The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home

[Velorath]

With "The Gunslinger Born" (which covered the events told in flashbacks in Wizard and Glass) wrapped up, Marvel announced the next part (of apparently 5 minis, capping off with the battle of Jericho Hill) of their series of Dark Tower minis, The Long Road Home, which tells a previously untold story picking up where the first mini left off.

I thought the first mini was pretty well done considering how much of the novel had to be cut out in order to fit it into 7 issues of a comic.  The artwork is beautiful, although at times, blurry or sketchy, and Robin Furth's back-ups provided some interesting background information which fans of the novels will enjoy.

Some tidbits from the linked interview between Newsarama and Robin Furth:

NRAMA: King went back and re-worked the first novel, he did so with an eye on making the entire work more cohesive and whole. Will he, or you, be doing any of that with The Long Road Home, that is, tightening the larger storyline, adding in references to things that were seen in the novels, either before or after Wizard and Glass, or foreshadowing specifics of what is to come?

RF: Most definitely. While working on these plots I’ve really tried to keep the bigger picture in mind. Long time readers of the Dark Tower novels will recognize references to the final books of the series every bit as much as they see the stories taken from the early books. That’s been one of the great pleasures of working on these comics. Luckily we always have Steve to back us up, otherwise it would be scary. But this way, it’s like skydiving with a parachute you know works. You throw yourself out into the blue and know that you’ll land safely, but wow—what a trip!

NRAMA: Story-wise, and yes, we’re looking for more teases, there’s still some elements of Wizard and Glass to get through, right? A very tragic return to his mother, for one…

RF: Ah! That’s the hard part isn’t it? Telling enough but not too much . . .

There’s definitely some Wizard and Glass to get to, namely the period of time when Roland’s mind is trapped in the Grapefruit. As Steve King mentioned in one of his emails, a lot happens while Roland is in that Grapefruit—a lot of things he doesn’t consciously remember in the Dark Tower books . . . like perhaps meeting the Crimson King himself? (HA!) Readers will also see how well Cuthbert and Alain cope when their leader Roland is out of commission, and they have to take care of him while out-riding their enemies. There are going to be mutants and collapsing bridges and debilitating poisons . . . We’re also going to get to see some of Mid-World’s other Dogans—places where magic and technology can be merged by the evil followers of the Outer Dark. So, much is to come, and I don’t want to ruin it for you!

[stu]

Stephen King gave a short interview on the radio the other day to add some exposure to The Dark Tower comics. I haven't read these, but I remember the first several novels being pretty cool. The most interesting stuff here seems to be the other projects he has coming up, both in comics and works in other avenues.

The Interview

It was cool to hear him hyping Y: The Last Man (a non-Marvel comic) when he was supposed to be talking about his own property.

[UnSub]

I really liked the first few books.

However, I've heard how the series ends and can't bring myself to endure the books just to be let down by what sound like two hack cliches in a row.

[Velorath]

I picked up the first issue of The Long Road Home last week and I continue to be impressed with the series.  As far as the end of the novels goes, I could point out a number of things I didn't like, and one or two things that were just completely shit ideas, but I thought the very end was pretty fitting, especially considering how hard it is to come up with an end to a series of that scope.

[JWIV]

I really liked the first few books.

However, I've heard how the series ends and can't bring myself to endure the books just to be let down by what sound like two hack cliches in a row.

I knew the ending going into it and honestly - it worked for me.  I've got issues with certain characters and events towards the end of the series, but the very end of it all works well enough.

[Riggswolfe]

I really liked the first few books.

However, I've heard how the series ends and can't bring myself to endure the books just to be let down by what sound like two hack cliches in a row.

I knew the ending going into it and honestly - it worked for me.  I've got issues with certain characters and events towards the end of the series, but the very end of it all works well enough.

Agreed. In spite of how they end seems it's actually very hopeful, which is rare for a King book. I'd love if the comics end with the events leading to that hopeful ending. One of his choices in the last few books was very odd but it worked in spite of my misgivings.

[Lucas]

Regarding the end of the series (talking about the books, of course), it might sound lazy or abused, but I think that, all things considered, it's the "right" and only ending, both for the other characters (very touching) and Roland itself. I started reading the books back in the mid eightes when I wasn't even 10, and I finished the last when I was 25 yrs old.  For a project with this timeframe and scope, I'm convinced that the perspective on the ending changes for those who "really" started at the beginning like me, as opposed to someone who read them back to back in a few months. The only thing that bothered me in the last book was Randall Flagg 
---

Anyways, back to the comic: I read "Gunslinger Born" and I'm waiting for the release of the second series here in Italy. First volume really kicked ass, mostly because it's about the fourth volume of the books, my favorite one (Susan  ).

I have to check the first book, tho...Can't remember Cort being described as bald. Eastwook would make a great Cort. Can't wait to see what the Lost genius minds will do with the opera.

[Velorath]

Just for an update on this, the the first issue of the fourth mini, "Dark Tower: The Fall Of Gilead" just came out this week.  Haven't read it yet, but I really like Gunslinger Born, the Long Road Home was a bit slow paced for my liking, but then things picked up quite a bit in Treachery.  Jae Lee is apparently absent from The Fall of Gilead, with his collaborator Richard Isanove now doing all the interior art while Lee works on the final mini.

[gryeyes]

I have many issues with the Dark Tower as a series, foremost i despise the fact they have retconed the shit out of the first couple of books so the shoddy ending is less messy. Entire sections are now removed from the first book, anything mentioned in the book that is not resolved by the ending is edited out.  I enjoy the comic but don't like how they are trying to create a detailed cosmos LoTR style. Dark Tower was a much better when it was vague, I should not know the precise history of Arthur of Eld. The Crimsom King is Arthurs son? Fucking lame. Less pages on prehistory and just tell the story.

[FatuousTwat]

[Riggswolfe]