Visualizing Mid-World: An Intro to the Dark Tower Comics
I’ve never been much of a comic book reader. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of comic books I owned in the first 3+ decades of my life (unless you count Mad Magazine). While many of my childhood peers were reading comic books, I was more likely to have my head buried in a novel. I’ve never had anything against comics; I just never got into them, which was kind of odd considering how big a fan I was (and still am) of TV shows and films based on comics. They basically circled the periphery of my existence without ever making landfall.
But that changed when Stephen King licensed Marvel to tell a new series of stories from his Dark Tower universe in comic book format. As a huge fan of all things that serve the Beam (Dark Tower reference, look it up), I had to check these out. I waited until each series of issues was available as a collection in snazzy hardcover format and snatched them up. The series, released in five volumes, is very well done, with impressive imagery that brings the world of the novels to life. My only complaint about the comics is that I wish they were longer, but I think that’s to be expected as a comic newbie who is used to reading lengthy novels.
In the following paragraphs you will find mini-reviews of the five volumes. I stayed mostly spoiler-free, but the reviews assume that the reader has already read the novels and knows the back story that’s being told here. If you haven’t read the books but plan on doing so, I would recommend holding off on the comics until you have gotten through at least the fourth book of the Dark Tower series.
The first volume in the series, The Gunslinger Born, is taken from my favorite novel in the Dark Tower series, Wizard and Glass. It was great to revisit that story and see the world of Roland’s youth brought to life via the striking images on the pages. However, as stated above, I would not recommend this to those who have not yet read the Dark Tower books, for while this volume does a nice job of capturing the tone of King’s books, it basically reads like a greatest hits version of Wizard and Glass (which is understandable given that book’s length). The result is that much of the depth and emotional impact gets lost, particularly with the tragic ending that in this version felt rushed. That being said, it’s definitely recommended for fans of Wizard and Glass wishing to re-experience that story in a different medium, as well as for Dark Tower completionists.
The next volume, The Long Road Home, is the first of the ‘new’ stories (i.e., material that was only hinted at in King’s books). It picks up immediately after the events of The Gunslinger Born, depicting the journey home to the city of Gilead as Roland’s friends attempt to free his consciousness from the magical sphere known as Maerlyn’s Grapefruit. This is followed by Treachery, which deals with the intrigue and duplicity infecting Gilead upon Roland’s return, while also fleshing out the tragic story of his mother that was briefly touched on in the novels. Both volumes are worthy additions to the Dark Tower saga.
In The Fall Of Gilead, the s**t really starts to hit the fan. It’s hard to say too much without giving away spoilers, but anyone familiar with the Dark Tower series already knows that it does not end well for the protagonists. However, knowing what’s coming doesn’t lessen the heartbreaking impact of the events that unfold. Some people complained that the art was not as good in this volume, but I am not enough of a comic book afficionado to speak to the artwork, so I’ll leave that for others to judge. My primary interest is the story, and this may have been my favorite of the five volumes.
The final volume, The Battle of Jericho Hill, is the story that Dark Tower fanatics have been waiting for: the tragic end of Roland’s ka-tet at the hands of the Good Man’s army on Jericho Hill, and it certainly delivers on the tragedy. It does seem to happen rather quickly, though, leading you to wish for a longer format to tell this story, but it does an admirable job within these constraints.
Following the release of this series, Marvel embarked upon a new series that tells the story of the Dark Tower from book one, beginning with The Gunslinger: The Journey Begins. I haven’t yet decided whether to get these since they won’t be adding anything new to the canon, but I probably will because the hardcover compilations make great collectibles and it’s always a treat to see talented artists bring the books to life. Besides, with Ron Howard’s ambitiously conceived Film/TV project falling through, it’s looking less likely that we will see the Dark Tower series brought to the screen anytime soon, so these comics are the best we’re going to get. And what better way to pass the time between now and the April release of The Wind Through the Keyhole?
