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The Dark Tower (comics)

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The Dark Tower
Cover of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1 (Feb., 2007)
Created byStephen King
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics, Gallery 13
Title(s)
The Dark Tower: Beginnings
The Gunslinger Born
The Long Road Home
Treachery
The Sorcerer
Fall of Gilead
Battle of Jericho Hill

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
The Journey Begins
The Little Sisters of Eluria
The Battle of Tull
The Way Station
The Man in Black
Sheemie's Tale
Evil Ground
So Fell Lord Perth

The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three
The Prisoner
House of Cards
Lady of Shadows
Bitter Medicine
The Sailor

Companion releases
The Gunslinger Born Sketchbook
Marvel Spotlight: The Dark Tower
Gunslinger's Guidebook
End-World Almanac
Guide to Gilead
The Drawing of the Three / Revenge Sampler
FormatsOriginal material for the series has been published as a set of limited series, graphic novels, and one-shot comics.
GenreFantasy, science fiction, horror, western
Main character(s)Roland Deschain
Alain Johns
Cuthbert Allgood
Jake Chambers
Eddie Dean
Susannah Dean
Creative team
Writer(s)Robin Furth (adaptation)
Peter David (script)
Artist(s)Jae Lee
Richard Isanove
Dean White
Sean Phillips
Luke Ross
Michael Lark
Stefano Gaudiano
Laurence Campbell
Alex Maleev
Piotr Kowalski
Nick Filardi
Julian Totino Tedesco
Jonathan Marks
Lee Loughridge
Nimit Malavia
Juanan Ramirez
Cory Hamscher
Jesus Aburtov
Federico Blee
Jay Anacleto
Romulo Fajardo Jr.

The Dark Tower, first published in 2007, is a series of comic books (originally published by Marvel Comics and later republished by Gallery 13) based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. Overall, it is plotted by Robin Furth and scripted by Peter David. Stephen King serves as Creative and Executive Director of the project.

Overview

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The Dark Tower: Beginnings

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The first chapter run of the series, originally entitled simply The Dark Tower, launched February 7, 2007, and consisted of 30 issues that made up five volumes illustrated primarily by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. The first volume, The Gunslinger Born, was based mostly on flashbacks from The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger and The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass; the remaining volumes (The Long Road Home, Treachery, Fall of Gilead, and Battle of Jericho Hill) contained mostly new/original content which expanded upon details and events more briefly referenced throughout the novels. In addition to the five primary story arcs, the chapter run also included the one-shot, The Sorcerer. As stated by Peter David's afterword to The Long Road Home, the chapter run detailed Roland Deschain's "progress from callow youth to gunslinger," starting with his adventures in Mejis from Wizard and Glass and ending with the Battle of Jericho Hill (as detailed in The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla and The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower). This series was re-titled The Dark Tower: Beginnings to clarify its prequel status when Gallery 13 took over as publisher.[1]

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger

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The second chapter run, under the title of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, began May 9, 2010. It consisted of another 30 issues across five additional volumes written by Furth and David. Following Lee's departure from the series, this chapter run featured Isanove teaming with a different artist for each story arc. The first volume, The Journey Begins, took place 12 years after the Battle of Jericho Hill and mostly detailed events which occurred between the time of the battle and the start of the novel The Gunslinger. The second volume, The Little Sisters of Eluria, was based mostly upon the short story of the same name. The remaining volumes were largely adaptations of the novellas within The Gunslinger. The third, The Battle of Tull, was based mostly upon content from "The Gunslinger". The fourth, The Way Station, was based mostly upon "The Way Station" and "The Oracle and the Mountains". The fifth, The Man in Black, was based mostly upon "The Slow Mutants" and "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man". In addition to the five primary story arcs, two limited series (Sheemie's Tale and Evil Ground) and another one-shot (So Fell Lord Perth) were released as part of this chapter run.

