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Acquisitions (103): Stephen King's The Dark Tower


Peter David & Robin Furth: Stephen King's The Dark Tower (2007-2017)

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Peter David (1956- )

Robin Furth (1965- )


Stephen King's The Dark Tower (2007-2017)
[Mainly Books, Thames - 1/3/2024]:

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: 3 - Treachery. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove. 2008-2009. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2009.

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: 4 - Fall of Gilead. Art by Richard Isanove & Dean White. 2009. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2010.

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: 5 - Battle of Jericho Hill. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove. 2009-2010. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2010.

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 1 - The Journey Begins. Art by Sean Phillips & Richard Isanove. 2010. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2011.

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 2 - The Little Sisters of Eluria. Art by Luke Ross & Richard Isanove. 2010-2011. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2011.

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 3 - The Battle of Tull. Art by Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, & Richard Isanove. 2011. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2012.

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 4 - The Way Station. Art by Laurence Campbell & Richard Isanove. 2011-2012. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2012.

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 5 - The Man in Black. Art by Alex Maleev & Richard Isanove. 2012. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2013.

Peter David & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 6 - Last Shots: Sheemie's Tale/ Evil Ground / So Fell Lord Perth. Art by Dean White & Richard Isanove. 2013. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2013.



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Wikipedia: The Dark Tower (comics) (2007-2023)

Multiple issues


I had to laugh when I saw the above warning plastered at the top of the Wikipedia page devoted to the series of comics collectively entitled Stephen King's The Dark Tower. As if there could ever be too much bibliographical blether on the subject for us die-hard fans!

Some might say that I myself have written far too many blogposts on Stephen King - and adjacent themes - already. Though whether or not they contain "an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience" is surely a matter of opinion. In any case, isn't the whole point to provide accurate, easily accessible data? And isn't that bound, by definition, to appeal only to a "particular audience"?

Let's see, there are already two posts directly concerning Big Steve here in the "Acquisitions" section of my bibliography website, A Gentle Madness:
And then there are a few more on my homepage The Imaginary Museum:
Is that excessive? I mean, that's a scant six over a period of more than a decade. It certainly doesn't seem too much to me.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower, 1 - The Gunslinger Born (2007)


I was certainly aware of the existence of a series of comics retelling sections of the plot of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. In fact, I think I may have read one or two of them over the years. But then I walked into Mainly Books in Thames and saw a whole slew of them sitting over by the wall!


Stephen King's The Dark Tower, 2 - The Long Way Home (2008)


They appeared to be de-accessioned library copies: hardbacks for the most part, and - in my humble opinion at least - very handsome indeed. There were nine of them: so not a complete set (the first two volumes were missing), but pretty close to one.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower, 3 - Treachery (2008-9)


I promptly bought them all, of course - all that were there, anyway.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 4 - The Way Station (2011-12)


The man who sold them to me said an interesting thing: "Those Dark Tower books are the only ones by Stephen King I've ever read." He looked as if he expected to be congratulated on the fact: as if this were proof of some exceptional critical acumen on his part.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 6 - Last Shots (2013)


The reason I mention it is because it's not the first time I've heard that line. My brother-in-law, too, was quite impressed when he learned that I, too, had made the long journey through all seven books of the Dark Tower series. Not only were they the only ones by Stephen King he'd read, but the only books he'd completed in many a long year, as he proudly informed me.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three, 1 - The Prisoner (2014-15)


While I did greatly enjoy it, I'm not sure that I would concur that The Dark Tower is somehow on a different level from the Master's other works. The Stand seems to me more successful as a work of pure epic fantasy, and there are other works such as Desperation or Insomnia which run it a close second.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three, 2 - House of Cards (2015)


In any case, I told the bookseller that my own Stephen King addiction was far too pronounced to be satisfied by even something as voluminous as The Dark Tower. I hadn't previously thought to extend it to such spin-off works as this line of comics, however.



