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Dark Tower Comic Series Confirmed
uberbastard writes "For all of you die-hard fans of Stephen King's epic Dark Tower series, it looks like we're in for an extension. Stephen King and Marvel comics will be teaming up along with renowned artist Jae Lee to create an original comic series based on The Dark Tower. From the article: '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.'"
... which the author feels compelled to conclude with a plea not to drive by his house and take out his mailbox with a baseball bat, is probably best left concluded.
Marvel has brought high profile writers from outside the comic genre before, like Scott Orson Card on Ultimate Iron Man
I wonder how DC will respond, if they'll respond at all.
sorry..I meant Orson Scott Card, I can never remember his name right!
I hope that gets included in the storyline. I want to know what happened that led up to that final battle on jericho hill.
I loved the series. My only gripe was King slowly added more "stuff" to the universe that wasn't there in the first one (where the universe was introduced). So, it'll be nice to get the back story and more information on stuff that "appeared" 1/2 through the series. I guess I'll have to shell out the cash for this one.
Anyone else wonder at first, 'Isn't Dork Tower already a comic?'
For the most part I hope that Stephen King is doing this by his own volition, a desire to expand his genre to the more visual aspects.
I have been following Roland around for the last 15 years and enjoyed every book. As a kid I was a huge comic book fan but as most I grew out of it. Now it looks like I will return. Good news indeed. Heil Gunslinger.
The book King wrote, "Dragon's Eye", reveals a great deal about Flagg, for those interested. It's an old book, fairly difficult to find.
Ex nihilo nihil fit.
Bingo! You mention "Stephen King" and "death" in a single sentence without being a troll!!! (Ahh, I guess I'm too old to remember that. Maybe we need to revive that? On second thought, maybe not...)
Needful Things. Also touches upon the Tower series, I think...
"The Eyes of the Dragon" speaks about some more previous incarnations of Flagg, or the Dark One, or the Walkin Dude (The Stand). When will we see something more on him? Let's see - who's the real protagonist here?
I haven't read more than an excerpt from the Tower series, unfortunately. WILL take it up seriously now.
-clueless
Chat with other atheists http://secularchat.org
The end to the series, the final solution as to what lies behind the final door, was the probably the best I've ever read (only second to Asimov's The Last Question .
The grass is always greener on the other side of the light cone.
Nahhh...we need a Stephen King section. THEN I'll truly be able to hang out with real fr...umm...iends. -clueless
Chat with other atheists http://secularchat.org
Um, skip this submission and don't read the coments?
That's Stephen King...wildly excessive detail.
Hear, hear...however, more on track with the topic, the idea of a comic series for "The Dark Tower" books leaves me feeling rather torn. I read all of the books and enjoyed the first five of them...then he started indulging in narcissistic fantasies...I don't know, maybe I just missed something...he implores you at the end of the final book to not read beyond a certain point...so I didn't...by that time, it became apparent to me that the whole point of this series was to push the reader off of a cliff...I have heard what happens at the end, and this seems congruent with my thoughts...what a waste of time...
Of course..if someone who found a deeper meaning from the series would like to correct me, I'd be more than willing to listen.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, go into business for themselves.
Have you read the last revision of the first book? It got a freaking taheen brute-forced into it completely out of the story line! It does [maybe] help holding the series together, still IMHO it just sticks out as a sore thumb :-(
My other Beowulf cluster is... er...
Many Dark Tower fans praise Wizard and Glass as the best of the series. And most fans will agree that there are many unanswered questions at the end of Dark Tower VII, so any exposition, even a comic book, is most welcome. I did not like the way Randall Flagg was handled at all. The "resolution" of his story clashed jarringly with everything that was known about Maerlyn, and about what kind of creature he was ("His name is Legion. He is the King of Nowhere.") There is a lot missing about the nature of the Guardians, Maturin especially. Most of all, the connections with other books aren't satisfactorily resolved.. for instance, It... is It simply a glammer, a vampire, or something more? Is It the Crimson King himself, and is Black Thirteen the object that It arrived in? Are the Deadlights what everyone thinks they are? What is the connection between The Mist and the Dark Tower series? And what are the names of the rest of the Guardians, besides Shardik and Maturin?
I can tell you exactly when the story turn sour for me. the introduction of a character who's initials are S. K. there were a few bright spots after that but very few. And the ending? I wanted my time and money back! I should have listened to him when he warned us to stop reading.. "no ending" was better than the real "ending" heck any ending would have been.
Let it lay Mr. King.. Let it lay.
-Jason
I agree wholeheartedly! I've wondered for years how they might make a movie or series of movies based on these books. I never once thought about a graphic novel series. It is a much better fit than just about any other visual media. I've always suspected King also wanted another crack at editing and expanding the saga of Roland. Now he has the chance.
