on Jericho Hill.
somehow I missed this part of the paragraph. This is promising but how long until they get to this. It sound like there are roughly 21 issues in the first three series so if they put out one a month we should see some new plots in about two years.
I waited for the books since the first one saw print, I can wait for the comics. :rolls a cigarette Roland style:
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on January 24, 2007, 04:51:34 pm
This article cerrtainly does make it sound like that, but from what I understand from reading earlier articles it\'s going to be Wizard and Glass esqe (sp?) That the story wouldn\'t be the same but it would be stories of Roland\'s youth.
from an earlier post:
Quote from: marvel.com
The comic series will mark the first time Stephen King has produced original content for an ongoing comic book project. The series will expand the saga of King’s epic hero, Roland Deschain, whose quest to save the Dark Tower is captured in seven best-selling novels published over the course of twenty-five years. King’s unparalleled storytelling power will inform new stories that delve into the life and times of the young Roland, revealing the trials and conflicts that lead to the burden of destiny he must assume as a man, the last Gunslinger from a world that has moved on. The comics will work in conjunction with the novels, further supplementing and defining the saga’s mythology under the direction of the acclaimed author himself.
"supplementing"
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: obsession600 on January 24, 2007, 04:21:10 pm
Quote
As such, Marvel\'s first mini-series is an adaptation of King\'s “Wizard and Glass” novel
Quote
With transforming a book like this, you know that you\'re going to have a lot of **** ‘Dark Tower\' fans, but you\'re also going to have a lot of new readers who won\'t have the background, so we were all really thinking about that.”
Quote
The main plot of the novels remains intact, with just some characters and subplots being left out. One notable omission is Aunt Cordelia, the aunt of Susan Delgado, who is Roland\'s love interest. Also trimmed down in the comics version of “Dark Tower” are the number of Horsemen\'s Association members and other assorted baddies. The comics series will along the way weave in much of the mythology of Mid-world with which Furth has become so intimately familiar, creating for all intents and purposes a chronological retelling of the “Dark Tower” saga in comics forum.
so this is just going to be a series of beautifully painted picture books retelling us less than we already know? I had much higher hopes for this. Someone please tell me I am misinterpreting it.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on January 23, 2007, 05:54:27 pm
Quote from: www.comicbookresources.com
"DARK TOWER" WITH ROBIN FURTH & MARVEL EDITORS by Andy Khouri, Staff Writer Posted: January 22, 2007
CBR News participated this afternoon in a press conference held by Marvel Comics to discuss Stephen King\'s “The Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born” #1, released next month. Sitting at the head of the audio table was Robin Furth, chief story architect of the hotly anticipated comic adaptation and long time associate of Stephen King. Also in attendance were Marvel editors Ralph Macchio, Nicole Boos, John Barber, as well as Jim McCann, Marvel\'s Assistant Manager of Sales Communication. Co-writer Robin Furth is acknowledged as the world\'s foremost expert on all that is “Dark Tower,” having authored “Stephen King\'s The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance,” a massive encyclopedia of Stephen King\'s opus, created originally for King\'s personal use. Readers both new as well as familiar with King\'s work may be surprised to learn that he had been developing ‘The Dark Tower” saga for thirty years, having written his first story featuring lead character Roland Deschain while still an undergraduate at the University of Maine. Besides the seven full-length novels in the “Dark Tower” series, the content has spilled out over the years into other works by the author. As such, there\'s quite a lot of material to be catalogued, necessitating Robin Furth\'s involvement as archivist and creator of the “Complete Concordance.”
“I\'ve lived in Mid-World so long now, I feel as though I actually do live there sometimes,” Furth joked.
