Dark Tower - the Drawing of the Three: The Prisoner

For the longest time, I thought Marvel was finished with the Stephen King Dark Tower comic adaptations. And for the longest time, I was right. Luckily, they changed their minds and in 2014, a new chapter was introduced, THE DRAWING OF THE THREE, the first five issues of which, subtitled “The Prisoner”, have been collected in this volume.Of the seven and a half Dark Tower novels, THE DRAWING OF THE THREE is my favorite. That’s not something a lot of people admit to--most claim the first or third, “The Gunslinger” or “The Waste Lands”, are their favorites--but that’s how it is. I love that book. And I’m glad to see a comic adaptation to follow the original run. Robin Furth and Peter David are still around, plotting and scripting respectively, with Piotr Kowalski on art this time around. While I’ve never heard of Kowalski before, that I’m aware of, I think his work fits this story and this world very well.This first collection, tells the story of Eddie Dean’s childhood, adolescence, and his descent into drug addiction leading up to his meeting with Roland on the beach in Mid-world. We’re introduced to two-year-old Eddie on the day his sister Gloria is killed by a car in an “accident” that was meant for Eddie. Someone’s put a hit out on the little boy already and when Mr. Andolini, assistant to Mr. Balazar, local drug king, asks “the boss”, the man above Balazar, “Why kill an innocent kid?”, the boss replies “it’s not the boy who needs to be eliminated…but the man he will grow into.”Right away, we know there are worlds and worlds to be explored and I’m reminded why I always liked the Dark Tower novels in the first place. The scope of the story being told is immediately opened up in that one line of dialogue.Eddie is allowed to grow, albeit never out of sight of those who want him out of the way. They’ve chosen a different tack, however, and soon have Eddie’s older brother Henry addicted to drugs. After coming back wounded from Vietnam, Henry’s addiction gets stronger until he’s moved from painkillers to heroin. Eddie tries to tell him to get off the junk and get his life together, but instead winds up addicted alongside his brother. Being the lesser of the two junkies, though, and more presentable in public, Eddie decides to take over a drug running gig meant for Henry in exchange for one last blowout and an all-expenses trip to rehab for the both of them.Unfortunately, the plane ride back doesn’t go as expected and soon Eddie is presented with a choice to face the police or step inside the doorway that’s appeared in the airplane bathroom. The door opens up onto a beach on another world where Eddie meets a man who looks a lot like his old action figure Johnny Bronco.“The Prisoner” is a really good book, fun to read and a great reminder of this excellent King series. I haven’t read the original novel in 25 years, at least, so I don’t remember how much of what’s in here first appeared in King’s novel and how much is original to Furth’s adaptation, but for what it is, I enjoyed this book a lot and am looking forward to the next installment, “House of Cards”.One of my favorite things are the easter eggs Furth and company have planted here. For instance, the first thing we see is a hand with a coffin tattoo on the back nailing up a lost poster showing a puppy, with this underneath: “Please help us find our pupper Eddie! Eddie is two years old! Will answer to the name ‘Deano.’” This is a callback to King’s “Low Men in Yellow Coats” novella from the HEARTS IN ATLANTIS collection. Plus the coffin tattoo will appear later in the Dark Tower series.We see the Dixie Pig, another location that will become very important in later novels. And the mention of a certain lot where a certain rose is growing, also makes an appearance here. They’re subtle things, but real fans will see them and smile.Peter David is scripting the book still, and it’s a change from his normal comic work which is usually light and humorous, but the Dark Tower books show just what a talented writer he is, able to turn on a dime and tell a stone serious story. I’ve always loved his work and have read books I wasn’t even interested in just because he was the writer. I’m glad he got to stick around for this new chapter; he captures the feel of the world perfectly.I was concerned for the quality of the book when I first heard about it. It didn’t look like the Dark Tower adaptations I was used to, and there’d been no fanfare over this one like there had the initial releases back in 2007. But I’m pleased to report The Dark Tower--The Drawing of the Three: The Prisoner is an excellent next step in the telling of this classic story in comic form. I’ll definitely be getting the next volume.