Reminiscing Through Cardboard
Well, that’s another football season in the books. Very disappointing, I might add, as the Steelers fizzled out in an ignominious fashion. Better luck next year, Black & Gold.
I was talking to a friend, and he was talking about how much he loves baseball, and was wondering if it was too early to talk about baseball on the blog. Hellz no! Let’s get the baseball machine revved up!
But first, I have a touching story to tell. A story about a blogger’s reminiscence of something he loved when he was just a boy. Something that is timeless and – prior to about 1995 or so – was as much a part of the fabric of boyhood as apple pie, “be home before dark” and hot dogs.
Yes, I’m talking about baseball cards! Those wonderful slices of Americana, 15 cards and a stick of gross pink gum for 30 cents! At least, that’s how much it was when I was a kid. A picture of the player on one side, and statistics and trivia on the other side! Simple, yet effective.
It’s a moment frozen in time. All your baseball heroes at your fingertips, your favorite teams, moments and league leaders captured by the Topps Chewing Gum Company and their awesome photographers! “In Action” photos, Traded cards, team photos, All-Star cards and rookie cards! Like a mosquito trapped in amber, those memories are captured in those 2 1/2″ by 3 1/2″ pieces of cardboard.
I recently visited a card show at my local mall and those memories all came rushing back. Once I got past all the horrible and overly expensive plaques, autographs and glossy photos, I found a table that just had baseball cards. To my delight, they had baseball cards from the 70s. Baseball cards that I could pick up and look through myself, without having to ask to see something that was kept in a hard plastic case kept inside a glass case and without having to don surgical gloves.
For a moment, I was eight years old, leafing through the wonderful array of 1976 and 1977 baseball cards on display. All those old players that I remembered so well – not because I saw them play, but because I had their baseball cards. I love the great designs of the cards – the different ways they chose to display the team name, player’s name and his position. And the centerpiece, of course, is the color photo of the player.
Here are a few of the highlights of the cards I bought that day:
- George Hendrick (on the Indians)
- The 1975 World Series Card
- Wille Montanez (on the Giants)
- Al Hrabosky – The Mad Hungarian (Cardinals)
- Ray Fosse – Catcher, not Broadway guy Bob (A’s)
- 1976 California Angels team card (unchecked)
- Ron Cey – The Penguin (Dodgers)
- Bucky Dent (White Sox)
- Tommy John (Dodgers)
- 1977 Montreal Expos team card
Baseball fans that are around my age will fondly recall most or all of these names, and, I suspect, be swept back in time – just for a few moments. Back to the time when these players stormed the basepaths and provided some of our greatest baseball memories.
Ah yes, heady stuff. And it’s all yours for the price of four cards for a dollar. Well, that was my cost. Your cost is that you had to read this article. You’re welcome for the trip down memory lane. Play ball!
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Some Old School Reflections on Joe Mauer’s .400 Chase
What do Rod Carew, George Brett, Tony Gwynn and Joe Mauer Have in Common?
Doesn’t seem like anything, does it? All four have five letters in their last names. Three of four are American Leaguers. And four out of five dentists would recommend them as your team’s leadoff hitter.
No, up until Mauer went 0-for-9 in his last at-bats before the All-Star break, lowering his average from .388 to .373, they all had the real possibility of being the first player since the great Ted Williams to hit .400.
I think this is one of those baseball achievements that will never happen again, and I have had lots of thoughts on this over the years, some of them rational, some of them lucid.
Rod Carew
Left: Rod Carew’s 1977 Topps Baseball Card
I’m a little too young to really remember Rod Carew’s attempt to hit .400. I mostly remember it from reading about it on baseball cards and in the Scholastic Baseball All-Star books I would get in school.
I wonder if others remember doing this? In school, they’d give you this form to fill out that offered all sorts of books. I’d always go for the Dynamite Magazines, any maze or puzzle book and any baseball or football book. Between these books and Baseball Digest I thought knew Carew’s 1977 season inside and out.
