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01-09-2007, 06:07 PM
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#1 |
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ENTERING THE DARK TOWER I: PETER DAVID
 Click on the cover to issue #3 at the right for a larger - and we mean larger version.Less than a month to go, and Marvel’s most anticipated new series of 2007 will hit comic shops, bringing with it all the buzz and heft Stephen King’s name can generate. Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1 represents a long journey for Marvel – one that began in October of 2006. Originally scheduled for an April 2006 launch, the seven issue miniseries was pushed back until February of this year to accommodate King’s relatively hectic ’06 schedule, and to allow him to take a fuller role with the production of the story, which would retell and expand upon events from the early days of Roland of Gilead – the Gunslinger. As the miniseries moved forward, Peter David was added to the creative roster (which included the art team of Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, as well as Robin Furth), scripting the words for the characters. In this first of four interviews about Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, we speak with David about the series, and its unique flavor. Newsarama: Let's got back to where it all started for you - when and how did you get asked if you wanted to write the script for this? Did it take any time to decide? Peter David: No time whatsoever. I mean, come on: When Joe Quesada calls you personally and basically says you're at the top of the short list to do the scripting for an adaptation of one of Stephen King's arguably most personal works, you'd have to be crazy to pass something like that up. I agreed to it in the course of the phone call. It was literally a no-brainer. NRAMA: "Write the script for this" - among fans, there still seems to be some confusion as to the story, and what you're doing. So - specifically, what are you doing? What are you working from, and what are you writing? PD: A combination of elements. The basic plot comes from Stephen, and is broken down by Robin Furth, the extremely capable writer - and very nice person, by the way - who wrote the Dark Tower Concordance and is probably the foremost expert on Midworld aside from King...hell, for all I know, she may have outstripped him on that by now. Jae tells the story visually, and then I come in and make the words work as a comic narrative. When sequences are lifted directly from the book, then I try to maintain the original dialogue as much as humanly possible, although sometimes I have to pick and choose to make it fit. When there are original sequences, then naturally I'm on my own. And I have to make the entire thing seamless, so that you're unable to tell where King ends and I begin.  NRAMA: Production-wise, are you, for lack of a better term, the "comic book filter" guy, that is, the ideas flow from King, through Robin, and then to you, and it's your job to transform them into comic form, or is what you're getting pretty much good to go in terms of pacing and structure?PD: Pretty much the latter. The thing is, I have to make the comic book more than simply a Reader's Digest version of the novels. Robin has done a wonderful job of picking and choosing the scenes to adapt and Jae's artwork is quite simply the best I've ever seen. My job is to have the words interact with the story and artwork and serve them both. Part of the way I've done it is to "create" an unseen unnamed narrator to help bridge the inevitable gaps, drawing inspiration from the way King's own narrative would sometimes switch from omniscient to first person. Ultimately Dark Tower stems from Western mythology, so I adopted a narrative caption style that reads like an old traildog sitting around a campfire, telling stories about the legendary Roland and the long-gone Gilead. I felt it gave it more a sense of immediacy, plus smoothed the way between the pure-King scenes and the Furth/Lee/David scenes. NRAMA: Breaking things down even further - the existing material that you (and Robin) are pulling from - the childhoods of Roland, Cuthbert and Alain were touched upon in the first book, and as well in Wizard and Glass. Is this a comic book adaptation of that material? How much will be new? PD: I'm really not sure what percent is adapted versus new. Much of it is in Wizard and Glass, yes. But that's necessary: We're telling Roland's history, and the events depicted in Wizard and Glass are major aspects of that. We can't bypass it simply because it's been told before; we have to assume that a considerable number of comic readers are going to be new to the material. However, presuming there's future Dark Tower series, there will be much more exploration of stories that were simply alluded to but never told. Plus Robin and I were discussing developing some other "untold tales" that stem from story possibilities in the King work. NRAMA: Framing-wise, how will the miniseries be set up?  PD: Since it is such a familiar moment, we launch with the classic opening sequence from The Gunslinger in which the man in black is sprinting across the desert like the devil is on his heels...and then we reveal the devil to be Roland. But that's merely set-up; after that, courtesy of the narrator, we go into Roland's history in a straight-ahead fashion.NRAMA: Process-wise, how do you go about finding the voices of the three boys? You've read the books, but is that enough? Obviously, Stephen King isn't at your shoulder, correcting you if you go afield... PD: Sure he is. Not during the writing process, but you can bet that he's going over every line of scripting and correcting that which he thinks doesn't work. In terms of finding the voices, it's no different than writing for any other property that I didn't create: I read what's gone before, imprint the characters in my head, and go from there. Also, the Midworld style of speaking is such classic western motif that much of the dialogue, to use the cliché, writes itself. NRAMA: That said, you've had to put words in the mouths of many famous characters - from comics to Star Trek, to movie adaptations - what, if anything makes this different, or...if applicable, more nerve-wracking? PD: Because Gene Roddenberry and Stan Lee and the other creative forces aren't going over it to make sure I'm getting it right - okay, yeah, writing Babylon 5 I had JMS, but other than that... It was daunting, particularly in the early stages, because King made a specific point of saying that, as much as he loved the art, he was anxious to see the scripting to pass judgment on the whole project because--and I quote--he said, "I'm a words guy." So the best known words guy of our generation was waiting to read my words. Yeah, that's pretty daunting. NRAMA: Speaking of King - what kind of approvals does this go though? Is there an active process by which he reads your script, or are his approvals limited to Robin's work? PD: He's Stephen King and it's his baby. Limit his approvals? No way. He goes over everything, and he's the final yea or nay. And that's as it should be.  