Artists have changed hands in the Dark Tower series and I welcome it! With The Drawing of the Three the change of aesthetic is obvious and really works to the Dark Tower saga's advantage. This story focuses on things in Eddie Dean's New York, which is a very different place from the world Roland has experienced thus far in the story. So yeah, a more lively and "comic" look is applied to this place which is very different from the barren and leathery Mid-World. Keeping with the graphic novels' chronological telling of the Dark Tower, Eddie Dean's before-Roland story is gathered into this first volume that quickly gets the reader up to speed on Eddie's past. As usual, many details of the story have been slightly changed up for the graphic novel adaptation. I don't wish to spoil, but I would say the changes include some great added stuff that I wasn't expecting. I feel this makes complete sense for the overall saga's continuity. I was a little disappointed with the treatment of Henry, Eddie's older brother. He seems mostly spot on, but there's an aspect of him that seems softened in this adaptation. Not much, but it is noticeable for a nerd like me who has already painted a picture of "the wise and imminent junkie" in my head already. Specifically, I feel that the graphic novel makes Henry slightly -only slightly- less of a jerk. This volume covers the story up to Eddie meeting Roland on his flight back to New York, but he has not exited the plane yet. It is at a great stopping point and though I know how all this plays out, I'm eagerly awaiting the next volume.

I enjoyed the illustrations which bring the story to life.

This is a fantastic story written by Stephen King and I love the ability to read it in comic form. The characters are so engaging and vivid, the artwork only adds to the tale. I was a little disappointed that the hard back version was not available to match the previous books in the series. I love when all of a set matches neatly on the shelf. Regardless, the story is wonderful and the artwork is fantastic.

I've been following the dark tower since the first book. This recent Marvel release is different from its predecessors, but still very well done. This was also the format of the book that i was looking for. I accidently bought the 5 individual issues instead of this book the first time around. Returned the issues when i found this complete book.

Great book, I am enjoying it thoroughly!

I am relieved they abandoned the hard-cover release. Now I don't feel obligated to buy the rest for the next ten years it will take to tell the whole story.

Love these stories.

I bought this because I have been collecting all the Stephen King Dark Tower's graphic novels.

Trasposizione a fumetti del secondo romanzo del ciclo “La Torre Nera” (ovvero “La chiamata dei tre”). E’ bello che la Marvel abbia deciso di proseguire con la serializzazione dopo lo stop e il “congedo” dai fan (il volume di storie autoconclusive “Last Shots”), è un peccato che il viaggio prosegua segnando un certo calo della qualità complessiva. Andiamo con ordine: il romanzo in origine era scritto in terza persona dal punto di vista di Roland. Qui la narrazione è in prima persona dal punto di vista di Eddie. Questo porta a un certo sbilanciamento narrativo che glissa su alcuni eventi di una certa importanza avvenuti sulla Spiaggia del Medio Mondo (fastidioso specialmente per tutti quelli che hanno letto il romanzo). Inoltre sia l’humour sia la lingua tagliente di Eddie sono sparite grazie a una totale riscrittura delle sue linee di dialogo (maledetto Peter David!!!). Il cambio del disegnatore (il per me sconosciuto Piotr Kowalsky) non rende poi il volume particolarmente gradevole. Certo, non è disegnato male, ma: 1) per capire che, nel capitolo II, quello che Henry ha in faccia sono brufoli dovete aver letto il romanzo 2) Roland è tornato ad avere la faccia da ragazzino! Dopo l’incontro con l’Uomo in Nero dovrebbe essere ulteriormente invecchiato (nell’arco di una sola notte durata mooolto tempo) e qui mi torna adolescente? Insomma un ritorno un po’ sottotono, speriamo che le prossime uscite rialzino il tiro. Gradevole la presenza di tutte le cover (anche le variant) delle uscite regolari raccolte alla fine del volume. La storia prosegue nel volume seguente (“House of Cards”). Lunghi giorni e piacevoli notti.

another great dark tower graph novel..all hail eddie dean

The first two story arcs were amazing but went down quickly with this third arc. The artwork is so different and the story trailed off. Not surprised it got cancelled after this

So good