The Gunslinger Born (The Dark Tower Graphic Novels, Book 1)

Customer Rating:
Summary: Still questing for the tower
Comment: "The Gunslinger Born" is the next step in the saga of the Dark Tower. "But that saga is over!" you say? Well, not exactly. Mr. King, in his infinite wisdom, decided that the best ending to a good story is...NO ENDING AT ALL! He'll just keep filling in the blanks of the stories that were glanced over the first go-round until he makes more mon...I mean until the story is fully told. Seriously, though, the Darktower saga is worth hanging around. The GN finds ways to revisit the original story without seeming like it's just repeating it. Peter David pays more attention to the emotional aspect of the story without alluding to the fact that it's already been told. The artwork is beautiful, although a little more attention to backgrounds would be nice. All in all, worth the dough to add to your Gunslinger collection, or to introduce you to the Darktower. Remember, there are more worlds than this!

Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Adaptation of Wizard & Glass
Comment: This is a very good adaptation of the best part of "The Gunslinger" and the entire "Wizard & Glass." I read the single issue first, but unlike some of my fellow reviewers, I did not miss the extra background material that has been cut out. It is not as good as some classic graphic novels (like "The Watchmen"); however, it is still an excellent telling of a classic story. This is fine work by both King and Marvel. I would recommend it to any fan of King, Marvel, or graphic novels in general.

Customer Rating:
Summary: book
Comment: never read a graphic novel before-- thought this was excellent read- art work suited story content

Customer Rating:
Summary: Decent, not amazing
Comment: This does not compare to some of the great graphic novels, however the story remains true to the Dark Tower series. Perhaps they were simplifying the story a little for the first one, but I think they can make the story line a little more complex, more like a Stephen King novel. If you like the Dark Tower series, however, you should probably pick this up.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Retelling of a Heart Touching Tale
Comment: The Dark Tower, those three words have a great deal of power at least for me. My ears perk up, my heart beats slightly faster and a grin spreads across my face. Stephen King's Mid-World and all it encompasses has spread to comics, The Gunslinger Born is a retelling of the flashback Roland finally shares with his new ka-tet in "Wizard and Glass" (book 4) It is a tale of love, brother-hood, villiany, and of course a bit of gunslinging.

I would highly recommend this to fans of Stephen King's masterpiece, however I would advise readers that have not yet journeyed through all 7 Dark Tower epic novels to read those first. The talented creative team behind this comic book did a fantastic job however there is a lot of stuff you miss, some events don't have the gravity in the comic that is present within King's novel. Which is understandable, I feel this would have been a lot better had they fleshed things out more. Seven issues to cover Roland's journey from apprentice gunslinger to true love then to a possible breakdown. If it was 10 issues I strongly believe it would have been quite a bit better.

Although for the picky fan like myself there will always be something missing, something more the team could do to capture the full feel of the original material.

This is a comic so you get to not only read what transpires but also watch it unfold, the artwork is gorgeous and fits well with the story and world of the Dark Tower however (did you know that was coming? picky fan emerges once again) it removes your imagination from the equation. I had a very different image of Alain and Susan than what is seen here. Honestly I had a different image for everyone except maybe Steven Deschain. How many people read the Dark Tower series and envisioned this characters,? Countless. So is this a valid complaint? No I don't think it is.

I have to commend the creative team behind this book, they have captured the feel of King's series both visually and with the writing. Sure there is lines lifted right from W&G, it is an adaptation right? The aspect of this that grabbed me the most was the narrator bits. I won't say anymore because its better if you read it yourself.

Longtime Dark Tower and King vets will eat this up, I sure did. I think the problem I had with it is I read this right after reading W&G, a few months back I dived back into the books. So with W&G fresh in my mind I could pick out things that were off, there's one part in particular with good old Steven Deschain that really felt off. Read the end of W&G (after Roland's tale is done, right after the ka-tet reach the Green Palace) then this and you will know what I am talking about.

The best part of this book is the fact that it is only the first arc(story) in the Dark Tower series of comic books. The Long Road Home is the second, Treachery is the third. The fourth is yet to be announced. I hope this continues for a couple years.