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AICN COMICS: Exclusive First Look at the Cover for THE DARK TOWER: THE LONG ROAD HOME!

Published at:  Nov 20, 2007 3:02:19 PM CST

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. When it was first announced that Stephen King was not only allowing Marvel to do a line of DARK TOWER comics, but would also be an active participant my Dark Tower junkie brain exploded with thoughts of new Dark Tower stories.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going through withdrawals after the final book came out, so the idea of new Dark Tower stories had me frothing at the mouth. Then I heard they were just going to redo the events of Wizard and Glass (Book 4) and I got a little sad. However, Jae Lee's work and the great writing by Peter David and Robin Furth made me a fan of the 7 part series.

If you didn't read the Marvel Dark Tower series at it ran, they just put out a really nice trade hardcover. Check it out below:





As nice as that was, I always kept the hope that the Wizard and Glass reimagining would be a runaway success so they would make good on their promise of a brand new series.

Well, looky at what I got for ya'. The folks at Marvel have been really good to me... they hooked me up with a one on one interview with Stephen King (one of my idols) earlier in the year to talk about Dark Tower and they've now given us the first look at the cover for issue #1 of the limited 5-part series of NEW Dark Tower stories titled THE LONG ROAD HOME. Check it out (click on it for a higher res version):





I've seen some of Lee's pencils and the artwork looks out of the world awesome. I really, really can't wait for this series. Thanks to the people at Marvel for this first look!




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    Readers Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 3:21:08 AM CST

    Faust!

    by playahatersball

  • Nov 20, 2007 3:21:44 AM CST

    Why I am lame

    by playahatersball

    Not actually a Dork Tower fan, sorry.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 4:00:11 AM CST

    Ive gotta get this..

    by redfive!

    My brother worships the dark tower books and king in general.I love comics and GNs and cant come to read long novel's,so looks like im in luck to get my king fix.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 5:51:04 AM CST

    I gave up on this series...

    by maxthesilent

    ...very quickly. I've read WIZARD AND GLASS many times. Why would I buy this comic? I'll likely get the trade if someone can convince me it's worth it. Jai Lee's artwork is a candy-coated travesty. Not an ounce of the ugly grittiness the world needs. It's all air-brushed Marvel super-hero horse-shit. Roland was based on Clint Eastwood, not a member of Fall Out Boy!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 7:18:47 AM CST

    playahatersball!

    by fawst

    Oh, FAUST. Yah, good comic. Now if only they made the movie as good.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 7:23:39 AM CST

    Isn't the Buffy comic's story arc "The Long Road Home"?

    by tonagan

    Or something similar? Buffy fans will get confused, because they're stupid.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 7:37:05 AM CST

    tonagan

    by maxthesilent

    Careful. You'll bring the 'Browncoats' down on yourself and that'll be the last anyone ever hears of you.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 7:45:44 AM CST

    Gunslinger Born Trade

    by kizeesh

    Came out about a month or two after the end of the run. It's certainly worth it if you're a big fan. Frankly I'm more interested in the Road Home story as it was only vaguely touched upon in the novels (Until they get home and Rhea does her vengeance bit)
    This second series has the potential to be better than the first because it's creating it's own new story rather than a vastly diluted version of a 300 page novel.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 9:06:37 AM CST

    Saw The Mist last night...

    by abin sur

    ...at an Atlanta screening. You guys who love Dark Tower will flip over the painting that Thomas Jane is working on at the start of the movie. I HAVE TO OWN THAT PAINTING - I hope to God there's a way to buy it, it was gorgeous!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 9:23:48 AM CST

    The artwork looks like Paul Gulacy's work

    by amadeo zeller

  • Nov 20, 2007 9:32:11 AM CST

    Can't wait. Love the Dark Tower, was expecting new stories too

    by stormwatcher

    So this should be great. I just wish they would actually do that HBO series

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 9:48:22 AM CST

    Quint - what's the word on a release date?

    by abin sur

    I'm sure next year...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 11:00:05 AM CST

    i gotta get

    by el borak

    that hardcover awesomeness.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 11:22:35 AM CST

    I never got around to..

    by turketron

    I never got around to the last 3 books... last one I read was Wizard and Glass. I need to get back into it and finish off the original series...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 11:22:47 AM CST

    Ewan McGregor for Roland!

    by darthflagg

    Am I the only one who thinks the young Roland in the comic looks like McGregor? And he has the blue eyes. He wouldn't be a bad choice for the movie version, provided he can do a gruff Clint Eastwood type voice.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 11:30:30 AM CST

    Ewan McGrergor?

    by rev_skarekroe

    No. No no no. Whathisface. The new James Bond. But with black hair and a old-West accent.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 11:36:39 AM CST

    Release Date: March 2008

    by flaggg

    Can't wait for this, and that cover is gorgeous! These guys just keep getting better and better with each comic book that is released.