Here’s some stuff I didn’t know – It’s amazing. Carew started ‘slow’, finishing April at .356 and May at .365. Not that these are not great batting averages, but they don’t really hint that someone was flirting with .400.
Player Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
Carew 1977 155 694 616 128 239 38 16 14 100 23 13 69 55 .388
Left: All-Pro Baseball Stars 1978 – An excellent baseball reference in the pre-internet era
In fact, he didn’t even reach .400 until June 26th, when he went 4-for-5 against the White Sox to push his average from .396 to .403. Then he moved up to his highest average of .411 on June 29th, maintained that for one more day, then staying on the plus side of .400 until gradually fading back below, to .398 on July 11th.
He wouldn’t see .400 again that season, and in fact, dipped to .374 on August 25th. But then he rallied, raising his average steadily until he settled on .388 with a 3-for-4 performance on the final day of the season.
George Brett
As a kid, I always took it away from Brett, because in my mind, he didn’t have as ‘complete’ a season as Carew. To me, Brett’s .390 wasn’t as legitimate as Carew’s .388. I mean – 239 hits to 175 hits? 616 At bats to 449 at bats? Does 449 at bats even qualify you for a batting title? I believe that 500 plate appearances does…
Player Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
Brett 1980 117 515 449 87 175 33 9 24 118 15 6 58 22 .390
The image to the left is George Brett’s page inside the 1981 All-Pro Baseball Stars book.
But I came to realize that Brett’s .390 was a lot more legitimate than I’d given him credit for. For one thing, he triumphed over ‘roids (hemorrhoids, of course. Yes, I am totally juvenile) to have this great achievement, and also, I saw the numbers of Williams’ incredible 1941 season:
Player Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
Williams 1941 143 606 456 135 185 33 3 37 120 2 4 147 27 .406
But what I didn’t notice until now is the amazing number of walks Williams had. I zeroed in on the hits – 185 to 175 – clearly, I had it wrong about the legitimacy of Brett’s .390. Now that I see the walks, I think maybe I was right… 🙂
George Brett’s 1980 Topps Baseball Card
Like Carew, George Brett’s 1980 season didn’t start particularly well. He didn’t hit .300 until achieving a .301 batting average on May 31st. Then he played in only 9 games in June, but was able to raise his average to a more George Brett like .337 before missing time from June 10th to July 10th.
During July, he steadily increased his average (with some dips as well), ending the month strong with a fantastic 8-for-10 hitting show against the Red Sox that pushed his average up to .390, 59 points higher than the .341 he was hitting after going 2-for-2 upon his July 10 return to the lineup.
After dipping a bit in early August, Brett again started to increase his average, until he hit .394 after goin 3-for-4 against Toronto on August 16th. The next day, a 4-for-4 performance pushed him above .400 for the first time that season, as his average settled in at .401.
He topped out at .406 four days later, then saw a decline, and his average slipped to .399. But not for long, as four days later, on August 26th, he’d reach his season high, .407. This time he managed to stay above .400 for nine more games, and then re-entered the sub-.400 realm. He’d hit .400 one more time on September 19th, and then that was it for the .400 chase. But not a bad run at all – having a .400 average as late as September 19 (with 13 games remaining in the season) is awesome.
Tony Gwynn
Then along comes Tony Gwynn, who, along with Wade Boggs, had pretty much set the standard for batting titles in the 1980s, winning four titles in the 80s and four more (four consecutive) in the 90s.
Player Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
Gwynn 1994 110 475 419 79 165 35 1 12 64 5 0 48 19 .394
If my pre-teen self had seen this, it would have been ‘not legit’ all over again, baseball strike be damned.
Unlike Carew and Brett, Gwynn started strong, fashoning a .395 average by the end of April. It’s hard to say whether or not Gwynn’s foray into .400 was legitimate. It happened so early in the season – .402 on May 2nd, which was 33 hits in 82 at-bats. I’m thinking this is not enough of a season to say that a batter truly flirted with .400.
