Jae Lee

There's a lot to love about this series. Cuthbert and Alain are some of my all-time favorite series characters and seeing new adventures with them is always a treat. Moreover, though, it's really illuminating to see what Roland looked like in his younger days, to see him capable of forming and enjoying connections with others. It makes it that much more powerful when you see him start to lose his heart and humanity, and there's something sad but comforting about the fact that his friends are show more mourning that along with you, the reader. This was a fantastic addition to the story, and Peter David's writing is absolutely on point. show less

Where [b:The Gunslinger Born|342445|Dark Tower The Gunslinger Born|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173898471s/342445.jpg|2402933] follows Roland's gunslinger apprenticeship pretty faithfully to King's original telling, The Long Road Home traverses a previously uncharted portion of the gunslinger's tale. Namely, it tells of the journey--nay, flight--of Roland and his friends from Hambry back to Gilead.

I like the story for two main reasons (other than simply being a new story). show more Foremost, I like it because ultimately it is more a story about the other members of Roland's ka-tet - Cuthbert and Alain - than Roland himself. This is primarily because Roland is unconscious for most of the trip. But don't worry, Roland does make appearances in the story, because as anyone who has ever read a King story knows, "unconscious" does not mean "inactive."

Secondly, I liked the story because it has one of the few genuinely happy endings in the gunslinger oeuvre. Well, mostly happy, since anyone who has read through the rest of the oeuvre knows what's yet to come; but still, it's purt'near as close to a happy ending to a gunslinger story as you'll ever run across. And sometimes you just damn well need a happy ending. show less

Wizard and Glass in Pencil and Ink

I can’t even tell you how happy I am to have stumbled upon a copy of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born at a recent library book sale. (Mine for just two bucks! Man, how I love library book sales.) I’m a bit of a newbie to comic books – mostly I stick to titles I’ve enjoyed in other mediums, such as Buffy, Dollhouse, and The X-Files – and don’t follow the trade news at all. Thus, I had not the slightest clue that Marvel has been producing a show more number of series based on various Stephen King novels. In addition to The Dark Tower (of which there are currently no fewer than eleven collections), The Stand (six collections), the short story “N.” (one collection), and The Talisman (also one collection to date) have received the Marvel treatment. I’ve already snatched most of these up – five pages into The Gunslinger Born, and I was hooked.

The artwork by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove is simply stunning. Beautiful, but with a dark gothic feel, it perfectly encapsulates the mood of the story. Shades of deep purple, rich gold, and breathtaking orange change and evolve with the plot. As a fan of The Dark Tower series, it’s fascinating to see which characters conform to my preconceptions: Roland (who, let’s face it, is a total babe), Depape, Jonas, Mayor Thorin, Coral Thorin, Aunt Cordelia; and which ones look altogether different from how I imagined them: Alain, Cuthbert, Rhea, Susan, Sheemie, Marten (surprisingly, this seducer of women is as ugly as sin).

The story follows the events recounted by Roland to Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy in The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. It begins with Roland’s childhood – if, that is, Roland can be said to have had a childhood – when he discovers his mother Gabrielle in bed with Marten, advisor to his father. Incensed and quite possibly emasculated on behalf of his frequently absent father, 14-year-old Roland prematurely challenges teacher Cort to the contest which will determine whether he becomes a Gunslinger – or an outcast. Though he triumphs (with no small amount of help from David the hawk!) his father sends him away, in hopes of keeping his son safe from Marten’s machinations. Accompanied by best friends Alain and Cuthbert, they travel to the Barony of Mejis, ostensibly to compile an inventory of supplies on behalf of the Affiliation for the coming war with the “Good Man” John Farson. While there, Roland falls in love with Susan Delgado, who’s already been promised to Mayor Thorin as his “gilly.” And, well, you know the rest. (And on the off chance you don’t, I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you.)

Fans of The Dark Tower series are likely to get more out of The Gunslinger Born than non-fans (or potential fans, as I’d rather call you!), but one needn’t have a preexisting knowledge of the series in order to enjoy the comics. While significant pieces of the story are lost in translation – in fact, the narrator cheekily comments on Cordelia’s absence from the comic book adaptation thusly: “I’ve mentioned Susan’s maiden aunt in passing here and there. Frankly, I don’t like t’dwell on her overmuch.” - the result is nonetheless a cohesive narrative that still retains many of the major plot points.

The ultimate fan – Robin Furth, author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance – is listed as a consultant, which speaks to the care taken in translating Stephen King’s vision from written to visual art. The writers in particular nail Mid-Worlders’ oddly charming manner of speaking; it’s all “do ya kennit” this and “thanksee sai” that, and their overall knowledge of the series is impressive.

On the downside, I couldn’t stop myself snickering at Susan’s hair which, when gathered in a braid, sticks out from her head at all sorts of odd and physically improbable angles. As a result, she often resembles a blonde, lopsided, less kempt version of Pippi Longstocking.

Also something to consider: A number of reviewers have noted that the collection omits quite a bit of material found in the individual comics, including stories penned by Robin Furth that help to flesh out King canon. This is disappointing to hear - hence the 4/5 star rating - though probably not enough to compel me to buy the individual comics. I generally prefer collections, and this one is gorgeous.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2013/10/14/the-dark-tower-the-gunslinger-born-by-steph... show less

This is the third book in the Dark Tower graphic novel series based off of the full length series by Stephen King. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It’s a very dark and complex story set in a sort of post-apocalyptic fantasy world with a spaghetti western feel to it.

This book, as the name implies, is about treachery. Roland and his ka-tet return to Gilead triumphant, but Roland continues to struggle against the pull of Maerlyn’s Grapefruit. We are also introduced to Aileen, the daughter show more of Cort, who despite being a woman is determined to become a Gunslinger. Roland’s father continues to struggle against treachery from Farson’s men and his own informants. Roland’s mother also returns home after some time at a convent, however she isn’t totally ready to give up her allegiance to Marten. Things are basically building towards disaster the whole book.

As you can tell from above the story jumps around quite a bit and is getting quite complex and epic in proportion. It wasn’t hard to follow though. The illustration is very very good and the characters very distinct looking. I love the full color and all of the detail in the illustration, it is just fantastic.

My favorite part of the book was the introduction of Aileen. I know in my review of the first book in this series I complained a bit about the lack of strong female characters, Aileen goes a long way towards solving that problem. She is determined to become a Gunslinger even though it’s a occupation only allowed for males. She is also the daughter of Cort and gives us some incite into Cort’s character. Additionally she is funny and smart which makes her fun to read about.

Roland is in the story a lot more too. I feel like we haven’t really gotten to understand him all that well because he’s been in and out of the story so much. This story focuses more on him and we get to know him a lot better in this book as well.

The book ends in utter disaster, I mean it is well written but you can just tell these characters are just at the start of a vast amount of suffering. This is definitely an adult book; it is brutal and violent and of course there is nudity. It’s a dark and moody story.

Overall I enjoyed this third book in the Dark Tower graphic series. The story is complex but still easy to follow and the illustration is spectacular. I would recommend to fans of dark fantasy graphic novels. I am definitely looking forward to reading the fourth book in the series, The Fall of Gilead. show less