The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three

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The Dark Tower comics were planned to be finished after the August 7, 2013, release of So Fell Lord Perth.[2] However, on April 25, 2014, a third chapter run, The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three, was announced.[3] This chapter run, based primarily on the novel The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three, began September 17, 2014. The series continued to be written by Furth and David but featured, for the first time, new, rotating artistic teams that did not feature Isanove. The volumes in this chapter run focused on the newly gathered (or 'drawn') members of Roland's ka-tet, as divided in the novel into sections based on the mysterious doors through which Roland must travel. The first and second volumes (The Prisoner and House of Cards) focused on Eddie Dean, who was introduced in the section of the novel also named "The Prisoner". The third and fourth volumes (Lady of Shadows and Bitter Medicine) focused on Odetta Holmes, who was introduced in the section of the novel named "The Lady of Shadows". The fifth volume (The Sailor) focused on Jake Chambers, who survived his original fate thanks to a change in the timeline (as shown in the section of the novel named "The Pusher") and resultantly struggled to find a way to return to Mid-World (as depicted in the first half of The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands). This chapter run was the last to be published by Marvel Comics.

Collected editions and end of Marvel publication

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On November 7, 2007, Marvel began publishing collections for each story arc, and on September 21, 2011, it began publishing hardcover omnibus editions collecting each chapter run, with bonus materials not contained in the original releases. However, only the first two chapter runs received the omnibus treatment; Marvel's publication of the series ended before an omnibus edition of The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three was released.

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In 2018, Gallery 13 took over publication of the Dark Tower comics,[1] beginning in August by republishing the collected graphic novels from the original chapter run of the series (rebranded as Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings), with the collected graphic novels from The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger chapter run set to be republished beginning spring 2019.[4] Since the announcement of the rights acquisition specifically indicated only the first 11 volumes,[5] there is currently neither any information whether the republication ultimately will include The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three nor any information whether any new content will be produced.

List of original Marvel Comics chapter runs and story arcs

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Arc # Title Issue(s) Release date(s) Plot Script Interior Art Cover(s)*
The Dark Tower: Beginnings
1
The Gunslinger Born 7 February 7 - August 1, 2007 Robin Furth Peter David Jae Lee & Richard Isanove Jae Lee & Richard Isanove
2
The Long Road Home 5 March 5 - July 2, 2008 Robin Furth Peter David Jae Lee & Richard Isanove Jae Lee & Richard Isanove
3
Treachery 6 September 10, 2008 - February 25, 2009 Robin Furth Peter David Jae Lee & Richard Isanove Jae Lee & Richard Isanove
-
The Sorcerer 1 April 15, 2009 Robin Furth Robin Furth Richard Isanove Richard Isanove
4
Fall of Gilead 6 May 13 - November 25, 2009 Robin Furth Peter David Richard Isanove, Dean White Richard Isanove, Jae Lee
5
Battle of Jericho Hill 5 December 3, 2009 - April 21, 2010 Robin Furth Peter David Jae Lee & Richard Isanove Jae Lee & Richard Isanove
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
6
The Journey Begins 5 May 19 - September 22, 2010 Robin Furth Peter David Sean Phillips & Richard Isanove Sean Phillips & Richard Isanove
7
The Little Sisters of Eluria 5 December 8, 2010 - April 13, 2011 Robin Furth Peter David Luke Ross & Richard Isanove Luke Ross & Richard Isanove
8
The Battle of Tull 5 June 1 - October 5, 2011 Robin Furth Peter David Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Richard Isanove Michael Lark & Richard Isanove
9
The Way Station 5 December 14, 2011 - April 25, 2012 Robin Furth Peter David Laurence Campbell & Richard Isanove Laurence Campbell & Richard Isanove
10
The Man in Black 5 June 20 - October 17, 2012 Robin Furth Peter David Alex Maleev & Richard Isanove Alex Maleev
-
Sheemie's Tale 2 January 9 - February 13, 2013 Robin Furth Robin Furth Richard Isanove Richard Isanove
-
Evil Ground 2 April 3 - June 5, 2013 Robin Furth Peter David Richard Isanove, Dean White Richard Isanove
-
So Fell Lord Perth 1 August 7, 2013 Robin Furth Peter David Richard Isanove Richard Isanove
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three
11
The Prisoner 5 September 3 - November 30, 2014 Robin Furth Peter David Piotr Kowalski & Nick Filardi Julian Totino Tedesco
12
House of Cards 5 March 25 - July 15, 2015 Robin Furth Peter David Piotr Kowalski & Nick Filardi Julian Totino Tedesco
13
Lady of Shadows 5 September 2, 2015 - January 20, 2016 Robin Furth Peter David Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge Nimit Malavia
14
Bitter Medicine 5 April 20 - August 31, 2016 Robin Furth Peter David Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge Nimit Malavia
15
The Sailor 5 October 12, 2016 - February 8, 2017 Robin Furth Peter David Juanan Ramirez, Cory Hamscher, Jesus Aburtov, Federico Blee Jay Anacleto & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Notes

