It seems from the other reviews that the biggest complaint with this book is that it basically tells the same story as the novel by Stephen King (which I think was sort of the point!). I haven’t read the Dark Tower series, so that wasn’t a problem with me. The story seemed a little cheesy to me at times. Don’t get me wrong, it is suspenseful and I’m hooked enough to want to read the next in the series. I think it’s the overblown language that makes it a little ridiculous at times. The illustrations are absolutely AMAZING. They’re gritty and gruesome at times but always well done. Characters look realistic, even almost three-dimensional. The colors are beautiful, with bright and vibrant hues of pinks, purples, and oranges used in shocking contrast to dark browns and grays. This contrast helps the characters look even more three-dimensional, almost popping from the page. ( )

Great, moody art, befitting of the story. A decent (and faithful) enough adaptation... but it didn't read as well as the actual novel did.

Worth the 10 dollars I paid for the hardcover - but I would have felt cheated at its regular, full, price. ( )

http://mentatjack.wordpress.com/2009/... ( )

Was very excited to hear about this project, but it's basically a rehash of Book 4. Artwork is terrific, though. Thanks to Joe S. for hooking me up with the first few issues. ( )

The art in this was amazing. The creators kept true to King's storyline and even the manner of speech. Very well done. I was very much impressed! ( )

I haven't read the actual series, but the graphic novel pulled me in and left me wanting more of the series. Looks like I'll probably have to read the actual books one day. ( )

Merideth says: This graphic novel acts as a prequel of sorts to the Dark Tower porse novels by Stephen King. I am not familiar with the Dark Tower books, so I came to this graphic novel with no expectations and no preconcieved notions.

All in all, this book didn't work for me. The psuedo-western, sorta-steam-punk, kinda-apocolyptic, maybe-magical setting was never clearly elucidated enough for me to understand architecture of the thing. Also, David assumees, probably correctly, that anyone reading this GN would already be familiar with the protagonists and the main conflict in the book. I wasn't so I spent a good amound ot time confused as to who was who and what was what. A lot of this falls on Lee's art style, which features long, horizontally oriented panels. This makes the pages feel more static than they should. Also Lee's style minimizes facial details, and makes liberal use of heavy black shadowing effects. This, combined with odd perspectives and busy backgrounds makes it difficult to follow the story and characters.

All in all this book was a failure for me, but a reader more familiar with King's novels would probably have a better time with it. Personally, I feel this named to the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list on the strenght of King's name, and not any intrinsic value in the book iteself. ( )

I loved the way Roland is brought to life through the panels. Though a retelling of the events that made Roland a gunslinger, the graphic novel showed it from a new perspective. ( )

A wonderful addition to the Dark Tower cannon. This is a much better history of Roland then the Wizard and the Glass. ( )

I was a little disappointed that the book did not add much story to the Dark Tower saga; rather, it depicted scenes from Wizard and Glass (DT4) and The Gunslinger (DT1), and added a few scenes that the events of those books implied. I suppose that a closer reading on my part of the marketing material would have made that clear, however. In any case, the artists' work was excellent, and the book succeeded in dramatizing several key scenes. I look forward to the graphic novel version of the next series of comic books.

(And yes, SK, you have managed to hook me on whatever DT-branded crapola you manage to slap out there, in order to keep you and your family well-funded for the next 50 years.) ( )

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this review, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

This is a graphic novel I recently found on the "new" shelf of my neighborhood's public library, which I guess collects up the first seven issues of a massive new agreement between horror writer Stephen King and comics company Marvel, I guess to let them redo King's entire seven-volume "The Dark Tower" epic genre-bending story as a series of comic books, but this time retelling the story completely in chronological order. But sheesh, I thought while reading through this first hardbound collection of the series (issues 1 through 7), wasn't it precisely the hopping and skipping of the timeline that made the original series tolerable in the first place? That's what sucked me in with the first book, after all, like it did with many, although let me plainly admit that I finally gave up on the whole thing around volume four; the original book starts as a straight-ahead Western, and lets us become comfortable fans of that before finally revealing some of the Medieval-style King-Arthuresque backstory that led us to where we are.