It all began, it would appear, with a young university teaching assistant named Robin Furth, who was asked to help King by compiling a concordance of the names, places, dates and other details already established in the first four books. This was after the life-threatening car crash which left him at death's door. He felt that the supreme effort of writing the last three volumes in the series could not be accomplished without such an extensive bibliographical aid. You can read further details here.


Robin Furth: Stephen King's The Dark Tower Concordance (2003 & 2005)


The original plan was simply to provide an in-house guide, suitable for one reader only: the author, but as the project evolved, the idea of adapting it for the burgeoning Dark Tower fan-base began to emerge. And so it came to pass. Furth's Complete Concordance appeared in two large volumes, in 2003 and 2005, with a preface by King himself, shortly after the publication of the last three Dark Tower novels.



But life with an author as prolific as King is seldom as simple as that. In 2012 he published another Dark Tower novel, The Wind through the Keyhole, which fits into the sequence somewhere between volumes 4 and 5. The indefatigable Robin Furth was therefore inspired to produce a 'revised, updated' version of her 'Complete' Concordance, with full details of the new novel. This time it came as a single huge paperback, which no doubt assisted with sales.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three, 3 - The Lady of Shadows (2015-16)


By then Furth was already engaged in plotting out a series of Marvel comics roughly based on King's roman-fleuve. As you can see from the list at the end of this post, the first issue of Stephen King's The Dark Tower was published on February 7, 2007; the latest (to date), issue #85, on February 8, 2017.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three, 4 - Bitter Medicine (2016)


The separate issues were initially collected in 15 standalone volumes, but they've now been republished as three large omnibuses, each devoted to one of the principal storylines: respectively, Beginnings, The Gunslinger, and The Drawing of the Three.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three, 5 - The Sailor (2016)


Interestingly enough, the third omnibus does not include the final five issues which go to make up volume 15, The Sailor. It's hard to know why, but I would conjecture that it has something to do with the appearance of the Dark Tower film in 2017, just as the last of these comics were appearing. Perhaps the divergency of these various warring plotlines was too glaring to be sustained at that stage.


Nikolaj Arcel, dir.: The Dark Tower (2017)


It must also have become obvious by then that completing the entire Dark Tower storyline in graphic novel form would have required at least another 5 or 6 omnibuses, and the immense complexity of some of the later books in the series might well have sprawled into even more volumes than that.



Marvel comics was clearly not willing to take that risk, especially as the 2017 film was largely panned by critics and audiences alike, and therefore failed to spawn any of its planned sequels and spin-offs.

The comics, then, remain a magnificent fragment: not authorial exactly, though they were (allegedly) plotted by Robin Furth under the direct supervision of King himself, but certainly an intriguing sidelight on the universe of the Dark Tower.


Marvel Spotlight #14: Stephen King's Dark Tower (2007)



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Stephen King: The Dark Tower (1982-2004)

The Dark Tower

Books I own are marked in bold:

    The Dark Tower books:


      Stephen King: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1988)


    1. The Gunslinger. The Dark Tower, 1 (1982)
      • The Gunslinger. The Dark Tower, 1. 1982. Illustrated by Michael Whelan. London: Sphere Books, 1988.
      • The Gunslinger. The Dark Tower, 1. 1982. Rev. ed. New English Library. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2003.


    2. The Drawing of the Three. The Dark Tower, 2 (1987)
      • The Drawing of the Three. The Dark Tower, 2. 1987. Illustrated by Phil Hale. London: Sphere Books, 1989.

      3. Stephen King: The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands (1991)


    3. The Waste Lands. The Dark Tower, 3 (1991)
      • The Waste Lands. The Dark Tower, 3. Illustrated by Ned Dameron. London: Sphere Books, 1991.

      4. Stephen King: The Dark Tower: Wizard and Glass (1997)


    4. Wizard and Glass. The Dark Tower, 4 (1997)
      • Wizard and Glass. The Dark Tower, 4. Illustrated by Dave McKean. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1997.


    5. "The Little Sisters of Eluria." The Dark Tower, 0.5 (1998)
      • Legends. Ed. Robert Silverberg. Voyager. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998.
      • Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2002.