But I heard here on Slashdot that Stephen King was dead...?
Yup...
Same here.
King at one time said part 5,6 or 7 would be a flashback like part 4 was.
I was very dissapointed how it ended. The series started off so well and I even enjoyed part 5, but the last two were rushed. It was clear he lost interest.
WTF was the crimson king? What happened to Roland's dad? What happened to the witch?
"If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
we shouldn't expect to learn all of the answers.
Of course not, just the major plot lines.
Don't get me wrong, I've read most of stephen king's books and he's still my favorite author.
I'm psyched that he's part of creating these comics and I'm really looking forward to getting back to Roland's world.
"If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
I for one found the end to be very fitting, plus it opens up an interesting possibility: another writer could now pick up the story of the Dark Tower, and write it as he sees fit, tying it into his own bibliography... I know it ain't gonna happen, no way King is gonna sign the rights to TDT away, but maybe someone might pick up the story again once it ends up in the public domain. Doubt I'd still be around to read the result though; last time I checked my due date was way before 2500AD. ;)
No, what I had more trouble with was the rushed feel to the last couple of novels... The first one is a mess, to be sure, but it was a charming little mess and it wasn't too long... Books 2 and 3 were goddamn genius. But then it went downhill; the cliffhanger with Blaine was concluded too easily and felt like a rather cliché way of moving the story on so he could get sidetracked by the whole "Roland's Youth" story.
After that there were too many loose ends, like what the heck was Father Callahan doing in Wolves of the Calla? If King needed an ally there, anyone would do, but why did he have to pick Father Callahan? He makes it look like it has some sort of deeper meaning, as if the Father will become part of the ka-tet, and then the poor sod dies in the stupidest way ever: "Run, Jake! There's no particular reason why we couldn't escape together, but I wanna sacrifice myself. Sorry if it's hard for you to emotionally detach yourself and get running, but I feel like dying for no particular reason today"...
And please, don't get me started on Flagg and the Red King... They were supposed to be the god damn major enemies, men of great power and cunning, yet they died easier than a blindfolded slow mutant in a boobytrapped maze. And what the heck was with the Harry Potter thing anyway? If you gotta reference stuff from our world, at least reference the classics, not that J.K. Rowling kiddy crap.
Don't get me wrong; I still love the series, but book 4 was somewhat of a disappointment: waiting for years for the story to progress, and being treated to a history lesson instead. And everything after that felt somehow rushed and... cheap...
I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees it this way...
Install windows on my workstation? You crazy? Got any idea how much I paid for the damn thing?
Why, he's one of the most King-appropriate comic book artists I can think of.
http://images.google.com/images?q=jae+lee -- Google Images has lots of his stuff.
Don't get me wrong; I still love the series, but book 4 was somewhat of a disappointment: waiting for years for the story to progress, and being treated to a history lesson instead. And everything after that felt somehow rushed and... cheap...
I remeber feeling that way when I stared reading book 4. I was realy digging the post-apocalyptic surreal world, then BAM, we're heading out to the old west. But the story of Roland with his buddies and Susand Delgado was pretty interesting so I really ended up liking the book a lot.
After part 5, I wanted him to got back into flashback mode for the fall of Gilead, but instead we were treated to pages upon pages of new york and politics and susannah.
And I agree, the harry potter thing was way out of place to the point of making me kind of angry when I read it.
"If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
You are told what basically happens. Roland and company fight John Farson's army, everyone dies but Roland, the Horn of Eld is lost, etc. The rest of it is left to the imagination (which King assumes his readers have). I mean you are not exactly told how the hotel in The Shining came to be haunted.
Stephen King was planning to write a lot more, but was unable to due to the fact that he recently realized he was mortal. He had to get his story down, and now that he is finished (isn't he officially retired now?), he can direct other people to expand the world he had created.
Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.
People still make comics?
You are told what basically happens. Roland and company fight John Farson's army, everyone dies but Roland, the Horn of Eld is lost, etc. The rest of it is left to the imagination (which King assumes his readers have). I mean you are not exactly told how the hotel in The Shining came to be haunted.
I might be a little biased against the ending. I picked up part 5 not long after finally finishing Return of the King and its appendices. Tolkien was nothing if not thorough.
I know they are totally different writers, but Stephen King did take quite a bit from tolkien's story.
King did explain that Roland was the sole survivor of the battle of Jericho Hill, but Rhea of the Coos was a major player in the story. And she just disappeared after tricking Roland in Gilead.
We can't assume that she was even at Jericho Hill or hanging out with evil santa in the tower.
Sure she might have just decided to hide out and lay low, but after what she did to Roland, his vengenance should have been directed at her more than Walter, Farson, and the Crimson King combined.
