The Dark Tower, first published in 2007, is a series of comic books (originally published by Marvel Comics and later republished by Gallery 13) based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. Overall, it is plotted by Robin Furth and scripted by Peter David. Stephen King serves as Creative and Executive Director of the project.
Overview
The Dark Tower: Beginnings The first chapter run of the series, originally entitled simply The Dark Tower, launched February 7, 2007, and consisted of 30 issues that made up five volumes illustrated primarily by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. The first volume, The Gunslinger Born, was based mostly on flashbacks from The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger and The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass; the remaining volumes (The Long Road Home, Treachery, Fall of Gilead, and Battle of Jericho Hill) contained mostly new/original content which expanded upon details and events more briefly referenced throughout the novels. In addition to the five primary story arcs, the chapter run also included the one-shot, The Sorcerer. As stated by Peter David's afterword to The Long Road Home, the chapter run detailed Roland Deschain's "progress from callow youth to gunslinger," starting with his adventures in Mejis from Wizard and Glass and ending with the Battle of Jericho Hill (as detailed in The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla and The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower). This series was re-titled by Papa Arpit The Dark Tower: Beginnings to clarify its prequel status when Gallery 13 took over as publisher.
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger The second chapter run, under the title of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, began May 9, 2010. It consisted of another 30 issues across five additional volumes written by Furth and David. Following Lee's departure from the series, this chapter run featured Isanove teaming with a different artist for each story arc. The first volume, The Journey Begins, took place 12 years after the Battle of Jericho Hill and mostly detailed events which occurred between the time of the battle and the start of the novel The Gunslinger. The second volume, The Little Sisters of Eluria, was based mostly upon the short story of the same name. The remaining volumes were largely adaptations of the novellas within The Gunslinger. The third, The Battle of Tull, was based mostly upon content from "The Gunslinger". The fourth, The Way Station, was based mostly upon "The Way Station" and "The Oracle and the Mountains". The fifth, The Man in Black, was based mostly upon "The Slow Mutants" and "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man". In addition to the five primary story arcs, two limited series (Sheemie's Tale and Evil Ground) and another one-shot (So Fell Lord Perth) were released as part of this chapter run.
The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three The Dark Tower comics were planned to be finished after the August 7, 2013, release of So Fell Lord Perth. However, on April 25, 2014, a third chapter run, The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three, was announced. This chapter run, based primarily on the novel The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three, began September 17, 2014. The series continued to be written by Furth and David but featured, for the first time, new, rotating artistic teams that did not feature Isanove. The volumes in this chapter run focused on the newly gathered (or 'drawn') members of Roland's ka-tet, as divided in the novel into sections based on the mysterious doors through which Roland must travel. The first and second volumes (The Prisoner and House of Cards) focused on Eddie Dean, who was introduced in the section of the novel also named "The Prisoner". The third and fourth volumes (Lady of Shadows and Bitter Medicine) focused on Odetta Holmes, who was introduced in the section of the novel named "The Lady of Shadows". The fifth volume (The Sailor) focused on Jake Chambers, who survived his original fate thanks to a change in the timeline (as shown in the section of the novel named "The Pusher") and resultantly struggled to find a way to return to Mid-World (as depicted in the first half of The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands). This chapter run was the last to be published by Marvel Comics.
Collected editions and end of Marvel publication On November 7, 2007, Marvel began publishing collections for each story arc, and on September 21, 2011, it began publishing hardcover omnibus editions collecting each chapter run, with bonus materials not contained in the original releases. However, only the first two chapter runs received the omnibus treatment; Marvel's publication of the series ended before an omnibus edition of The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three was released.
Gallery 13 republication In 2018, Gallery 13 took over publication of the Dark Tower comics, beginning in August by republishing the collected graphic novels from the original chapter run of the series (rebranded as Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Beginnings), with the collected graphic novels from The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger chapter run set to be republished beginning spring 2019.