List of original Marvel Comics companion releases

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Vol # Title Issue(s) Release date(s)
-
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born Sketchbook 1 December 13, 2006
-
Marvel Spotlight: The Dark Tower 1 January 31, 2007
-
The Dark Tower: Gunslinger's Guidebook 1 August 1, 2007
-
The Dark Tower: End-World Almanac 1 July 2, 2008
-
The Dark Tower: Guide to Gilead 1 April 8, 2009
-
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three / Revenge Sampler 1 July 30, 2014

List of original Marvel Comics collected editions

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Story arc collections

[edit]
Vol # Title Format ISBN Release date Collected material
The Dark Tower: Beginnings
1
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born Hardcover 0785121447 November 7, 2007 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1-7
Paperback 0785121455 May 19, 2010
2
The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home Hardcover 0785127097 October 7, 2008 The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1-5
Paperback 0785127798 October 20, 2010
3
The Dark Tower: Treachery Hardcover 078513574X April 21, 2009 The Dark Tower: Treachery #1-6
Paperback 0785135758 March 16, 2011
4
The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead Hardcover 0785129510 February 23, 2010 The Dark Tower: The Sorcerer #1 and Fall of Gilead #1-6
Paperback 0785129529 November 2, 2011
5
The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill Hardcover 0785129537 August 18, 2010 The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill #1-5
Paperback 0785129545 May 9, 2012
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
6
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins Hardcover 0785147098 January 25, 2011 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins #1-5
Paperback 0785147101 November 14, 2012
7
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Little Sisters of Eluria Hardcover 0785149317 June 22, 2011 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Little Sisters of Eluria #1-5
Paperback 0785149325 January 29, 2013
8
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Battle of Tull Hardcover 0785149333 January 25, 2012 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Battle of Tull #1-5
Paperback 0785149341 May 7, 2013
9
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Way Station Hardcover 078514935X June 27, 2012 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Way Station #1-5
Paperback 0785149368 July 30, 2013
10
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Man in Black Hardcover 0785149376 January 15, 2013 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Man in Black #1-5
Paperback 0785149384 October 29, 2013
11
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Last Shots Paperback* 0785149414 October 8, 2013 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Sheemie's Tale #1-2, Evil Ground #1-2, and So Fell Lord Perth #1
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three
12
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Prisoner Paperback 0785191577 March 10, 2015 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Prisoner #1-5
13
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - House of Cards Paperback 0785192816 September 22, 2015 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - House of Cards #1-5
14
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Lady of Shadows Paperback 0785192824 March 29, 2016 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Lady of Shadows #1-5
15
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Bitter Medicine Paperback 0785192808 October 18, 2016 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Bitter Medicine #1-5
16
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Sailor Paperback 0785192840 May 9, 2017 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Sailor #1-5
Notes
  • Story arc collections 1-10 originally were made available in both hardcover and softcover (paperback) formats. Beginning with collection 11, the only printed edition released was a paperback format (this did not apply to the omnibus editions, which continued to be released solely in hardcover).

