posted
Pov, are you still buying this? The latest mini-series is probably the best one yet! Jae Lee is producing some outrageously delicious artwork.
Don't know if I ever followed up on this, but I read the Dark Tower books #1-7 last year and loved them. I love the entire mythos and became completely immersed in them. And now its such a pleasant surprise to see the comic books filling in the gaps with all new stories and material, that meet King's approval but are being developed by Jae Lee and Peter David, not to mention Robin Furth who is really impressive.
I hope these are doing well sales wise. They've been a surprise hit for me and have helped me get non-comic book readers to check out comics.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I just got and started reading the HC collection for The Long Road Home. Will post more as reading progresses.
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
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I got the third hardcover collecting DT: TREACHERY last week and loved it. I'm currently rereading the first two HC's-- just finished up THE GUNSLINGER BORN and found elements I didn't appreciate on first reading. Looking forward to rereading LONG ROAD HOME tomorrow-- later today. Then I'll give TREACHERY a second reading as well.
-------------------- "Anytime a good book like this is cancelled, I hope another Teen Titan is murdered." --Cobalt
"Anytime an awesome book like S6 is cancelled, I hope EVERY Titan is murdered." --Me
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I think TREACHERY was the best effort yet. What's really cool is the character Aileen is only mentioned in the books ONE TIME (of like 9,000 pages or something), but its obvious she's integral to Roland's history. So its so damn cool to finally see her and her interactions with them all.
Just got and read the Sorcerer One-Shot depicting Flagg / Marten / etc. Also very good. I just love how Jae Lee's art seems to meld so well with the Gunslinger mythos.
This entire project has just been one huge success IMO from a creative and quality perspective.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Was the one-shot drawn by Jae Lee? It was my understanding he was working ahead on the 5th and final mini while Richard Isanove drew the FALL OF GILEAD arc along with his regular coloring duties...
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
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No, the one-shot was done by someone else (rereading my post, I can see how I unintentionally implied that). Its also written entirely by Robin Furth with no help from PAD, and its still really good.
Do we know if after this huge project is complete if Marvel and King have any further plans for Gunslinger comics? The mythos is so huge there are plenty of places for them. To be honest, I have no clue how well the book is doing sales-wise, only that you and I (Pov and Cobie, Legion World's two most important and brillant citizens) are reading them.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Okay, in your learned opinions how accessible are these Gunslinger comics to potential readers who are unfamiliar with Dark Tower such as myself?
When all this began, there was lots of hubbub over it, and it was shown to have great crossover appeal to King's fans. What I've not heard in the comics press is anything resembling a positive buzz among the general comics-reading public. In fact there's been ZERO buzz--the silence has been deafening! The Dark Tower comics have basically been not reviewed at all by Newsarama or CBR, except for maybe the debut issue of the first miniseries. That implies zero interest outside of Dark Tower readers.
So I haven't read any Dark Tower novels. What are the chances I'll appreciate the comic on its own merit without feeling I'm missing out on the bigger picture?
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
For what it's worth, Lardy, I came into this "world" stone cold. My interest was in David and Lee as the creative team. I'm now interested in checking out King's novels, -solely- on the strength of the three HC's.
Do you kennit? (sorry, insiders will get that... )
-------------------- "Anytime a good book like this is cancelled, I hope another Teen Titan is murdered." --Cobalt
"Anytime an awesome book like S6 is cancelled, I hope EVERY Titan is murdered." --Me
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I recently read the Dark Tower series so I have the opposite viewpoint of Pov, but I agree with his sentiment. I think the Dark Tower comic books actually do a really great job standing on their own apart from the novels and are more a gateway to a larger universe should the reader choose.
I'm not sure if Pov is aware of this, but the basic Dark Tower structure has Roland (the main character) much, *much* older than he is in the comics. What the comics are giving is basically his backstory and origin, which for the most part, Stephen King only ever referenced or hinted at. So its like a special treat to fans who know Roland very well already, but its all new story material, and its his early / formative / origin years--so in a sense, its the perfect way to jump in and meet the character. Only one of the books (the fourth, Wizard of Glass, which BTW is my favorite) ever delved into his backstory during this time period.
The comics also do a very good job at introducing the larger world of Roland, and each issue (I hope the TPB has these) has a 2-3 page article at the back going into detail of various parts of the Dark Tower world--which also isn't in the books! So the Dark Tower comics actually have like an appendix that really would have been helpful for the books. In other words, I'd say the comic books are actually a lot more accessible than the novels, which are pretty dense and confusing and the reader has to be committed to delving into the mythos (this isn't a criticism though; I'd say the Lord of the Rings novels are the same way, and its something that encouraged me to love them so much).
So yeah, I'd give the highest recomendation for the comics. They're very different though, with Jae Lee really having a ton of leeway to get as moody with his art as possible--I happen to love it, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea. There's a very Vertigo-esque feel here too, which I know you like Lardy.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: The comics also do a very good job at introducing the larger world of Roland, and each issue (I hope the TPB has these) has a 2-3 page article at the back going into detail of various parts of the Dark Tower world--which also isn't in the books!
Are these articles included in the collected versions, Pov?
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
No. The bonus materials in the HC collections consist of maps, all of the covers, preliminary and finished pencil comparisons, and notes from Stephen King(V.1), Robin Furth and Peter David(vol.2)
The one actual comic I have is Long Road Home #1, which has a back-up prose story by Robin with art by Richard Isanove. Not in the LRH collection.
-------------------- "Anytime a good book like this is cancelled, I hope another Teen Titan is murdered." --Cobalt
"Anytime an awesome book like S6 is cancelled, I hope EVERY Titan is murdered." --Me
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Hmm. Sounds like it may be worth it to buy the individual issues for the extra content. Price-checking, it seems I could get them reasonably. The solicits for each issue have the page count at 48. I guess that would boil down to 36 pages of content per ish? I guess the articles/prose account for the extra content?
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by LardLad: Hmm. Sounds like it may be worth it to buy the individual issues for the extra content.
Well, strike that--I won an eBay auction yesterday for all three hardcovers! The total including shipping was $9 less than what In-Stock Trades charges, so I couldn't resist. I hope it's worth the sacrifice of those extras Des spoke of....
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Considering the price you got them for, it was well, well worth it. They're like $3.99 an issue!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Then I'll give TREACHERY a second reading as well.
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