Furth and Marvel are very conscious of the task of introducing new readers to the (Mid-)world of “Dark Tower,” a direction initiated by Stephen King himself. According to Furth, King envisioned the first comics series as a kind of prequel, focusing largely on the teenage Roland Deschain and his journey to become the mythical Gunslinger. As such, Marvel\'s first mini-series is an adaptation of King\'s “Wizard and Glass” novel, which detailed Roland\'s early life with his companions Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns. The story also features Roland\'s father Steven Deschain, the Gunslinger king, as well as the villainous Marten Broadcloak, a powerful wizard who\'s appeared many times across much of King\'s work.
“Wizard And Glass” itself is a novel around 700 pages in length, making the plotting of the comic a challenge for Furth. “I tried to focus it so that the essence of the book came through,” she explained. “With transforming a book like this, you know that you\'re going to have a lot of **** ‘Dark Tower\' fans, but you\'re also going to have a lot of new readers who won\'t have the background, so we were all really thinking about that.”
Huge reverence was paid to the story of “Dark Tower” during the comics adaptation. The main plot of the novels remains intact, with just some characters and subplots being left out. One notable omission is Aunt Cordelia, the aunt of Susan Delgado, who is Roland\'s love interest. Also trimmed down in the comics version of “Dark Tower” are the number of Horsemen\'s Association members and other assorted baddies. The comics series will along the way weave in much of the mythology of Mid-world with which Furth has become so intimately familiar, creating for all intents and purposes a chronological retelling of the “Dark Tower” saga in comics forum.
Furth found the comics creative process exhilarating, especially the collaborative aspects. “With the first issue, we were all trying to find our feet in how to work together. What\'s happening now is if Jae thinks something should be changed slightly to make it work better visually, he can write to me, or Ralph, or John and makes comments about it, and we can have a dialogue about it. And so can Peter, which is really great. It becomes this big, collaborative thing. I think that makes it stronger."
The writer added, “Learning how to focus [the story] on the action, so when things went to Jae, he had a story he could actually draw. That was pretty exciting to learn and actually made me a better writer."
Visually, “Dark Tower” is also milestone, as it is the first time Jae Lee has put out an uninked comic, which as Lee fans know is quite remarkable considering the artist\'s traditionally high-contrast, ink-heavy work. In the early stages of development, Marvel asked Jae Lee to draw four pages based on the opening of the first Gunslinger book. The original plan was for Lee\'s colorist Richard Isanov – whom Barber was quick to point out is more accurately described as a painter - to paint the penciled pages, after which Lee would ink them, giving King two different styles of art to consider.
“We got those first pages and they were just extraordinary,” editor John Barber gushed. “It was like nothing we\'d seen before. We knew there was no reason to have a version 2.”
Furth added her own stamp of approval to Lee\'s striking artwork, and detailed a visit to England during which she and King inspected some of the finished pages. King reportedly remarked, “It\'s like seeing the stories that you\'ve had in your mind all these years step onto a page.”
“[Stephen King\'s] really, really pleased with it,” said Furth. “You can\'t get higher praise than that!”
Indeed, everyone involved in the production of this series indicated their profound satisfaction with the finished results, despite an uncharacteristically lengthy production process. "It\'s pretty much been a full time job,” John Barber confessed. “Unfortunately, there are thirty-four other books we\'re working on. But it\'s been a lot of fun. It\'s been great work with everybody. It was really exciting to see the book go out the door and go to the printer and see the first runs of it back from the printer. It looks beautiful.”
While the project was announced last year and pushed back due to what McCann assures us was out of Marvel\'s control, the creative team never stopped work on the comic. At present, Jae Lee is drawing issue #7, the last of this mini-series, while Robin Furth has completed her plots for the entire second mini-series and just handed in the third. Succeeding story arcs will see where Roland and his friends go, what adventures they have, and will lead to what longtime “Dark Tower” surely wish to see , the last stand of the Gunslingers on Jericho Hill. The first issue of “Dark Tower” features a backup prose story called “The Sacred Geography of Mid-World.” As the keeper of all knowledge and folklore of Mid-World, Furth was uniquely suited to write this primer for new readers as well as old fans that may have become slightly lost over the series\' lengthy and dense run. Along similar lines, Marvel has plans to release in April a guidebook to the Dark Tower series.