His last dip into the .400 waters came on May 15th, when he was batting .408 – 49-for-120. I am also noticing the wild fluctuation in his average at this time – .419 the day before, .398 the day after – based on this, I think this is more indicative of the kind of ups and downs seen in the early parts of a season.
That said, I am hardly downplaying Gwynn’s spectacular batting prowess. He dodged, dipped, ducked, dived and dodged between .376 and .394 for the remainder of the season. It’s amazing to have that type of consistency from a .294 hitter, let alone someone who is on the verge of .400.
Unfortunately, the big question when it comes to Tony Gwynn will remain unanswered forever: could he have hit .400 if the 1994 strike hadn’t ended the season two months early? While I think that Gwynn was, perhaps, the best pure hitter of the 90s, I don’t think he would have hit .400 for the season. No reason here, just what I think.
And then again, perhaps he could have. If I consider that Brett didn’t top .400 until mid-August and Carew didn’t get to .400 until June and had his last .400 day in mid-July, maybe. Sadly, it’s all left to speculation now. I will say that if I thought anyone could have hit .400 at that time, Tony Gwynn would have been the guy on whom I’d have put my money.
Joe Mauer
Like Brett, Mauer has missed a significant amount of time in the season in which he chased/is chasing .400. He missed all of April (22 games), and a few other games here and there. He did finish May strongly, attaining a .414 batting average on the strength of a 41-for-99 performance.
Player Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
Mauer 2009 64 282 241 49 90 13 1 15 49 1 1 35 35 .373
He stayed above .400 for a good part of June, holding on with a .407 average as of June 21st. But then his average saw a steady decline until he ended June with a .383 average. Not bad at all, but he’s going the wrong way where .400 is concerned. As for July, he pushed his average back into the .390s, only to see that average dip, before bottoming out at .373 after an 0-for-9 drought in his last two games before the All-Star game.
Mauer still has 73 games to ply his trade, and I, for one, will be interested to see how he does coming away from the All-Star game. Even if he doesn’t hit .400 this year, the fact that he was as close as he was, and the fact that he was hitting over .400 well into June is an endorsement of his belonging in the conversation with the four other great hitters mentioned earlier.
Again – as with Gwynn – the question: Can he hit .400? And again – as with Gwynn – I don’t feel that he can. I’d love to see someone hit for that lofty an average again. And Mauer has already spent some quality time north of the Williams line this season. But I’ll be watching the box scores to see how he does. And I’ll be rooting for him.
A Comparison of the seasons
Player Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
Williams 1941 143 606 456 135 185 33 3 37 120 2 4 147 27 .406
Carew 1977 155 694 616 128 239 38 16 14 100 23 13 69 55 .388
Brett 1980 117 515 449 87 175 33 9 24 118 15 6 58 22 .390
Gwynn 1994 110 475 419 79 165 35 1 12 64 5 0 48 19 .394
Mauer 2009 64 282 241 49 90 13 1 15 49 1 1 35 35 .373
Resources: Baseball Reference, of course.
Thinning Out The Ol’ Comic Book Collection
I have been working on thinning out my comic vault for a week or so now, in an effort to streamline the collection. I was a bit reluctant at first, but once I started going through them, I saw that I’d accumulated some comics that I still hadn’t read, and most likely would not be reading for quite some time, if at all. The main problem I found was that I’d gotten some comics for such a cheap price that I couldn’t pass them up. They were by creators whose work I’d liked, so I figured … why not?
Maybe there are worse things than leaving those comics in the box. Another thing I saw is that I’d have two or three issues of a mini-series, clearly bought at a greatly reduced rate in the hopes of someday getting the other issues. Someday never came. I’d still be interested in reading a lot of them, but the likelihood of me coming across the missing issues is pretty slim. So, out they go.