    And now we'll get some answers to what happened to Roland while within Maerlyn's Grapefruit.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 11:53:06 AM CST

    Dark Tower Fans Must Be DIsappointed

    by kujofbrooklyn

    The comics just weren't good, plain and simple. I remember the first time i read Wizard and Glass, finishing it sitting by my window near the radiator. I was washed out after that, exhausted emotionally, but still really eager to get to the next installment. The comics just bored the hell out of me. The only interesting parts of the comics were the few pages at the ends where they told tales of Rolands world. Ka? Ka-ka.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 12:04:46 PM CST

    story?

    by magnethead

    I'm hoping this wont be another retelling of an existing dark tower book. The art and coloring are really nice in these though.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 12:10:34 PM CST

    The first mini was a big letdown

    by mrekoletmelive

    If you've read "Wizard & Glass" all the comic book was, was that story with a lot of the good bits taken out for the sake of space.

    Hopefully, we'll actually get something NEW in this next mini.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 2:50:39 PM CST

    The fist mini

    by brighteyes

    was my introduction to Dark tower, and because of it I bought the books and have loved them, so I cannot wait for this second series to come out.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 3:04:17 PM CST

    Trades suck - there's just no getting around it

    by gruntybear

    Omnibus reprints of monthly series will be the death of comics, just as freely available, intangible MP3's are now the death of tangible recorded music for the masses. This is not a good thing. It's the death of culture. Thanks ever so much you cheapskate cyber-kiddies.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 4:02:44 PM CST

    Bruce Campbell for big screen Roland!

    by the eskimo

    I always thought Roland should be kind of older...ageless.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 4:27:08 PM CST

    It's a New Story

    by flaggg

    First, the background of Roland had to be told in comic book format to introduce fans to this world and who Roland is. That requires adapting Gunslinger and Wizard & Glass. In short, don't be selfish; you didn't have to buy The Gunslinger Born if you didn't want to.

    Second, this next mini-series is all new material. It is the story of Roland, Bert, and Alain's trip back home to Gilead. During this trip, Roland is stuck within Maerlyn's Grapefruit while other events transpire around Bert and Alain.

    The only thing that might have been seen before in this next mini-series is the events leading up to Roland's mother's downfall and what happens to Rhea of the Coos. But that might be saved for the third mini-series where Gilead becomes an even more dangerous place as the world moves on.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 5:46:33 PM CST

    trades suck?

    by newc0253

    yeah, because i too find it impossible to appreciate great story and artwork unless it is interrupted every 3 fucking pages with ads for (a) warcraft (b) the army (c) other comics and (d) how drinking/smoking/having premarital sex isn't cool.

    i buy comics monthly because i can't wait for the trades for the stories i like. but let's not kid ourselves that somehow makes monthlies the superior format.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 6:18:44 PM CST

    I'll second that emotion

    by duke of hurl

    So I suppose when geeks shell out $100 for an over-priced hardcover edition like the DC Absolute series, they're contributing to your "death of culture" obsession? You're a moron, gruntybear.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 6:22:03 PM CST

    I've read all the novels, are the comics worth reading?

    by the dum guy

  • Nov 20, 2007 6:57:11 PM CST

    Jae Lee owns Life

    by messi

    that cunt can seriously draw. Fuck I still can't get over how incredible his pencils for the first Sentry miniseries were, from his originals, to his Frank Miller DKR style to his jack Kirby style panels. Amazing.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 8:49:10 PM CST

    Abrams/Lindelof have first option on a DT movie

    by performingmonkey

    I know it's hard to see how the Dark Tower books could be adapted into movies but I would still like to see it happen. Perhaps you could make a trilogy out of the entire series. Sure, a lot would be cut, but some of it is fat that could easily be trimmed. They could never do truly faithful versions so they should just try to deliver at least one amazing movie that works alone and doesn't feel like you need to have read the series and know the backstory.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 9:34:43 PM CST

    Automobiles suck - there's just no getting around it

    by rev_skarekroe

    Horseless carriages will be the death of equestrianism, just as the jenny is now the death of spinning wheel. This is not a good thing. It's the death of culture. Thanks ever so much you speed-obsessed mechano-kiddies.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 10:49:07 PM CST

    I started to read the Dark Tower novels recently...

    by bobo_vision

    ...and I've been stuck on the fourth novel for several months with little progress because I've lost total interest. The series kind of veered off into a direction I wasn't compelled to follow. I'll finish them for completion, but it feels like homework now.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 10:50:45 PM CST

    Awesome

    by ye olde shiza

    I just read the hardcover version, and I was pretty impressed. The narration is a little strange at first, like some old witch-doctor is telling us a story in third-person, but the effect died down pretty quick. The art in the back is pretty great, which gives us some Jae Lee pencil work, and a step-by-step into how Isanove inked one particular frame.