It's only after we've gotten invested in the story, after starting to root for all these characters and get intrigued by the post-apocalyptic Sergio-Leone environment, that we're able to swallow the more ridiculous details of bringing two such different genres clashing together; and for proof of this, see this comic-book version, which starts off right-bang on page one with the full "we're cowboys but we're knights but we're stoic but we live in castles" mishmash, making it plainly as ridiculous as the premise actually is, when thought about in the cold light of day. This is always the problem with Stephen King, which is why Stephen King is such a frustrating writer to be a fan of; because there are so many good details to his work, but he can never make them finally hold together as a fantastic unified whole, because of his need to just sneak too much freaking unreadable crap in there to serve as the narrative glue. That's what makes the entire "Dark Tower" series better than average for him, after all, and why it generates so many more passionate fans, is because he precisely holds off on a lot of the silly stuff until volume four, volume five or so, putting together a surprisingly tight and mature three-book tale at first; starting here with the backstory in Marvel's case, though, the precise silly stuff from volume four that I'm talking about, makes it a lot harder to actually get into the story and care about these characters. It's something to keep in mind, if you're picking up these comics without reading the original novels first.

Out of 10: 7.0 ( )

Really beautiful artwork. A neat addition for those that have already read the series and couldn't get enough. ( )

Quite impressed.

I haven't read the book series, huge multi-novel fantasy series are not really my thing, but this has been intriguing for a while.

I have, however, read some of the earlier short stories, so basically knew the setting, and the characters of Roland and Cort at least.

This was really good. Lee seems to have adapted his style to fit this dark Western type background, with sorcery, mutant cats, witches and decaying technological remnants - a fairly bizarre mismatch of stuff that seems to work well.

I think I like the writing more in this adaptation than some of the stories, too. The old-fashioned American prose can get a bit wearying at times, but it appears to be smoothed a little here and is more palatable.

Boys sent on a mission of importance that have to grow up fast, leaving an unsettled situation behind them and a war backdrop and seemingly evil enemies to face seems to work pretty well.

Horror, or dark fantasy, or whatever you want to call it, so things will be not nice.

Definitely surprised by how good this was.

http://graphicsf.blogspot.com/2008/05... ( )

Review:

The Dark Tower. The title itself conjures images of foreboding darkness and danger. Stephen King began his lifeblood series as a young man in university, with The Gunslinger. The Dark Tower series is his greatest achievement, and his homage/take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. In her review of book 1, Ana discusses the similarities between Aragorn and Roland, the Gunslinger. This is not an unconscious parallel. Similarly, the Dark Tower itself, the nexus of all universes and axis of the beams, is meant to conjure comparisons to Mordor and Mt. Doom, and Sauron’s Barad-dur (literally, translated from Sindarin, the “Dark Tower”). Later books expand on these similarities, from the sigul of the Crimson King (an image of an eye) and the Eye of Sauron, to wizard glass, waste lands, and the ultimate quest to save the universe from the coming of chaos and darkness.

Tolkien's Dark Tower and Mount Doom

King’s influences also extend to the American Old West—and hence our inclusion of the reviews now during Western Week. King’s gunslinger, Roland Deschain, as Ana mentions in her review shares traits not only with Strider Aragorn, but also with the Man With No Name. King modeled Roland after the recognizable Clint Eastwood character from Sergio Leone’s Dollars series, even so far as some physical appearance aspects, with his faded blue bombardier’s eyes and quiet, aloof mystique. Roland’s encounters throughout the series, beginning in the town of Tull and its Honky Tonk, across the dusty, barren desert, and his role in Wolves of the Calla at the town Calla Byrn Sturges, all pay homage to the Wild West, and are a modern horror-fantasy application of the Western in literary form.

