The Gunslinger: Little Sisters of Eluria HC

Now this is more like it! I was really disappointed with the last Gunslinger trade, it had storytelling problems and really didn't flesh out anything new or interesting in the tale Roland the last gunslinger. This story does not share those weaknesses.

The Dark Tower series works best (in the novel Wizard & Glass, I think) when the reader is shown glimpses of the expansive Mid-World, but never given a complete explanation. Why are so many elements of the "real" world mixed in? When does each part of the story take place? We just don't know. Little Sisters is full of those little glimpses of the familiar but it's all stirred up with those weird elements that Stephen King mastered years ago.

This collection has some great shots of the slow mutants, the ever-present threat to humanity that's only a step above a zombie. It's great seeing the kinder, gentler Roland try to reason with these creatures before he starts blowing them away. Eluria itself has all the hallmarks of a classic Mid-World town, with a church to the Man Jesus and a red cross painted on the tent outside town.

I don't like it when it feels like Roland is the last person around, too, and that definitely isn't the case here. The Little Sisters are currently working on a small group of drovers and bodyguards, and some of them actually get some dialogue, so once again it feels like Roland is a part of a bigger world. Sure, that world has moved on, but the remnants of civilization are still there. Heck, that's what makes the slow mutants and the little sisters so scary; if it was just monsters left it would be easier for Roland to give up.

The Little Sisters are pretty cool. They seem ok on the surface, but they've got a nice King grossness to them. The Dark Tower on their chests provides a link to the greater mythology, but of course, it is never explained. It doesn't need to be; these gross ladies just want to consume the liquids of their prisoners. Does it really matter why?

And of course, this story has that classic element of lost love, too. Roland has loved and lost a lot over the years. I think each trade should be required to have a sad connection for the gunslinger.

Luke Ross does a great job on the pencils for this story. In fact, I think his work might be the best fit for this series so far. It still looks and feels like a comic, but Richard Isanove's color palette keeps everything solidly rooted in the Dark Tower universe. The slow mutants look wonderful, the sisters are creepy, and Roland looks like a movie-hero. I do picture the gunslinger hand-cannons a bit bigger, but maybe that's just me.

This is one of the best Dark Tower books so far.

Good

Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill HC

Huh. So that was the battle of Jericho Hill I heard so much about. Peter David and Robin Furth do a decent job fleshing out the last days of the gunslingers as a group, but it felt sort of familiar. Just like in the Fall of Gilead, traitors make this happen. I was pleased that at least this traitor gets a bit more panel time and development, but really, I'm not sure Farson and his crew would have won if Roland or his Dad had been a better judge of character.

The most interesting aspects of this book are the additions to the mythos. I like seeing Roland leading a fairly large group of Gilead's survivors against the Goodman Farson. It actually feels for awhile like the line of Eld has a chance. I know nine years are supposed to pass with these guys fighting the good fight, but the plot skips over it so quickly that it feels like we're right back in to a tragedy, skipping over the more interesting material. I would have loved to see more of the gunslingers as a group while they thought they had a chance. Of course, I'm not complaining that the next storyline starts with Roland angry, alone, and out for revenge. That's the Gunslinger we all fell in love with, after all.

Jae Lee is back on pencils, and I can't tell where he ends and Richard Isanove begins. The art is moody and subltle, and it works best when it rockets out of its restive look into brutal action, such as the slow mutant attack. I would have liked Grissom's son to have a bit more distinctive look, I had a hard time picking him out of a crowd.

Fair

Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead HC

It's interesting seeing a story where the good guys lose. In a normal narrative, the faceless, generic guards who do most of the killing in this trade would be caught and stopped early on. But in this, where good falls as a foregone conclusion, they act with impunity and eliminate the best hopes of Gilead with little trouble.

Peter David tells a good yarn, but at times, this feels like he's checking off boxes. There are a lot of people who have to get killed off to make Roland's ka-tet go it alone, so there is a lot of killing, very quickly. When the story has a bit of time to breathe, like when the slow mutants kill Cuthbert's father, I really like this stuff. The idea of tides of villains wearing away at the noble gunslingers is quite moving. I start to care less when the aforementioned guards just wander around killing 3 or 4 heroes with little to no effort. Hell, the same crew kills most of the population of Gilead. I might have cared more if the guards had received a big death, but they're gunned down on the street by Roland's crew with little effort. I will say that I'm looking forward to Roland getting his hands on Marten and Goodman Farson.

Richard Isanove picks up for Jae Lee without missing a beat. Everyone looks spot-on. I loved the transformation Aileen has as she joins up with the ka-tet. It explains some of those pesky King inconsistencies from the novels too.

Fair

Dark Tower: The Long Road Home TPB

As of this trade, Robin Furth and Peter David are now out of the adaptation business and switch to creating original works. And dang, is it entertaining. I noticed there was sort of a lack of low-level flunkies for Alain and Cuthbert to face as they carry Roland's unconscious form back to Gilead. Their toughest fight is against wolves, so the man vs. nature style of conflict doesn't let them shine as characters. However, Roland's mental confrontation is much more interesting. The Crimson King faces down Roland, trying to get him to join forces. It seems while Roland is a descendant of Arthur Eld and therefore a possible heir to Mid-World, the Crimson King is actually Eld's son, so he wants it all. The problem is, the King wants it all just to destroy it and plunge the multiverse into chaos.

This story wouldn't work without the tremendously helpful back-material in this trade. Robin Furth expounds on the structure of Mid-World. We get all sorts of great details on the Guardians of the Beam, North Central Positronic (and their robots and dogans) and more. We also get the clearest explanation of the Dark Tower and the beams it connects. This is really important stuff, and I'd venture to say that any fan of the Dark Tower series would benefit from reading this.

Jae Lee's moody artwork does well on the horror and dream-scenes, but I think I would have enjoyed a more classic style on the gunslinging parts. The ephemeral quality of the art also makes Gilead a tad less impressive than I'd figured. The portions of the story that lean towards the mind are much more spot-on.

Good

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born TPB

I'm finally getting around to checking out Marvel's take on one of my favorite series. I was a big fan of Stephen King's Dark Tower series for years, and while the series ended with a whimper, it remains a favorite of mine based on the strength of the better chapters. This series re-tells the flashback from Wizard and Glass, one of my favorite books in the series.

The story picks up with the forces of the Affiliation, led by Stephen Deschain, facing down against the Good Man Farson and his evil hordes. (For the uninitiated, think a gun-wielding knights of th round table vs. the powers of evil.) When Roland (the titular gunslinger) has to leave his home, he heads out to the far out town of Meijs where he is to determine if the locals are supporting Farson. The story is one of youth and passion. Roland falls for local girl Susan Delgado, and while he endangers both his comrades and himself, their inherent skill leads them through. It's an upsetting story and Robin Furth and Peter David do a nice job transplanting the story into comic book form. The dialogue is filled with direct quotes, and the portions I don't remember really maintain the unique tone of the books. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next time I see "Hile gunslinger." I understand the next story is actually original, so that should be a better indicator of how well Marvel is using the property.

Jae Lee does a nice job whenever he has to draw anything creepy. The old witch, mutated animals, even the tentacled being in the thinny; they all look great. His humans look a bit too emo for me, everyone is wearing eyeliner. I think Roland looks good, it is easy to see the angst that awaits him. Cuthbert is also pretty much how he imagined him, but Alain is quite a bit softer than I imagined. All in all, the story is clear, I just prefer less mood and more clarity.

Fair