    For the readers of the Dark Tower series, I would say the hardcover is worth a buy if simply for revisiting one of the best stories in the series, though I would love to see some comics with Eddie Dean and Jake (just me, I guess). Besides that, it's rewritten and retold through the weird narrator (as mentioned), and it's kinda neat to see the choices that the artists made for Cort, Cuthbert, and Alain.

    On that note, who else out there thinks that Jae Lee's take on the Crimson King is far better than Stephen King's descriptions? The scene with him and all of the orbs effectively washed the bad taste that (SPOILERS, BOOK READERS) seeing ...

    the Crimson King hurling grenades off the side of a tower in book 7 put in my mouth. He seemed like a ridiculous enemy after that bit. The comic makes him and Walter seem kinda scary, though, which is nice.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 10:56:16 PM CST

    Re: Bobo_Vision

    by ye olde shiza

    The story takes a drastic shift in Book 4, but I would definitely trudge on. Many people think Book 4 is their favorite, and it really sets a lot of the following books up. I hear where you're coming from, though ... it took me years to return to the Dark Tower after getting halfway through Book 4, myself.

    With that said, I think you'll eventually appreciate it a great deal. It does seem like homework, but I think the story (since it's such a thematic departure) just takes a coupla hundred pages to really sink in. It really fleshes out Roland for us.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 20, 2007 11:37:06 PM CST

    I'm thinking the lack of posts here...

    by kujofbrooklyn

    says something about the interest that Tower fans have for this thing. I have no pump at all about this, except for maybe to see how they'll the Sisters infirmary. I never really had a good clear image of that in my mind as I did with so many other things in the book. And they should never ever make this into a movie. (Eddie Dean : Jared Leto)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 21, 2007 12:08:48 AM CST

    Sorry...

    by tristeele

    That last book just killed me. I don't know if Ill ever be ready to revisit this universe. With everything that happened in the final (I'll stay spoiler free for the newbs above) I just hated, HATED the ending. If these were new stories AFTER the final book, I might be inclined to join on but its not and probably never will be. To the poster above who said they would like to see Eddie and Jake again. I'm with you brother. Eddie was and still is my favorite character. The Drawing of the Three is my absolute favorite book. I just wish I hadn't read that last book. I LOVED Stephen King before. Everything he wrote I was all about. Now I just get a bitter taste in my mouth. Sorry I know Im a whiny fanboy. But 20 years of my life went into reading those books and well, just not the ending I was hoping for. I hope the Harry Potter fans how lucky they are with the ending they got. True closure. Sorry for rambling.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 21, 2007 12:11:33 AM CST

    1 final thing.

    by tristeele

    As others have said- Wizards and Glass does drag for awhile. But the ending is worth it. Its beautiful. It really does explain Roland better. After you've read it once- you can revisit it and the story is actually a breeze to get through. For some reason that first read through is tough.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 21, 2007 2:20:03 AM CST

    To Be Fair, Tristeele...

    by thebladehelm

    Sai King did warn us that the ending wouldn't be satisfying. After so long, it couldn't have been. And although I agree that Harry Potter's ending was more instantly satisfying, the ending to Dark Tower was a much braver choice, and ultimately will resonate with me much longer.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 21, 2007 4:19:47 AM CST

    'comics books ... hardly qualify as culture'?

    by newc0253

    boy, are you ever on the wrong frakking site.

    i thought the guy raging against trades was a buffoon, but you, sir, take a prize.



    on a wholly unrelated note, but actually on-topic, i only ever read the first three books of the Dark Tower. i get the love for them, but - let's be honest - they 're also full of a lot of padding. also, having had the ending of book 7 spoiled for me in another talkback hardly makes me want to slog my way through another 4 books, especially given King's tendency to pad.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 21, 2007 5:15:01 AM CST

    I am Batman what the fuck are you talking about?

    by messi

    comic books are the modern myth, they juxtapose myths that people believe(Christianity, Islam, Judaism) against Myths that we wish we could believe. And lately? Have you not read SINESTRO CORPS WAR you dumb fuck. That is not only the best Superhero story in decades, or the best comic book story in decades but it is close to goign down as one of the best stories in fiction.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Nov 21, 2007 7:15:15 AM CST

    As both a comic fan and a DT Junkie....

    by bangoskank

    for more than twenty years, I went into the Gunslinger Born knowing that it couldn't meet all of my expectations. Know what I'm saying? To condense a book of that size, not to mention illustrate scenes and characters I'd been imagining on my own for so long?
    In the end, I enjoyed it. I thought it was a decent start and an okay adaptation. I really enjoyed the backup stories by Robin Firth (sp?) and am REALLY looking forward to more original stories in the second series... Hopefully they're able to fill in some blanks, that particular time period in Roland's life should be rich with opportunity.....

    Reply to Talkback

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