Broken Frontier

July 16, 2005. At the end of his Cup O’ Joe panel at the San Diego Comic Con, Joe Quesada commented that at the same panel at the 2004 convention, he had mentioned the one writer that he wished would write for Marvel. Just as he said this, a slide appeared on the screen behind him. With gold lettering against a black background, one word was written. That word was King.

Savvy fans and media folks knew that Quesada had named horror master Stephen King as said writer. Was this hint an indication that the writer of Cujo and Carrie might be joining the Marvel Comics family? Speculation ran rampant. Was it true? Which book will he work on? Will it be an established Marvel title like X-Men?  Or will it be completely original? And will King be writing for the long term or only for a little while?

All questions were answered on October 27, 2005. In a press release, Marvel and Stephen King announced that they were collaborating to bring his Dark Tower series to comic shelves. The release said that this would be “the first time Stephen King has produced original content for an ongoing comic book project” (he previously wrote a segment of Marvel’s 1985 Heroes for Hope one-shot and a text piece for 1986’s Batman #400).

The release was carefully worded, and in such a way that it appeared that King would be the actual writer for the series. It even contained this quote from the author himself about the prospect of working with artist Jae Lee: "I love Jae Lee's work, and I think this is going to be a dynamite partnership. Frankly, I can't wait."

But almost immediately, talk begun on the message boards devoted to both comics and Stephen King that the writer would not actually be involved hands on with the creation of the comic. Sure, the press release might have led you to believe that King was writing the book, but nowhere in the document does it say in no uncertain terms that he is the writer.

A December 6, 2005 press release from Diamond Comics Distributors announcing the series start being delayed from April, 2006 to February 2007 cleared up any misconceptions on who was writing the series. It stated that King was “Executive Editor and Creative Director” of the series and his job responsibilities were “supervising all editorial and visual content” for the book.

The same release stated someone named Robin Furth would be “outlining the 'Dark Tower' comic book series, providing scene-by-scene plotting, and maintaining the continuity and consistency of each story arc." An April 5, 2006 press release added comic legend Peter David to the creative team, providing scripts to go along with Furth’s plots.

So Stephen King will not actually be writing this series. This news might be disappointing for Dark Tower fans. And also to Marvel, expecting that King’s name will bring in a boatload of readers, readers that might not stick around once they find out the author has limited involvement.

But this doesn’t mean that the book will suffer in quality, or that it will not be faithful to the spirit of the novels. The series has top name creators in Peter David and Jae Lee. Peter David is a cagey veteran of the comic biz who has much experience in adapting works from one media into another. He is responsible for the novelization of movies such as the Hulk, Batman Forever and the Spider-Man franchise, and has also worked on many novels and comics set in the Star Trek universe. And Lee is the Eisner award-winning artist whose style is evocative and dynamic and should capture the mood of the work well.

Also, comic fans might not be familiar with Robin Furth, but hardcore Stephen King fans should be. She acts as King’s personal Dark Tower research assistant and has written The Dark Tower Concordance, an encyclopedic guide to all things related to the series. If there is anyone who knows as much as Stephen King about the Dark Tower books, it is Furth.

The Dark Tower series details the adventures of a gunslinger by the name of Roland Deschain, who crosses a dangerous land in search of a legendary “dark tower.” This seven-issue series will detail the character’s origin, an enticement for loyal Dark Tower fans to stick around.

For a sneak peek at Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1, click here.

Also out this week:

• Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil #1

In any other week, this book would have been the focus of this column. The long wait for Jeff Smith’s take on Captain Marvel is finally over. And expectations amongst fans are high. His Bone series was a combination of whimsical, touching, humorous and dramatic. These are perfect qualities for him to apply to the world of the Earth’s Mightiest Mortal.

The series might not keep the exact tone of the Golden Age Captain Marvel adventures or the same style Smith showed on Bone. But it should provide an excellent alternative for Shazam fans that are turned off by Judd Winick’s grim and gritty take on Trials of Shazam. DC is breaking out the Prestige Format for the series, a sign that we might be in store for something special.

Jeff Smith (W/A), DC Comics, $5.99. Four-issue mini-series.

• Secret #1

From 1986’s River’s Edge to 2005’s Brick, tales of mystery, murder, kidnapping and suspense set in the world of teenagers have provided many a great story for the silver screen. Now, this take on crime noir makes its way to comics in a new limited series from Dark Horse.

A prank call goes sour and a young girl goes missing. Tommy Morris goes from partying with the elite of Franklin High to having his entire world turned upside down. Police think that there might be a link between the missing girl and another unsolved crime. Do the police suspect Tommy? Is he truly innocent?

Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson and Eisner-nominated artist Jason Alexander bring us this suspenseful look at the dark side of teenage life. 

Mike Richardson (W), Jason Alexander(A), Dark Horse Comics, $2.99. Four-issue mini-series.

• Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17

Spider-Man’s legendary black costume is back. The reasons behind its return will be covered in the Amazing Spider-Man title, but, by luck of the release date draw, the outfit returns here first, as part of the “Back in Black” event through all the Spider titles.

The behind the scenes tale of the costume, as told by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz in Back Issue magazine, is an interesting one. When word got out that they were first changing the costume, Marvel was engulfed in negative letters from fans and complaints from Marvel’s marketing department. The decision to change the costume back to his classic red and blue one was made before the first issue featuring the black duds appeared.

But when the new costume made its debut in Amazing Spider-Man #252, it sold out everywhere. The higher-ups now wanted the black costume back, but it was already explained away as the Venom symbiote. This explains why Spidey started wearing a cloth costume that looked just like Venom so soon after he got rid of the original.

Peter David (W), Todd Nauck (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• New Avengers #27

Echo. Ronin. Doctor Strange. Wolverine. Spider-Woman. Iron Fist. Luke Cage. Spider-Man. These are the new New Avengers. And this new line-up debuts in this issue. It appears that this title will be dedicated to the anti-registration heroes post-Civil War, and the forthcoming Mighty Avengers will cover the pro-registration side…

The issue focuses on Ronin/Echo, who was over in Japan keeping an eye on the Japanese underworld while the Civil War raged in the states. It should both introduce Echo back into the team and give us an idea as to who will take over the Ronin identity from her in the coming months. This issue also marks the debut of superstar artist Leinil Yu on the title. 

Brian Michael Bendis (W), Leinil F. Yu (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• Sam Noir: Ronin Holiday #1

Hot on the heels of last year’s Samurai Detective series, everyone’s favorite…well…samurai detective returns in the spine tingling sequel. After the events of the last series, Sam needs a vacation. A few days in a tropical location seems like it might just be exactly what the doctor ordered. But there is no rest for the weary when assassins arrive and turn Sam’s sabbatical into a working vacation.

The tongue-in-cheek nature of the last series seems to be in play this time too. The concept is so lovably goofy that you just can’t help but smile every time you think about it. Judging that the idea has been successful enough to spawn two series, this could very well not be the last time we see Sam Noir.

Eric A. Anderson & Manny Trembley (W), Manny Trembley (A), Image Comics, $2.99. Three-Issue Miniseries.   

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. He would like to wish all the New Zealander Guiding Lines readers a “Happy Waitangi Day!” Waitangi Day is his favorite non-American holiday, based simply on how fun it is to say Waitangi. He writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters and writes title descriptions for Human Computing’s Comicbase collection management software.