To celebrate the release of “Dark Tower” #1, Marvel is working with one-hundred and fifty US retailers to bring to comics fans the first ever midnight opening for comic book sales, a practice usually seen with eagerly anticipated event films. More information on the midnight openings can be found on Marvel\'s Dark Tower site (http://www.marvel.com/darktower/).
That\'s Entertainment 244 Park Ave Worcester, MA 01609 508-755-4207 webmaster@thatse.com http://www.thatse.com
Quote
NEW YORK
Earthworld Comics 537 Central Ave. Albany, NY 12206 518-459-2400 info@earthworldcomics.com http://www.earthworldcomics.com
Flying Turtle Enterprises 5431 South Bay Road North North Syracuse, NY 13212 315-382-3115 mpm@flyingturtletoys.com
Golden Memories 1242 Middle Country Rd Selden, NY 11784 631-696-6991 gomemsel@optonline.net
Grasshoppers Comics 76 Hillside Ave Williston Park, NY 11596 516-741-5724 ghopcom@aol.com http://www.grasshopperscomics.com
Jim Hanley\'s Universe 4 W 33rd St New York, NY 10001 212-268-7088 info@jhuniverse.com http://www.jhuniverse.com
Midtown Comics 200 W 40th St # 2 New York, NY 10018 212-302-8192 info@midtowncomics.com http://www.midtowncomics.com
list of store nationally here (http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.607)
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: FrankZappa on September 18, 2006, 11:11:38 am
That\'s exactly how I felt. You know he put that in there because every single person was going to read it and then read on. He was doing it just to tease you. thanks for the date.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on September 18, 2006, 10:47:45 am
yeah but that\'s like God telling Adam and Eve not to eat the apple, ofcourse your gonna do it. I did, If there were another 1000pgs I would have kept reading.
Quote from: FrankZappa
Is there a release date yet? That?s all I really care about.
Quote from: Me!
pushed back to feburary 2007: source (http://www.marvel.com/news/all.51)
Quote from: marvel.com
The 1st issue of the yet-to-be-named first arc of the Dark Tower comic series will be shipping in February 2007. The last issue of this six-issue series will be shipping in July 2007. The first hardcover collection will be shipping in October 2007.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: FrankZappa on September 18, 2006, 10:38:11 am
Is there a release date yet? That’s all I really care about.
I to would like to see more on the passing of the world than on Roland. I thought one of the coolest things was in drawing of the 3 when Eddie looked up at the stars on the beach and had a soliloquy about how the constellations looked familiar, but not quite right. I loved the series and will get these. Like all of kings’ work, it was long winded in parts but worth it in the end, even if the whole thing was a big tease.
Hey, he did warn me not to read the epilogue, so I guess it\'s my own fault. :P
OY!
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on September 18, 2006, 09:56:37 am
I hear what your saying but I\'d also say don\'t count it out yet, I have faith in King.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: obsession600 on September 18, 2006, 09:15:14 am
I was hoping the comics would deal with the earlier history of the world instead of focusing on Roland. There is so much potential why waste it further fleshing out a character we have already followed for 7 books.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on September 16, 2006, 03:57:45 pm
It\'s a whole nother story. I beleive it\'s Roland\'s beginings (kinda like Wizard and Glass if you\'ve read the series)
Quote from: marvel.com
The comic series will mark the first time Stephen King has produced original content for an ongoing comic book project. The series will expand the saga of King’s epic hero, Roland Deschain, whose quest to save the Dark Tower is captured in seven best-selling novels published over the course of twenty-five years. King’s unparalleled storytelling power will inform new stories that delve into the life and times of the young Roland, revealing the trials and conflicts that lead to the burden of destiny he must assume as a man, the last Gunslinger from a world that has moved on. The comics will work in conjunction with the novels, further supplementing and defining the saga’s mythology under the direction of the acclaimed author himself.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Spacey on September 16, 2006, 03:52:49 pm
is the comic going to follow the Dark Tower story or just a loose resemblance of it?
