Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born: 1 [Hardcover]

when i pre ordered this book i did so in the hope i would be able to add more to the story of the dark tower. as far as it goes in that regard it pretty much gives you a striking version of wizard and glass, which is arguably the best of the 7 books in the series.

but that isnt the aim of this book. upon taking the plastic seal off my book, i find a leather bound hardback book, with an inviting full colour sleeve just waiting for me to prise open. if you havent already take the sleeve off and look at the book underneath.

then of course there is the quality of the paper. it is full colour glossy paper. this is no cheap graphic novel. this is artwork done to perfection. there is not a single page that isnt its own piece of fantastic art in itself.

Gunslinger born brings rolands world to life. if you, like me, loved the dark series, then you will love this. if you havent read the novels and your thinking of about it, do it.

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

Those words opened the first book of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, and they open the chilling, richly-drawn "Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born." This intense comic series reintroduces readers to a younger, less cynical Roland, and the harrowing tale of how he became a true gunslinger.

It opens with the gunslinger and the man in black, endlessly pursuing and pursued across the desert, and introduces us to their timeless natures.

Then the comic takes us back many years, to when Roland of Gilead was a teenage boy. He and a bunch of other boys are being tutored by Cort, a bondsman who knows all the fighting tricks, and is supposed to teach them to be gunslingers -- or be exiled forever. And when Roland sees his mother in bed with his father's wizard, Marten, he angrily goes off to take Cort's final challenge.

But when his father comes back to Gilead, he reveals that Roland has been manipulated by Marten. To save Roland's life, he is sent to Hambry on an undercover mission for the Affiliation. There he meets Susan Delgado, a beautiful girl who's been bought as the mayor's gilly. As you can guess, they fall deeply in love.

But Roland is still unaware of the dangers that surround him, or a horrific conspiracy to destroy Gilead and the gunslingers -- led by the distant, demonic Crimson King. As Roland's ka-tet splinters, they are framed for the murder of the local mayor -- and the resulting battle will begin the destruction of everything Roland loves...

"Gunslinger Born" is basically adapted from the flashbacks from Stephen King's "Wizard and Glass" novel, so fans of the book will probably already be acquainted with the tragic story of Roland's past. But it's almost as striking in comic form as in book form.

Part of that comes from Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. A lot of adaptations fall flat ("Anita Blake", anyone?), but their detailed artwork gives vibrant life to the story -- sun-dried fields, ruined buildings, ominously darkened chambers, and faces that seem to be riddled with shadows. There are moments of beauty (Roland and Susan's only tryst) and others of pure ugliness like Roland's fight with Cort, or the face of the shadowed, bloody Crimson King.

But artwork alone doesn't make a comic book good. Robin Furth and Peter David recrafted King's unique prose for this -- the dialogue is spare and understated, while the narration has an ironic, regretful quality, as if Roland himself were telling the readers of his story. It's even peppered with the language of this postapocalyptic world ("... set your watch and warrant on it.")

And we get to see Roland back when he was a brash teenager, very different from the grizzled gunslinger at the start. He's strong, brave and honorable, but also very naive. And we get to see other characters from his past -- his careworn father, the malignant Marten, his first ka-tet of teen boys, and his first, tragic love Susan.

And each part of the story has an extra one at the ending, fleshing out the history of the post-apocalyptic Mid-world -- stories of Maerlyn's mirror, the origin of the gunslingers, the devastating event that changed the world, the Crimson King and his ties to Roland, the history of Rhea the witch, and the Charyou Tree ritual. A lot of it has to do with Arthur Eld, the Mid-world version of King Arther.

"The Gunslinger Born" is a haunting, dark comic book experience, nearly as intense as the original text by Stephen King. A brilliant piece of work.

Ok first of all if you are reading the Dark Tower Seires and are thinking of perchasing these graphic novels for your own good WAIT UNITIL YOU FINISH THE BOOKS! There are sum serious spoilers here! I wanted to buy this whilst reading through Kings masterpiece series i was glad now i didnt!. After finishing the books i decided to buy the graphic novels...WOW

Firstly the presentation is great: sturdy hard back graphic novels with a leather bound case which is covered by a slip cover,the glossy paper is of the finest quality and in total makes sure these novels will stand the test of time.

Secondly the artwork in these seires by Lee and Isanove is flawless. It is very clear they have read the books and the project has been overseen by King. Probably the best artwork ive seen in any graphic novel or comic!

These are great stand alone Graphic Novels for people who dont wish to read the dark tower series.

For fans of the books such as myself it is with great pleasure to see Kings work litterlay come to life. The charicters and places look just how they are described as in the books and no stone is left unturned much of the dialoge between charicters is the same which makes the work even more authentic. The graphic novels stand there own aswell as they give you and even clearer insight to Kings world of the dark tower. As i said i am glad i read these after reading the books as they just add more to kings great story for people who have read the books. But as i have said these are a great comic seires for any serious comic/graphic novel fan who wants something different with great artwork and a great story.

If you liked the Books and want more dont think about it just buy them well worth every penny!