The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home
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| The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home | |
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| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
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| Scheduled release date | March, 2008 |
| Type | Limited series |
| Scheduled run | 5 issues |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Robin Furth (adaptation) Peter David (script) |
| Artist(s) | Jae Lee Richard Isanove |
The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home is a monthly five-issue[1] comic book mini-series, a prequel spin-off of Stephen King's sci-fi western novel series of the same name. The first issue was published on March 5, 2008.[2] It is the second of five such miniseries based on those novels, following the 2007 mini-series The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born.
The story depicts the title character of Roland Deschain as he returns to Gilead from Mejis. Whereas The Gunslinger Born was largely based on the events of Wizard and Glass, The Long Road Home showcases mostly new material not found in any of the prior books.
The series is written and illustrated by the same creative team as The Gunslinger Born, which includes writers Robin Furth and Peter David, and illustrators Jae Lee and Richard Isanove.[1] On March 5, 2008, David and Lee appeared at a midnight signing of the first issue of the series at Midtown Comics Times Square, as they had done the previous year with The Gunslinger Born.[3][4][5]
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[edit] Publication dates
- Issue #1 March 5, 2008
- Issue #2 April 2, 2008
- Issue #3 May 7, 2008
- Issue #4 June 4, 2008
- Issue #5 July 2, 2008
[edit] Plot
In continuation of the events of The Gunslinger Born, Roland Deschain and his ka-tet, Alain Johns and Cuthbert Allgood, are on the run from the Hambry posse, hoping to return to Gilead with Farson's prize, the evil seeing sphere known as Maerlyn's Grapefruit. The young gunslingers argue over Roland's insistence on carrying Susan Delgado's body to give it a proper burial, and during this, Roland shoots the Grapefruit. It transmogrifies into an enormous eyeball with tentacles that attach to Roland, drawing out his consciousness and into the sphere's dream-like realm, called End-World. There he encounters the spirits of the deceased Big Coffin Hunters. Alain and Cuthbert continue fleeing, carrying the unconscious Roland with them, barely escaping their pursuers via a dangerous river.
Meanwhile, a hapless lackwit child named Sheemie, the village idiot of Hambry, and a friend of Roland, comes across a military control center called a "Dogan" (featured in the novel Wolves of the Calla), where his presence reactivates a long-dormant robot. The robot appears to electrocute Sheemie, filling him with energy in order to "experiment" on him.
In End-World, in the dream-like realm of End-World, Marten Broadcloak taunts Roland with the assertion that it is he whose machinations led to Roland's situation, and will lead to his eventual death. Alain and Cuthbert cross a dilapidated bridge with Roland's lifeless body, though at the cost of Cuthbert's horse, whom Bert is forced to euthanize, before destroying the bridge to elude the posse.
Sheemie awakens and, with a mysterious yellow light emanating from his eyes and his entire body, discovers that he has the ability to teleport.
In End-World, Roland encounters a future version of himself as an adult. Broadcloak further taunts the young Roland with the assertion that his adult self killed his friends, and now walks alone on an endless path to the Dark Tower. As Alain and Cuthbert sit near a fire with Roland's inert body, it suddenly begins to speak out and run, his mind still in End-World. Fearing that his mind will be trapped in End-World should his body awaken, Alain decides to restrain Roland, and attempt to reach his mind in End-World using his psychic abilities. Alain himself is drawn into the realm, while Cuthbert fends off a wolf that threatens him and their horses. Within End-World, Alain attempts to free Roland from Marten's clutches, but the wizard repels Alain, expelling him from End-World. When Cuthbert attempts to get the Grapefruit away from Alain, the sphere repels Bert as well, tossing him into the campfire, and causing him to lose his grasp on his gun, as another hungry wolf appears at the campsite. Inexplicably, Roland's body again awakens, and kills the wolf with its bare hands. As this occurs, Alain's mind is again been pulled briefly into the Grapefruit, from which he is again ejected after challenging Marten. As he reappears before Bert and the again-lifeless Roland, the trio are now confronted by a group of wolves.
[edit] Reception
The first issue topped the March comic sales figures, with an estimated 123,807 sold, 20,000 more than the next comic, New Avengers.[6]
[edit] Related releases
In July 2008, Marvel is scheduled to release the Dark Tower: End-World Almanac written by Robin Furth and Anthony Flamini.[7]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b "Comic Addiction Talks to Peter David!"; Interview conducted by Robert Tacopina and Antony Ellis; October 24, 2007
- ^ The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #7; Inside back cover.
- ^ "March Madness"; peterdavid.net; February 29, 2008.
- ^ "Peter interviewed on ComicMix TV for Dark Tower launch"; peterdavid.net; March 5, 2008.
- ^ Video Interview with Peter David and Jae Lee at comicmix.com
- ^ Sales Estimates for March, 2008 Books, Comic Book Resources, April 28, 2008
- ^ Dark Tower: End-World Almanac solicit.