The Gunslinger Born, available as a graphic novel collection of the seven individually released comics, tracks Roland Deschain’s beginnings from his youth in Gilead as a ‘prentice, and his past ultimately leading to the opening of The Gunslinger, chasing the Man in Black across the desert on his quest for the Tower. For those who have read the books, the comics detail Roland’s ascension as a Gunslinger in his battle with Cort in The Gunslinger (book 1), and the incredible, heart-wrenching tale of he, Cuthburt, Alain and love Susan Delgado in Wizard and Glass (book 4). The body comics themselves and the main storyline as it pertains to the Dark Tower do not reveal anything new—it is a retelling of books 1 and 4, but brought to new life in comic format.

The artwork by Jae Lee is stunning. As the original editions of the Dark Tower books were all illustrated, I already had some artistic visualization of Roland on his quest—but the art in The Gunslinger Born is truly wonderful. The new representations of settings, and of characters from Marten/Flagg, Rhea of the Coos, or the Crimson King himself, are breathtaking. Similarly, the adapted text and the selections made by the Marvel crew is wonderful and captures the spirit of Stephen King’s novels without feeling abbreviated or lacking—a very impressive feat!

However, the TRUE draw of the comic books is not just the marvelous story and artwork in the main body, but the inserts (including Q&A with King himself) and stories written by Robin Furth in addition to the main storyline. In each individual comic, there is a back story, previously neither released nor discussed in the original Dark Tower books. These stories include Vannay’s teachings of the importance of the Beams, creation of Maerlyn’s rainbow and the Crimson King, the creation of Roland’s guns, Maerlyn’s Laughing Mirror, Rhea of the Coos’ childhood, Big Coffin Hunter Jonas’ origins, and the dreaded Charyou Tree.

BE WARNED! The graphic novel collection of The Gunslinger Born does NOT contain the wonderful back stories by Robin Furth—which pisses me off to no end. The graphic novel by itself is great, and features the entire collection of the seven issues of this story arc, along with some concept art and cover collections, but why oh why Marvel would you not include one of the biggest draws to the series! I would highly recommend that anyone interested track down and purchase the individual comic issues of the series instead of (or in addition to) purchasing the sadly incomplete graphic novel.

Notable Quotes/Parts: My favorite depiction is the sweet lover’s tryst between Roland and Susan. The art captures the both of them at the right age, and the beautiful innocence of their young love. Also, the hope and sweetness of the scene balances the darkness and hardship that Roland and his tet must face. The back stories by Robin Furth are also brilliant in their entirety—although if I had to pick a favorite, reading more about Maerlyn’s Rainbow and Rhea of the Coos was deliciously scary.

Additional Thoughts: Usually I am a sucker for Omnibus formats. Collections are easier on the wallet, not to mention less of a strain on the bookshelf, and generally are easier to track down than individual issues. However, I really do encourage everyone to look for the original issues of these comics, as almost half of the story (not to mention letters, interviews, Comic Con specials, etc) are completely eliminated from the graphic novel.

Also, in March 2008 the second arc of the Gunslinger comics began with the release of The Long Road Home Vol. 1. The new arc is completely new with regard to the Dark Tower universe, as it details Roland, Cuthburt and Alain’s adventures post-Hambry after the conclusion of Wizard and Glass. I am certainly collecting these as well!

On a further note—if anyone is wondering where to purchase the comics (I didn’t know where to go either), you can either look up specialty comic book stores in your area (you can try this via sites like The Master List) OR if you are lucky like me, your local Borders bookstore will usually carry them!

Verdict: Absolutely brilliant art, and brilliant text, adapted from brilliant source material. But BOO! on the graphic novel for not including all of the goodies from the individual comic book issues. Highly recommend tracking down the originals over the graphic novel purchase.