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: SlimPickens on September 16, 2006, 03:45:32 pm
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on September 16, 2006, 03:43:08 pm
^^^:lol:
anyway back to the topic at hand, here\'s a little cover art. (https://thebreakfast.info/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg177.imageshack.us%2Fimg177%2F4895%2Fmavel1yr8.jpg&hash=bd189fa06f2110d7b034f52a211af0cd4fa44433)
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Todd on September 16, 2006, 03:40:50 pm
Chris Pitch is another stoned ager!!!! He does pot and uses dixie cups and string to communicate!!!
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Spacey on September 16, 2006, 03:39:42 pm
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: SlimPickens on September 16, 2006, 03:37:08 pm
Quote from: Spacey
Quote from: SlimPickens
Quote from: Spacey
Quote from: Me!
^^absolutely, Cell is his most recent book, cam e out right after we found out about the comic, that\'s interesting. That\'s one thign I love about King, the connectivity of all his work
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Spacey on September 16, 2006, 03:32:56 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens
Quote from: Spacey
Quote from: Me!
^^absolutely, Cell is his most recent book, cam e out right after we found out about the comic, that\'s interesting. That\'s one thign I love about King, the connectivity of all his work
good book.
makes me glad I don\'t own a cell phone.
you\'re a retard
are you **** ser, broseph?
who are you talking to with that tone of voice?
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on September 16, 2006, 03:25:20 pm
I\'m not aguing but why do you say that?
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: SlimPickens on September 16, 2006, 03:24:00 pm
Quote from: Spacey
Quote from: Me!
^^absolutely, Cell is his most recent book, cam e out right after we found out about the comic, that\'s interesting. That\'s one thign I love about King, the connectivity of all his work
good book.
makes me glad I don\'t own a cell phone.
you\'re a retard
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Spacey on September 16, 2006, 03:15:09 pm
Quote from: Me!
^^absolutely, Cell is his most recent book, cam e out right after we found out about the comic, that\'s interesting. That\'s one thign I love about King, the connectivity of all his work
good book.
makes me glad I don\'t own a cell phone.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on September 16, 2006, 02:42:54 pm
^^absolutely, Cell is his most recent book, cam e out right after we found out about the comic, that\'s interesting. That\'s one thign I love about King, the connectivity of all his work
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Spacey on September 16, 2006, 02:40:53 pm
Quote from: Me!
pushed back to feburary 2007: source (http://www.marvel.com/news/all.51)
Quote from: marvel.com
The 1st issue of the yet-to-be-named first arc of the Dark Tower comic series will be shipping in February 2007. The last issue of this six-issue series will be shipping in July 2007. The first hardcover collection will be shipping in October 2007.
nice. I\'m reading Cell right now, a novel by Stephen King and one of the characters is an illustrator whose got a comic book deal for the Dark Wander, which must be loosely based on the the Dark Tower comic or something, probably wrote Cell while the deal for the Dark Tower was being finalized.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on September 16, 2006, 02:21:52 pm
pushed back to feburary 2007: source (http://www.marvel.com/news/all.51)
Quote from: marvel.com
The 1st issue of the yet-to-be-named first arc of the Dark Tower comic series will be shipping in February 2007. The last issue of this six-issue series will be shipping in July 2007. The first hardcover collection will be shipping in October 2007.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: obsession600 on October 31, 2005, 10:43:48 am
Black House has characters that exist or travel to The Borderlands which are another version of the world like Midworld etc. The Beams are talked about as well as the Tower. I think that one of the characters is going to be directly involved in the Breakers plot thread. The book was published in 2001, by that time King had developed his concept that the Tower series would touch most of his other books in some fashion. I have not read The Talisman but now I probably will. I don\'t like this collaborative effort as much as I like King solo but the story is still good enough to keep my interest.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: FrankZappa on October 31, 2005, 10:12:56 am
black house is the sequel to the tailisman, neither of which I have read, but I know the tailisman has to do with two alternate dimensions in which everything is opposite or at least off of what it is in the first one. Just based on that, I can see how it ties in on a gereral basis, the same way the stand ties in in wizards and glass when they get to kansas and are pissed at eddie for the flu epidemic, but it didn\'t happen in his dimension and he had no idea.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on October 31, 2005, 09:31:16 am
^^I forget how does Black House tie in? What characters themes ect...
