Marvel + King's "Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born"

[maelstrom218]

For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, The Dark Tower is a series of 7 books by author Stephen King, describing the quest of a Gunslinger named Roland Deschain (think of a knight errant) who is fated to save the world against the dark forces of the Crimson King.

It's a mish-mash of fantasy, science-fiction, horror, and action. . .think of Sergio Leone's Blondie mixed together with a bit of Tolkien and Mad Max, and you'll get the general idea. To be honest, The Dark Tower is probably the biggest and best book series since Tolkien. It's really that good.

What's coming out now is a comic/graphic novel version of the books that expands on events that are only hinted at in the books, focusing on Roland's youth. You can find an early, spoiler-free review here.

I urge everyone to check out the comics, and after that, read the books. King's Dark Tower is really, really great material.

 

[Crimson King]

Before I get a flood of messages, no my name doesn't come from the series as I haven't read it yet.

 

[Dyse]

*flames* lol and all this time I thought you were a fan of the series. Do yourself a favor, sir. READ IT!!!!

The Dark Tower series is my all time favorite story/series/books/etc. I havn't had a chance to pick up the new comic, but I will soon!

 

[Crimson King]

I heard all that was worth reading was Gunslinger, and I am not a Stephen King fan anyway. I'll read it one day, or not. Who knows.

 

[maelstrom218]

Actually, most people agree that books 1-4 (The Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three, The Wastelands, and Wizard and Glass) are pretty incredible. The remaining 3 are pretty much crap. I can personally attest to you that the first 4 books become progressively better and better.

Honestly, I think the first four of the Dark Tower series is probably some of the best fantasy/sci-fi stuff out there. Certainly better than CS Lewis or Pullman. As good as Tolkien. It's great stuff.

 

[Dyse]

I wouldn't say that Tolkien was "good." His writing is terrible. He's lucky he told a **** good story, or else nobody would have ever read his books.

 

[maelstrom218]

I wouldn't say that Tolkien was "good." His writing is terrible. He's lucky he told a **** good story, or else nobody would have ever read his books.

Uh. . .wow. With that one comment, you enranged an entire legion of fanboys. Honestly, Tolkien's writing is amazing. It's very much poetic IMO, though you probably disagree.

Anyways, I got around to reading the Gunslinger Born Issue 1, and it's pretty interesting. For those of you that have already read the book, it's simply a recap of Roland facing off against Cort, but the art makes the experience pretty intense.

And I thought that I would be turned off by the fact that the art wasn't by the guy who did the portraits for the original Gunslinger novel (Josh Whelan?), but the artist for the comic is pretty good.

 

[Dyse]

I'm pretty pumped about the artwork. I've seen some shots from IGN and it looks pretty good. Micheal Whelan would've been great too, but i think this art style works just as well.

 

[Crimson King]

Yea, to say Tolkien isn't as good as King is a travesty and proves you really don't know literature. King rips off nearly all his ideas from H.P. Lovecraft anyway.

 

[Dyse]

You may not know this, but King took a lot of inspiration from the LotR trilogy.

Since when do opinions judge knowledge? My saying that Tolkien is a bad writer is irrelevant to whether or not I know literature.

 

[Crimson King]

Opinions are shaped by knowledge. Tolkien is an excellent writer by every definition of the word. I'll admit I had trouble really enjoying LotR, but I've read his essays and such for school and he is great.

 

[Dyse]

His essays are fantastic, but I fail to see his brilliance in the Lord of the Ring trilogy.