A somewhat related aside: I also found that there are Peter David comics I either don’t like or don’t care all that much about. I jettisoned some Dreadstar comics written by him. I did read them, and thought they were okay…I guess. For whatever reason, they just didn’t grab me. They join the ranks of PD’s Action Comics and Wolverine stints, as well as Sachs & Violens. I still own S&V, and I suspect that this is due to equal parts the great George Perez art and the fact that I think that I SHOULD like these comics.
If you’ve read previous posts, you know how much I like Peter David’s work, so this is hardly an indictment of PD. But I didn’t feel compelled to hang on to these comics. It happens. But all is not lost – I truly like the vast majority of what he writes, and will continue to buy comics he writes.
A good thing about this purge is that this might enable me to get to reading some of the other comics I’ve acquired that I haven’t read, but that I really want to read. Ones that I have the whole series, or ones for which I have a good, long run. Ones that I looked at once more and was reminded that I had some good things still to read.
I wonder if I’ll actually miss any of the comics that I packed up to be sold? I kinda doubt it. But if I do, I know where to go to reacquire them.
Selling Comics on eBay: Nostalgia in the Mail
Ah, eBay…As a collector, it pained me to think of selling my comics. But now that I am doing it, I have found that it is not as bad as I thought it would be. There are some definite benefits to it – I get a little bit of money from it, I gain some space in the comic boxes and someone else gets to enjoy some great comics.
And another bonus is that I get to look at the issues again as they are prepped to be listed. In some cases, they haven’t been touched by me in years, so it’s nice to see them again. I often find myself rereading them one last time before they are shipped to a lucky buyer.
At first, I was just selling doubles and/or issues I didn’t want. But now I am selling some of the good Silver Age stuff. I’ve already sold off the bulk of my Spider-Man issues (Amazing 51-125 are gone now) and my Fantastic Four issues (51-100 are gone).
I have also sold off some rare issues that seemed like a good idea to sell at the time. I sold my Sin City issues, my 300 issues and Venom-related Spider-Man issues, all coinciding with whatever movie was in the theaters at the time.
If you are on the lookout for new comics – not necessarily chronologically new comics, but new comics to check out – I hope you’ll visit my eBay page. I am always listing stuff (more Silver Age issues coming to my eBay page), and you never know what might appear there.
I’d also appreciate any feedback you might have. I’d like to sell more stuff, and I think an outside view and outside opinions would be welcome. And if you do visit, and you wind up buying something, please let me know. I might be in the mood to discount the shipping cost…. Even if you visit and decide to pass on purchasing, any comments you feel compelled to pass along would be appreciated.
I will try to avoid shilling the eBay page here and stick to commenting on comics in general.
Andy Blank
Mike Frangione
Depends on What the Meaning of the Word 'Blog' is 
Pleasant TV Surprises – MTV’s “Pants” and AMC’s “Comic Book Men”
I watched a show and I liked it… Two, actually. Yes, that’s right. After years of finding very little on television that I actually liked and/or wanted to watch, I have discovered two shows of which I’d like to see more. Take that, preposition! These are words (prior to that preposition non sequitur) that I didn’t think I’d actually be able to write. Not due to writer’s block or illiteracy, but because I am annoyingly (some might say objectively or charmingly? …ahem!) hypercritical and judgmental of movies and television shows and haven’t seen anything in the past couple of years that made me want to watch. More on this later.
You see, I have a love/dislike/lack of patience/hate relationship with television and movies. It’s not that I think I could do it any better. That’s not really the point. The point is, that if you’re going to be in a position of making a TV show or a movie, it should be good. Always. There’s a lot of money at stake in these things. And careers. Not only of the actors and writers and producers if the show doesn’t catch on or if the movie flops. But of all the nameless, but essential, people who do the behind-the-scenes work to make the writer’s vision possible.