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: obsession600 on October 28, 2005, 08:39:29 pm
"The comic series will mark the first time Stephen King has produced original content for an ongoing comic book project. The series will expand the saga of King?s epic hero, Roland Deschain, whose quest to save the Dark Tower is captured in seven best-selling novels published over the course of twenty-five years. King?s unparalleled storytelling power will inform new stories that delve into the life and times of the young Roland, revealing the trials and conflicts that lead to the burden of destiny he must assume as a man, the last Gunslinger from a world that has moved on. The comics will work in conjunction with the novels, further supplementing and defining the saga?s mythology under the direction of the acclaimed author himself."
Sweet. I am reading Black House right now and I love how it ties into the Dark Tower world.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: FrankZappa on October 28, 2005, 04:19:24 pm
I love kings writting style with the one line chapters and jumping from character to character.
OY!
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on October 28, 2005, 02:32:08 pm
Quote from: freddiewaht
Quote from: SlimPickens
Quote from: Me!
Just received a Stephen King newsletter letting me know about this, not till April 2006 but I thought I\'d pass the word along to those who are interested Link to Marvel page: http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51 (http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51)
Oh man, you are such a sci-fi dork. :wink:
:biggrin:
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: SlimPickens on October 28, 2005, 02:22:33 pm
Mmmm, I don\'t think so. I went through a very short S.King phase (probably 4 or 5 books... HA! That encompases an entire career for some writers, yet for King, it\'s like 10% of his total output). There was some very cool stuff about that book, but like I said, the end he\'s jumping from character to character in this crazy manic way trying to culminate that concept, and I found it kinda annoying.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: freddiewaht on October 28, 2005, 02:20:13 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens
Quote from: Me!
Just received a Stephen King newsletter letting me know about this, not till April 2006 but I thought I\'d pass the word along to those who are interested Link to Marvel page: http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51 (http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51)
Oh man, you are such a sci-fi dork. :wink:
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on October 28, 2005, 02:17:27 pm
never read it, not worth it?
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: SlimPickens on October 28, 2005, 02:16:22 pm
I gave up on king after I finished the last lines of Needful Things. That crazy freak must have been mainlining Columbia with those manic 3 line chapters.
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on October 28, 2005, 02:13:29 pm
Quote from: SlimPickens
Quote from: Me!
Just received a Stephen King newsletter letting me know about this, not till April 2006 but I thought I\'d pass the word along to those who are interested Link to Marvel page: http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51 (http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51)
Oh man, you are such a sci-fi dork. :wink:
hey man read the series and then we\'ll talk it\'s really good
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: FrankZappa on October 28, 2005, 02:03:07 pm
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: SlimPickens on October 28, 2005, 01:42:34 pm
Quote from: Me!
Just received a Stephen King newsletter letting me know about this, not till April 2006 but I thought I\'d pass the word along to those who are interested Link to Marvel page: http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51 (http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51)
Oh man, you are such a sci-fi dork. :wink:
Title: The Dark Tower/The Stand comics
Post by: Me! on October 28, 2005, 01:22:39 pm
Just received a Stephen King newsletter letting me know about this, not till April 2006 but I thought I\'d pass the word along to those who are interested Link to Marvel page: http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51 (http://www.marvel.com/publishing/stories/showstory.htm?id=51)