"If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
Stephen King used to be a good writer. Then, sometime around _Dreamcatcher_, he realized that he could market self-serving, incoherent trash. As an aspiring writer myself, I can't help but sympathize with him--I'd certainly publish my grocery list, if a large, renowned publishing house offered to issue ten million copies in hardback! Unfortunately, his decline into authorial arteriosclerosis coincided with the climax of his excellent "Dark Tower" series, and by the time he reached the final book, there wasn't much left to save. You're right--the ending was terrible. I wept.
Yea I basically agree with you. The first three were great, the fourth with all of the stuff about Roland's youth was unnecessary. Wolves was ok, but not in the same class as the first three. The last two I haven't read yet, although I have Song of Susan laying around.
If he only could have kept up the genius of the first three books! Sometimes I think Steven King needs a good editor. Even brilliant artists need some constructive criticism now and then. But unfortunately, they get to a point where no one gives it to them, either because they're to big and famous, or ego, whatever. Look at McCartney without Lennon as a critic. His music ended up with a lot of fluff content, which is King's problem at times. He goes off on tangents like the youth of Roland in book 4 that would have been better off being edited out. When reading an exciting story like the Dark Tower, I don't want to go off on a 400 page tangent of stories about the main character as a little boy, even if the stories are somewhat interesting in themselves. Its like watching the Superbowl and having an hour of video with stories of the youth of the star quarterback between the third and fourth quarter.
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Someone has already mentioned Needful Things. Flagg's character shows up in a lot of books, often as Randall, or the Walkin' Dude. The Stand also involves Flagg. I can't think of any more off the top of my head, but he has a presence.
It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
Really? I think the beauty of the Dark Tower universe is that nothing is absolute.
Piers Anthony wasn't a good writer, either. ISTR that they've both admitted that fact. The important part is that their works are (guilty) pleasures. I'm contractually obligated to add: Squee!
-Rich
The deeper meaning is that you enjoy the ride, not the end. I agree with you on the last 2 parts being the lesser, but looking back, I must say I have indeed enjoyed the ride.
You're right, we shouldn't expect all the answers.
However, with regard to the Dark Tower, there's a pretty clear (and pretty unfortunate) division between books 1-4 and the rest: the pre-accident and post-accident era. King's near-death experience profoundly affected him (heck, the fact that he writes the guy who hit him into the story--a guy who, you'll remember, killed himself not too long after the event in question--is testament to that by itself), and frankly, I think his writing suffered in the aftermath. A few people theorized that part of the problem is that his editors "went easy" on him afterwards, and that he was rushing to complete the series "just in case."
I agree with the grandparent that the series ended on a slow, disappointing note. No, I didn't expect everything to be explained. What I did expect, however, was storytelling that made up for the lack of clear explanations. Books 1-4 had this in spades. 5-7? Exposition, exposition, exposition. The characters are no longer "effortlessly" the characters we got used to; instead, they're almost forced in mannerisms and attitudes. Et cetera.
They weren't bad, but they weren't great, and as one who thinks that Stephen King is a profoundly underrated author (yes, yes, he's popular, but I think he has a grasp of literary technique that he is rarely acknowledged as posessing) I expected more.
From a Buick 8 made sense--it's about how the profoundly unordinary can be absorbed by day-to-day life--but its structure didn't do it any favors, I agree.
I never said it was lost forever.
Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.
Hate to burst your bubble, but finish books 6 and 7 first... Marvel won't have a chance to screw it up; King did that himself.
If life is a waste of time and time is a waste of life, let's all get wasted and have the time of our lives.
I started reading Stephen King books back when Carrie first came out. I really enjoyed most of them, but in recent years his quality has dropped. Most of my friends have been wondering why I continue reading his books because like they say, "His early books were good, but it's pretty much just crap any more." I have every book he published. I really enjoyed the first three books of the Dark Tower series. The ending to book three pissed me off because of the "cliff-hanger" ending. What made it worse is the way he started book four. Can anyone whose read it say that was an honest conclusion to the climax of the third book? I don't think so. The quality of the series continued to go downhill from there. I see a few people commenting on how they thought the ending and what was behind the final door was great. I can't disagree more. I thought that was the most amatuer ending of any of his books and that's saying quite a bit. Sad to say, but I've stopped purchasing SK books and the poor quality ones will be finding themselves in the closet as I find new books to replace them on my bookshelves.
I'm left with The Stand (another one that was great until the end), It (ditto), Salem's Lot, Misery, Christine, The Dead Zone, The Shining, The Night Shift Collection, Firestarter, Pet Semetery and Carrie. I tried to stay a loyal fan and I made it much longer than others I know, but after all those years of the Dark Tower to end like that...I'm done.
But why is the rum gone?
What you have is class envy.
Diddi-chik?
And as a follow up:
Daddi-chum?
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