    6. Wolves of the Calla. The Dark Tower, 5 (2003)
      • Wolves of the Calla. The Dark Tower, 5. Illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2003.

      7. Stephen King: The Dark Tower: Song of Susannah (2004)


    7. Song of Susannah. The Dark Tower, 6 (2004)
      • Song of Susannah. The Dark Tower, 6. Illustrated by Darrel Anderson. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2004.

      8. Stephen King: The Dark Tower (2004)


    8. The Dark Tower. The Dark Tower, 7 (2004)
      • The Dark Tower. The Dark Tower, 7. Illustrated by Michael Whelan. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2004.


    9. The Wind through the Keyhole. The Dark Tower, 4.5 (2012)
      • The Wind through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel. Illustrated by Jae Lee. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2012.


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    The Dark Tower comics:


      Stephen King's Dark Tower - Beginnings


    1. The Gunslinger Born. 7 issues (February 7 - August 1, 2007). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., November 7, 2007.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - Beginnings: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    2. The Long Road Home. 5 issues (March 5 - July 2, 2008). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., October 7, 2008.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - Beginnings: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    3. Treachery. 6 issues (September 10, 2008 - February 25, 2009). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., April 21, 2009.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: 3 - Treachery. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove. 2008-2009. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2009.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - Beginnings: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    4. The Sorcerer. 1 issue (April 15, 2009). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Robin Furth. Art by Richard Isanove.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: 4 - Fall of Gilead. Art by Richard Isanove & Dean White. 2009. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2010.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - Beginnings: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    5. Fall of Gilead. 6 issues (May 13 - November 25, 2009). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Richard Isanove & Dean White. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., February 23, 2010.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: 4 - Fall of Gilead. Art by Richard Isanove & Dean White. 2009. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2010.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - Beginnings: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    6. Battle of Jericho Hill. 5 issues (December 3, 2009 - April 21, 2010). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., August 18, 2010.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: 5 - Battle of Jericho Hill. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove. 2009-2010. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2010.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - Beginnings: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


      7. Stephen King's Dark Tower - The Gunslinger

      Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 1: The Journey Begins (2007)


    7. The Journey Begins. 5 issues (May 19 - September 22, 2010). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Sean Phillips & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., January 25, 2011.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 1 - The Journey Begins. Art by Sean Phillips & Richard Isanove. 2010. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2011.

      8. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 2: The Little Sisters of Eluria (2010-11)


    8. The Little Sisters of Eluria. 5 issues (December 8, 2010 - April 13, 2011). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Luke Ross & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., June 22, 2011.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 2 - The Little Sisters of Eluria. Art by Luke Ross & Richard Isanove. 2010-2011. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2011.

      9. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 3: The Battle of Tull (2011)


    9. The Battle of Tull. 5 issues (June 1 - October 5, 2011). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., January 25, 2012.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 3 - The Battle of Tull. Art by Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, & Richard Isanove. 2011. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2012.

      10. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 4: The Way Station (2011-12)


    10. The Way Station. 5 issues (December 14, 2011 - April 25, 2012). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Laurence Campbell & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., June 27, 2012.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 4 - The Way Station. Art by Laurence Campbell & Richard Isanove. 2011-2012. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2012.


    11. The Man in Black. 5 issues (June 20 - October 17, 2012). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Alex Maleev & Richard Isanove. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., January 15, 2013.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 5 - The Man in Black. Art by Alex Maleev & Richard Isanove. 2012. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2013.


    12. Last Shots. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., October 8, 2013.
      1. Sheemie's Tale. 2 issues (January 9 - February 13, 2013). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Robin Furth. Art by Richard Isanove.
      2. Evil Ground. 2 issues (April 3 - June 5, 2013). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Richard Isanove, Dean White.
      3. So Fell Lord Perth. 1 issue (August 7, 2013). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Richard Isanove.
      • David, Peter, & Robin Furth. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 6 - Last Shots: Sheemie's Tale/ Evil Ground / So Fell Lord Perth. Art by Dean White & Richard Isanove. 2013. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., 2013.