NRAMA: In writing this kind of story - and you've done it with Star Trek, and other properties - you're "filling in" part of a lifetime, where your audience knows where that particular lifetime will go, and even where and when it will end. Does that affect how you write or structure things? Does it allow for more...foreshadowing? Less? A nod and wink to what is to come? Or do you just ignore it all, and a story is a story is a story?PD: The foreshadowing develops naturally out of the narrative style, but I try not to be too heavyhanded about it. I didn't want to go the "Little did Roland know the dark consequences of..." route. NRAMA: Fair enough. Let's get into the characters a little more - can you just briefly sketch out the three? The three boys - they're almost iconic/archetypal in their roles, right? PD: Very much so. That is from where the power of their portrayal stems. Roland is Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars. Generally stoic in bearing, but it serves to hide the storm of emotions that he routinely carries inside. Cuthbert, or simply ‘Bert,’ is dark haired, dark eyed, and tends to be outgoing and humorous in his view of the world. In contrast is Alain, who is blond haired and introspective. That's the classic way you create a group: Developing characters who are in contrast to one another. Think of Spock/McCoy/Kirk--Pure logic, pure emotion, and the leader of the three trying to balance all their concerns. NRAMA: And Susan Delgado - can you capture her in a few sentences? PD: The only love of Roland's life. If destiny--what Roland would call Ka--is a web, then Susan is a fly trapped in it, and unfortunately has about as much luck as the fly typically does. NRAMA: Breadth-wise, what does this first miniseries cover? Will the issues cover all of the events seen in Wizard and Glass, or will this be part of W&G, with more to come? PD: Seven issues covering all the Roland history in Wizard and Glass. Presuming the series continues, we'll be getting into material that, as I said, was alluded to elsewhere but never actually covered. NRAMA: Back to the production - what's it like working with Jae on this? Do you find yourself giving him more/less instruction than with artists on any other works? PD: Not much, no. There have been one or two instances where I had some minor comments on the art which were then fixed, but other than that, it's pretty much a done deal by the time I get it. But Jae's being a perfectionist on this: He's constantly refining and redoing the art to get everything just right. NRAMA: How far are you along with the miniseries? PD: I'm scripting issue #5 this weekend. NRAMA: From the start, Marvel has made no bones about the fact that they’re looking at this as a series of miniseries. Are you on board for the subsequent Dark Tower miniseries? PD: You’ll have to ask Marvel.  NRAMA: That aside, and you alluded to it earlier, is the world of The Dark Tower a place you feel that you could explore with the ease that you've done, say, in the Star Trek universe? Are there enough "pocket stories" and characters left untold from the original novel series? PD: Oh, definitely. For instance, as I mentioned above, Robin and I were discussing one story in particular that jumped out at both of us: The final fate of Rhea, the witch. She was such a major player in Wizard and Glass, and then she pretty much disappeared from the storyline. Roland alludes to having killed her at one point, but Robin and I both feel there's a major story to be told there. So, if we have the opportunity, we'd definitely explore that. Plus Robin has already mapped out several more series of stories that cover the rest of Roland's history, right up to when the reader first actually encounters him chasing the man in black. NRAMA: Could this become a franchise on its own? PD: You'd have to ask Stephen King. I'm not Stephen King. I just play him in a comic book. |
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01-09-2007, 06:18 PM
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#2 |
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A perfict pairing
PAD is a perfect fit for this. He always respects the source material and hey, the source is Stephen King! This is gonna rock!
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01-09-2007, 06:28 PM
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#3 |
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Love PAD. Love Jae Lee. Which they were on an ongoing.
Just don't know anything about the Dark Tower universe. Still going to check this out. |
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01-09-2007, 06:28 PM
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#4 |
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If King actually wrote this, I'd check it out. As it's basically an adaptation of the novels with two more writers adding/subtracting to it, I'll pass...
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01-09-2007, 06:30 PM
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#5 | |
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Quote:
But oh - he plays him soooo well. I'm a rabid Dark Tower fan - but I'm thinking of 'waiting on the trade' for this - not sure yet. I can't wait to see the Jae's art and re-read Roland's origins - but something tells me it will just be better all at once instead of in parts. (Plus I worry about Marvel and their production of 7-issue mini-series...) |
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01-09-2007, 06:32 PM
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#6 |
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Wasn't this project supposed to be new work based on the Dark Tower Universe? From what I have gathered it's becoming more and more like just a comic adaptation of one of the books.
