The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #2

If, like me, you are a fan of fantasy fiction, then Stephen King's Dark Tower series should need no introduction. But just in case, here it is: The Dark Tower is set in a world - Mid-world - remarkably unlike ours, but with some haunting similarities. The world has 'moved on', which means it is slowly drawing to an end, and the story itself is of a lone gunslinger, named Roland Deschain, on a seemingly impossible journey to the mysterious Dark Tower - the lynchpin that holds all worlds together.

The marvel comics series is set earlier in Roland's life, so it doesn't retread too much old ground for readers of the novels, whilst still not requiring prior knowledge of the characters, so new readers won't feel left out. The first issue told of how Roland defeated his master, Cort, and so earned his guns. In this issue, Roland is given his first mission as a Gunslinger. He is sent with his two closest friends to a small town to the east of Gilead (the capital of Mid-World), the town of Hambry, on what is meant to be a simple, 'safe' task to keep him out of harm's way. But unbeknownst to Roland, the man he is sent to meet is already dead, killed by the nefarious 'Big Coffin Hunters'. As well as these three wrongdoers, we are also introduced in this issue to Susan Delgado, the daughter of the man Roland was to meet, and the Witch of the Coos, a repulsive old hag, who wishes nothing but ill for everyone around her.

The series itself is written, not by Stephen King (who supervised the project), but by Peter David and Robin Furth (who wrote the concordance to the novel series), and they have done an admirable job here. The narration keeps the feel of the novels by using plenty of Mid-World colloquialisms, as well as frequently addressing the reader directly. And the dialogue is used sparingly, but in just the right amounts to keep the story moving at the perfect pace.

The artwork, drawn by Jae Lee and coloured by Richard Isanove is absolutely stunning. It seems almost too beautiful for a comic book, and is only added to by the black borders and precise panel placements. At this point the story is plot-driven, rather than action-driven, and this allows the artists time to portray a world that is moving on, something which they handle fantastically well. It remains to be seen if they will do as well with more action-heavy storylines, but something tellls me they will.

There was a lot of build-up and hype surrounding this series, and expectations were high from both comic book fans as well as fans of the novels. fortunately, Marvel knew this, and put a lot of time and resources into the project - and it shows. If you have any interest in fantasy, Stephen King, or the Dark Tower novels (and even if not), start reading this phenomenal series - you won't regret it.

Rating: 5/5