      13. Stephen King's Dark Tower - The Drawing of the Three


    13. The Prisoner. 5 issues (September 3 - November 30, 2014). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Piotr Kowalski & Nick Filardi. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., March 10, 2015.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - The Drawing of the Three: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Piotr Kowalski, Nick Filardi, Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    14. House of Cards. 5 issues (March 25 - July 15, 2015). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Piotr Kowalski & Nick Filardi. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., September 22, 2015.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - The Drawing of the Three: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Piotr Kowalski, Nick Filardi, Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    15. Lady of Shadows. 5 issues (September 2, 2015 - January 20, 2016). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., March 29, 2016.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - The Drawing of the Three: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Piotr Kowalski, Nick Filardi, Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    16. Bitter Medicine. 5 issues (April 20 - August 31, 2016). Plot by Robin Furth Peter David. Art by Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., October 18, 2016.
      • Included in: Stephen King's The Dark Tower - The Drawing of the Three: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Piotr Kowalski, Nick Filardi, Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge. New York: Gallery 13, 2023.


    17. The Sailor. 5 issues (October 12, 2016 - February 8, 2017). Plot by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Juanan Ramirez, Cory Hamscher, Jesus Aburtov, Federico Blee. New York: Marvel Publishing, Inc., May 9, 2017.


    Stephen King's Dark Tower - Omnibuses



  1. Stephen King's The Dark Tower - Beginnings: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. 5 vols. 2007-2010. Plotting by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. Gallery 13. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2023.
    1. The Gunslinger Born. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove (2007)
    2. The Long Road Home. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove (2008)
    3. Treachery. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove (2008-2009)
    4. Fall of Gilead. Art by Richard Isanove & Dean White (2009-2010)
    5. Battle of Jericho Hill. Art by Jae Lee & Richard Isanove (2009-2010)
    • Stephen King's The Dark Tower - Beginnings: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. 5 vols. 2007-2010. Plotting by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Jae Lee, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. Gallery 13. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2023.



  2. Stephen King's The Dark Tower - The Gunslinger: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. 6 vols. 2010-2013. Plotting by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Sean Phillips, Luke Ross, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Laurence Campbell, Alex Maleev, Dean White, & Richard Isanove. Gallery 13. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2023.
    1. The Journey Begins. Art by Sean Phillips & Richard Isanove (2010-2011)
    2. The Little Sisters of Eluria. Art by Luke Ross & Richard Isanove (2010-2011)
    3. The Battle of Tull. Art by Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, & Richard Isanove (2011-2012)
    4. The Way Station. Art by Laurence Campbell & Richard Isanove (2011-2012)
    5. The Man in Black. Art by Alex Maleev & Richard Isanove (2012-2013)
    6. Last Shots: Sheemie's Tale/ Evil Ground / So Fell Lord Perth. Art by Dean White & Richard Isanove (2013)



  3. Stephen King's The Dark Tower - The Drawing of the Three: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. 4 vols. 2014-2016. Plotting by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Piotr Kowalski, Nick Filardi, Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge. Gallery 13. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2023.
    1. The Prisoner. Art by Piotr Kowalski & Nick Filardi (2014-2015)
    2. House of Cards. Art by Piotr Kowalski & Nick Filardi (2015)
    3. Lady of Shadows. Art by Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge (2015-2016)
    4. Bitter Medicine. Art by Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge (2016)
    • Stephen King's The Dark Tower - The Drawing of the Three: The Complete Graphic Novel Saga. 4 vols. 2014-2016. Plotting by Robin Furth. Script by Peter David. Art by Piotr Kowalski, Nick Filardi, Jonathan Marks & Lee Loughridge. Gallery 13. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2023.


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    Secondary:


    Robin Furth: Stephen King's The Dark Tower Concordance (2003 & 2005)


  4. Furth, Robin. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance. 2 vols. (2003 & 2005)
    • Furth, Robin. Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance: Revised and Updated. 2003. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2012.



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Nikolaj Arcel, dir.: The Dark Tower (2017)



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