Rating: 9 Damn Near Perfection (for the original issues)

Full Review at:
http://thebooksmugglers.blogspot.com/... ( )

The Gunslinger Born is the comic (or graphic novel) set in the world of Stephen King's very popular Dark Tower saga. It's first outing here features Roland and his first Ka-Tet of Cuthbert and Alain, and their trip to Mejis. Essentially the book covers the events of "Wizard and Glass", which was a bit of a let-down for me, since I hoped for something new that would enlighten the mystery around the Dark Tower a bit more...

But the story not giving the reader any new revelations is about the only negative thing that I can think of in this book. The writing is nice, and the design of the art is superb with all the evocative close-ups of faces. The colouring of Richard Isanove is amazing (and he even sheds some light on his colouring technique at the end of the book).

It goes without saying that this book belongs to any Dark Tower buff's shelf, and everyone else can get a good story and magnificent art out of it.

And, yet again, Egmont has really started to do some real history in bringing these quality comics into Finnish. Thanks go, I presume, especially to Jouko Ruokosenmäki, the producer and translator. ( )

Based on the best-selling series of Dark Tower novels by Stephen King, this comic explores how Roland, the Gunslinger, became what he is. This works as something of a prequel to the King novels, but no prior knowledge of the series is required to enjoy this. On Earth in an alternate universe, humanity has nearly destroyed itself in a cataclysmic war. Many generations later, a feudal society has evolved into something like the old west, and a boy must prove himself a man in order to earn his guns and the right to stalk the evil that is casting its shadow over the lands once again. This is a well written and fast paced adaptation of King's epic story, and the artwork is just amazing in its scope and vision. King fans looking for an alternate view of his longest story arc, or those curious about graphic novels and looking for a mature and thoughtful story are encouraged to check out this splendid volume. ( )

This is the bound version of the first 7 gunslinger comics put out by marvel. I'm not a comic book fan per say, but I did find the artwork incredible. My guess is that many other comics these days have the same level of artistry, but for a newcomer, I was extremely impressed.

As for the story line, it's a retelling of Roland's youth, essentially Wizard and the Glass in illustrated comic format. If you like that story then, you'll enjoy this. It lacks the detail and a lot of the back story that makes the gunslinger saga so wonderful, but makes up for some of it with the details in the art. Different for me, but very enjoyable. ( )

Before I picked this up, I was under the impression that it was an expansion of the Dark Tower universe, a story that had not previously been told in any of the books. Had I known that it was merely a translation of Wizard and Glass, I may not have bothered with it...

...except, yeah, I probably would have. I'm a Tower junkie, same as Roland and all the rest, and I want all the material I can get my hands on. Given that the book being treated is not just my favorite Dark Tower book, but my favorite book period, I doubt I'd have been able to pass it up anyway.

All that said, I have pretty mixed feelings about The Gunslinger Born. As for the story...meh. In a format that is necessarily so abbreviated, you really lose a lot of the flavor that made Wizard and Glass such an incredible story. In that regard, it really is nothing more than a pale imitation of the book.

The illustration, though, is breathtaking. To see such well-known and well-loved characters and settings come to such vibrant life is nothing short of amazing. I don't know if that's enough to recommend the book on its own, but it was enough to make reading the book worth my time. ( )

I've been a fan of the Dark Tower series since the first book came out in the early 1980s, so I was excited to see Roland transformed into a graphic novel character. The artwork, particularly the color palette is stunning. However I was a little disappointed in the narrative portion of the book. Maybe I'm just such as Stephen King fan that I missed his literary touch. ( )

This book tells the first adventure of Roland Deschain and his friends when they are sent to Hambry to investigate Hambry's support for the Affiliation (i.e. the back story revealed in Stephen King's Wizard And Glass).
It collects all seven issues of this first story arch. However, the background explanations present in the single issues and collected in the Gunslinger's Guidebook are missing, otherwise it would be a perfect collection.
The comic itself is fantastically drawn and is a wonderful transition from the original text.
Fans of the Dark Tower shouldn't miss this book. ( )