Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I know this site has been very Ain’t Stephen King Cool recently. I apologize, but I have to add one more log onto that fire as I just got an early look at the second book in Marvel’s DARK TOWER comic series called THE GUNSLINGER BORN.
I reviewed the first issue and thought that’d be that, I mean… why cover each specific issue as its own story? That was a little overkill. But when I read the 2nd issue, my jaw was on the floor. I thought the first one was cool, but the second issue blows that one out of the water. I think that has a lot to do with the art in King’s books themselves. I never really liked the Dave McKean work in WIZARD & GLASS. It is striking, but a little abstract for my tastes. Unlike the first book, THE GUNSLINGER, which has some amazing pieces of art by Michael Whelan. So, the first issue in Marvel’s series mainly covered events from THE GUNSLINGER where issue #2 throws us into WIZARD AND GLASS. I don’t have a good, solid picture in my mind of this book’s events like I do with GUNSLINGER. Well, I do now. I have Jae Lee’s amazing art and interpretations of the Crimson King and Marten Broadcloak and Rhea of the Coos. This comic is gory as all hell. You get to see an amazing splash page of the Crimson King, very spider-like with multiple spider legs… I know it sounds corny, but it looks amazing… He’s clutching a human torso, spinal chord hanging down and with another arm he’s holding the freshly removed head. All this is in silhouette, just graphic enough to make me go crazy in love with it. The events of this book give us the first look at The Big Coffin Hunters, the main nemesis of our ka-tet of Roland, Cuthbert and Alain, our first look at Rhea of the Coos and our first look at the lovely and tragic Susan Delgado. Lee draws the Big Coffin Hunters with a grimy, sweaty look like they were pulled out of the sleaziest of Italian westerns. Susan is delicate and beautiful. Not quite what I pictured in my brain, but the way Lee constructs his pages I can tell she’s going to be realized perfectly. Check out how he gives us Marten:
What’s interesting is they’re already blazing through Wizard and Glass, this issue ending with Susan and Roland meeting, a promise of a showdown between the Big Coffin Hunters and our Ka-Tet on the last page. I’m blown away by this issue. I can’t believe so much gore is in a mainstream Marvel title. Get your ass to the comic store and pick this fucker up when it comes out. I’m gonna leave you with the badass David Finch variant cover. Enjoy!
-Quint quint@aintitcool.com