Omnibus collections

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Vol # Title Format ISBN Release date Collected material
The Dark Tower: Beginnings
1
The Dark Tower Omnibus Hardcover 0785155414 September 21, 2011 Story arc collections 1-5
The Dark Tower Omnibus Companion Bonus material not included in the original individual collections (1-5)
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
2
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Omnibus Hardcover 0785188703 September 3, 2014 Story arc collections 6-11
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Omnibus Companion Bonus material not included in the original individual collections (6-11)
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Story arc collections

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Vol # Title Format ISBN Release date Collected material
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings
1
The Gunslinger Born (Book 1) Hardcover 1982108207 August 28, 2018 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1-7
2
The Long Road Home (Book 2) Hardcover 1982108231 August 28, 2018 The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1-5
3
Treachery (Book 3) Hardcover 1982108258 September 11, 2018 The Dark Tower: Treachery #1-6
4
The Fall of Gilead (Book 4) Hardcover 1982108274 September 25, 2018 The Dark Tower: The Sorcerer #1 and Fall of Gilead #1-6
5
The Battle of Jericho Hill (Book 5) Hardcover 1982108290 October 9, 2018 The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill #1-5
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
6
The Journey Begins (Book 1) Hardcover 198210984X February 5, 2019 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins #1-5
7
The Little Sisters of Eluria (Book 2) Hardcover 1982109866 March 5, 2019 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Little Sisters of Eluria #1-5
8
The Battle of Tull (Book 3) Hardcover 1982109882 April 2, 2019 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Battle of Tull #1-5
9
The Way Station (Book 4) Hardcover 1982109904 May 7, 2019 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Way Station #1-5
10
The Man in Black (Book 5) Hardcover 1982109920 June 4, 2019 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Man in Black #1-5
11
Last Shots (Book 6) Hardcover 1982109947 July 2, 2019 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Sheemie's Tale #1-2, Evil Ground #1-2, and So Fell Lord Perth #1
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three
12
The Prisoner (Book 1) Hardcover 1982135298 March 24, 2020 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Prisoner #1-5
13
House of Cards (Book 2) Hardcover 198213531X April 21, 2020 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - House of Cards #1-5
14
The Lady of Shadows (Book 3) Hardcover 1982135336 May 19, 2020 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Lady of Shadows #1-5
15
Bitter Medicine (Book 4) Hardcover 1982135352 June 16, 2020 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Bitter Medicine #1-5

Boxed set collections

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Vol # Title Format ISBN Release date Collected material
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings
1
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings - The Complete Graphic Novel Series Hardcover 1982110201 October 23, 2018 Story arc collections 1-5
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
2
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Complete Graphic Novel Series Hardcover 1982123168 October 22, 2019 Story arc collections 6-11
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three
3
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Complete Graphic Novel Series Hardcover 1982135468 October 20, 2020 Story arc collections 12-15

Omnibus collections

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Vol # Title Format ISBN Release date Collected material
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings
1
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings Omnibus Hardcover 1982108312 May 1, 2020 Story arc collections 1-5 + bonus material
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
2
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Omnibus Hardcover 1668021218 October 24, 2023 Story arc collections 6-11 + bonus material

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Brian Cronin (21 June 2018). "Stephen King's Dark Tower Comics Leave Marvel For Another Publisher". cbr.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Marvel Comics: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - So Fell Lord Perth". marvel.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  3. ^ Darren Franich (27 April 2014). "The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three: Marvel creators reveal secrets from the new Stephen King adaptation". ew.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  4. ^ Christian Holub (19 June 2018). "Stephen King's Dark Tower graphic novels to be republished by Gallery 13". ew.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  5. ^ Rich Johnston (19 June 2018). "Exclusive: Gallery 13 Grab Stephen King's The Dark Tower Graphic Novel Rights from Marvel". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
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