Link: http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/0...an-adaptation/ |
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01-09-2007, 06:33 PM
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#7 |
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I am not too familiar with Stephen King but if PAD is on-board, consider me in as X-Factor is one of the best books on the racks. And Jae Lee outdoes himself here; Isanove's colouring adds so much depth to Jae Lee's art that it looks even better than his Inhumans and that book was just gorgeous. This should be a great mini!
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01-09-2007, 06:35 PM
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#8 |
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Jae Lee is God.
Not a god. God. |
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01-09-2007, 06:37 PM
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#9 | |
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Quote:
MattB |
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01-09-2007, 06:50 PM
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#10 | |
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Quote:
He's fast |
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01-09-2007, 07:01 PM
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#11 |
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Never read the novels, though I've wanted to for awhile now. Jae Lee is a top 5 artist for me, and from what I've seen so far, he's reached a new high. Love PAD, and when taken with Lee, this is a no-brainer for me.
Very nice to see that they're ahead of schedule. Looks like this is shaping up to be a big project that delivers. |
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01-09-2007, 07:03 PM
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#12 |
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i'm just curious why didnt marvel just release the mini-series as a weekly thing coz i bet the average non-comics-reader will be pissed to find out that the next issue will be released after a month.....OR couldn't just marvel release this as an OGN given King's name attached to the project?
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01-09-2007, 07:17 PM
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#13 |
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Looks great, can't wait!
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01-09-2007, 07:20 PM
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#14 | |
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Quote:
Given that the 7-Book Dark Tower series took over 20 years to come out, I'm sure a month isn't that long of a stretch. We Constant Readers are used to waiting a year or more for our scribe's next offering. |
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01-09-2007, 07:22 PM
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#15 | |
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Quote:
It's NOT an adaptation of any of the stories. This is new material revealing more about Roland's past... SO DON'T PASS! |
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01-09-2007, 07:23 PM
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#16 | |
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Quote:
I think the average non-comics fan won't be aware that the title is getting serialized monthly. I believe that their first exposure to this version will be when it hits in HC and TPB in book stores and such. I expect the title will do very well in the direct market, but it'll do gangbusters in trade format. |
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01-09-2007, 07:24 PM
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#17 | |
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Quote:
So they've got at least 5 issues in the can before the first one hits the stands? Good job Marvel! But...aagh...must...avoid...CIVIL WAR...cheap shot! Mike |
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01-09-2007, 07:43 PM
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#18 |
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I love The Dark Tower serie, and The Wizzard and the Glass is my second fave of the bunch. This book is pretty much the impetus for my current comic reading. I've waited so longand it's finally here!!! Almost. I've yet to hear one thing to turn me off about this book either. I'm trying not to get my hopes up to high but it's already too late.
About further stories for the Dark Tower in comics, how about an in-marvel-continuity mini? I mean there were Doombots in The Wolves of the Calla (Book 5). That could be interesting, I think. |
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01-09-2007, 07:44 PM
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#19 |
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take me to the dark tower
i've been reading the dark tower books for as long as i've been reading comics, about 16 years now, and a lot of artists passed through my head when, of course, i imagined them as a comic. jim lee was up there but that's what happens when you start reading comics in 1990, travis charest but i want him to draw everything, ashley wood did some stuff in popbot with a western motif. any way jae lee wasn't on my list, but he should have been. i can not wait for these comics. and for all those griping about it being too much of an adaptation instead of new material all i have to say is they could print those books verbatim with jae lee drawing the lot of it and i would buy the crap out of it.
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01-09-2007, 08:06 PM
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#20 |
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Looks good! Jae Lee and Peter David look like they are in top form.
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01-09-2007, 08:09 PM
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#21 |
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I'm really looking forward to this. I love Kings work, and nobody can spin a yarn like Peter can. And Lae is doing art like I have never seen him do before.
Biggest selling comic of the year hands down. |
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01-09-2007, 08:31 PM
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#22 | |
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For sure. I guess I've gotten use to waiting years for the next volume in a particular series. (ie, to Greg Rucka - I want my Atticus Kodiak fix!!!) In anycase, I get more excited every time I hear about this project. |
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01-09-2007, 10:05 PM
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#23 | |
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Quote:
But considering this project has been in the pipeline since late 2005... why isn't it already finished by now? Seems that someone along the line must have been sitting on their hands, otherwise it'd be well and truly done by now.  And, as a result, how the heck did Marvel expect it to be ready to roll by April 2006 in the first place? Even pre-CW fubar, that seems incredibly unrealistic. Thank god the whole thing was delayed on King's end before everyone got too carried away.  |
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01-09-2007, 10:17 PM
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#24 |
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This sounds AWESOME. This also looks awesome.
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01-09-2007, 11:07 PM
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#25 | |
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Quote:
Doing a license property take twice as long as a regular comic. The owner of the material has to be involved the whole way. Having seen the whole first issue I'm so excited about this project. It's so damn good looking. |
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