And then there’s the time investment of the viewer. Too many times in the past I’ve tuned in to a new show only to tune out after about ten minutes. If it looks like it’s going to be the same old, same old, then I’m not going to stick around. A lot of shows are pretty much the same formulaic stuff with a different cast and an altered premise. I always look to see what’s different about a show. Too often I have found that there’s very little that distinguishes one show from another.
Unsurprisingly, then, there are only about five shows currently on television that I could honestly say that I am interested in watching, so for me to say that I liked any show – outside of that five – is pretty amazing. I’m not saying that I am a good judge of what is good and what isn’t. Quite the opposite – I’m sure I’m a terrible demographic for this sort of thing. I’m just saying that it takes a lot to get me to tune in and then to make me want to come back.
So here’s what happened. I was paging through show listings in OnDemand (don’t judge), noting how there wasn’t even one show in the E-J section that I watch – or have ever watched. Then I saw this title: “I Just Want My Pants Back” and was intrigued. Something about the name called to me. I clicked through to the next menu, and voilà! – there were the first two episodes. If you’re following closely, you can probably determine what happened next.
That’s right, I started watching. A bad sign: it’s an MTV show – often not a good thing. But that’s really a generalization (I think many would agree an accurate one) fit for their (I’m hypercritical and judgmental, remember?) putrid reality shows. But, I decided to stick it out and at least see how long it would be before I lost interest. The answer, my friend, was blowin’ in the wind – and 22 minutes. And, I liked it enough to watch the second episode as well. Score!
I don’t know what it was. The characters were kinda quirky, but not in the overdone cliché way that seems to prevail these days (think “New Girl” or any Zooey Deschanel vehicle). And there was snappy, authentic, give and take dialogue that was funny and interesting, and seemed a little less forced than it does on most shows I’ve seen recently. The scenarios of hanging out with friends and sexual exploits were all in place. I just felt like I was watching the exploits of people that I knew in college. Or of people that I’d have liked to have known in college. One of the two.
And I think I (just now) realized what the most appealing aspect of the show was. No laugh track. Imagine that! A show that dares to allow the acting and writing carry the day all on it’s own. And it was good. I discovered, after a few internet searches for the show, that it is not a new show (debuted in 2011) and that it has it’s detractors, but I am undeterred. I really wish more comedies would eschew the laugh track and let us determine whether or not something is actually funny.
And the second show? “Comic Book Men” on AMC. It is done by the very entertaining filmaker Kevin Smith, and centers around his comic book shop in Red Bank, New Jersey, which is called Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. The basic ‘plot’ is that Mr. Smith introduced a camera to the geek world, complete with the making of a comic book podcast that he does with four of his buddies (three of which actually work at/run the store) and conversations about comic books and comic book characters. As you’d expect from Kevin Smith, it’s pretty damn funny stuff.
The first episode (and it’s very rare that I would see the first episode of any show anywhere near the time it first airs) offered up a couple of collectors coming into the store with some pretty cool things, and encountering the inevitable disappointment that every collector feels when they find out that this item is not as valuable as they thought it was. It’s probably more accurate to say that they weren’t going to get the money that the items were ‘worth’ and were lucky to even hear an amount that was in that same ballpark. It was kind of depressing to watch. To their credit, some of the collectors decided not to sell.
Next, they talked glowingly about the Collingswood Flea Market, and then three of the guys went there and sold stuff for cheap. It would have been kind of cool to have been at the flea market that day. It was refreshing to see something that celebrated the toys, comic books and super cool memorabilia of the 70s that we were all supposed to have outgrown or forgotten. And it’s nice to see all the collectibles in the store, and to listen to these guys talk so enthusiastically about something that they loved when they were kids.
Oh, the responsibility. Two new shows to watch. I don’t know how this happened, but I’m glad it did. It’s always nice to be pleasantly surprised like this. And if you happen to stumble upon either of these shows (or seek them out now that you’ve read these brilliant and compelling commentaries), I’d recommend you do like I did and give them a fair shot.
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