List of original Marvel Comics chapter runs and story arcs Arc #TitleIssue(s)Release date(s)PlotScriptInterior ArtCover(s)*The Dark Tower: BeginningsThe Gunslinger Born7February 7 - August 1, 2007Robin FurthPeter DavidJae Lee & Richard IsanoveJae Lee & Richard IsanoveThe Long Road Home5March 5 - July 2, 2008Robin FurthPeter DavidJae Lee & Richard IsanoveJae Lee & Richard IsanoveTreachery6September 10, 2008 - February 25, 2009Robin FurthPeter DavidJae Lee & Richard IsanoveJae Lee & Richard IsanoveThe Sorcerer1April 15, 2009Robin FurthRobin FurthRichard IsanoveRichard IsanoveFall of Gilead6May 13 - November 25, 2009Robin FurthPeter DavidRichard Isanove, Dean WhiteRichard Isanove, Jae LeeBattle of Jericho Hill5December 3, 2009 - April 21, 2010Robin FurthPeter DavidJae Lee & Richard IsanoveJae Lee & Richard IsanoveThe Dark Tower: The GunslingerThe Journey Begins5May 19 - September 22, 2010Robin FurthPeter DavidSean Phillips & Richard IsanoveSean Phillips & Richard IsanoveThe Little Sisters of Eluria5December 8, 2010 - April 13, 2011Robin FurthPeter DavidLuke Ross & Richard IsanoveLuke Ross & Richard IsanoveThe Battle of Tull5June 1 - October 5, 2011Robin FurthPeter DavidMichael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Richard IsanoveMichael Lark & Richard IsanoveThe Way Station5December 14, 2011 - April 25, 2012Robin FurthPeter DavidLaurence Campbell & Richard IsanoveLaurence Campbell & Richard IsanoveThe Man in Black5June 20 - October 17, 2012Robin FurthPeter DavidAlex Maleev & Richard IsanoveAlex MaleevSheemie's Tale2January 9 - February 13, 2013Robin FurthRobin FurthRichard IsanoveRichard IsanoveEvil Ground2April 3 - June 5, 2013Robin FurthPeter DavidRichard Isanove, Dean WhiteRichard IsanoveSo Fell Lord Perth1August 7, 2013Robin FurthPeter DavidRichard IsanoveRichard IsanoveThe Dark Tower: The Drawing of the ThreeThe Prisoner5September 3 - November 30, 2014Robin FurthPeter DavidPiotr Kowalski & Nick FilardiJulian Totino TedescoHouse of Cards5March 25 - July 15, 2015Robin FurthPeter DavidPiotr Kowalski & Nick FilardiJulian Totino TedescoLady of Shadows5September 2, 2015 - January 20, 2016Robin FurthPeter DavidJonathan Marks & Lee LoughridgeNimit MalaviaBitter Medicine5April 20 - August 31, 2016Robin FurthPeter DavidJonathan Marks & Lee LoughridgeNimit MalaviaThe Sailor5October 12, 2016 - February 8, 2017Robin FurthPeter DavidJuanan Ramirez, Cory Hamscher, Jesus Aburtov, Federico BleeJay Anacleto & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Notes Cover artists listed are for primary first-printing cover art, not additional printings and/or variant covers.
List of original Marvel Comics companion releases Vol #TitleIssue(s)Release date(s)The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born Sketchbook1December 13, 2006Marvel Spotlight: The Dark Tower1January 31, 2007The Dark Tower: Gunslinger's Guidebook1August 1, 2007The Dark Tower: End-World Almanac1July 2, 2008The Dark Tower: Guide to Gilead1April 8, 2009The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three / Revenge Sampler1July 30, 2014
List of original Marvel Comics collected editions Story arc collections Vol #TitleFormatISBNRelease dateCollected materialThe Dark Tower: BeginningsThe Dark Tower: The Gunslinger BornHardcoverNovember 7, 2007The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1-7PaperbackMay 19, 2010The Dark Tower: The Long Road HomeHardcoverOctober 7, 2008The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1-5PaperbackOctober 20, 2010The Dark Tower: TreacheryHardcoverApril 21, 2009The Dark Tower: Treachery #1-6PaperbackMarch 16, 2011The Dark Tower: Fall of GileadHardcoverFebruary 23, 2010The Dark Tower: The Sorcerer #1 and Fall of Gilead #1-6PaperbackNovember 2, 2011The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho HillHardcoverAugust 18, 2010The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill #1-5PaperbackMay 9, 2012The Dark Tower: The GunslingerThe Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey BeginsHardcoverJanuary 25, 2011The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins #1-5PaperbackNovember 14, 2012The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Little Sisters of EluriaHardcoverJune 22, 2011The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Little Sisters of Eluria #1-5PaperbackJanuary 29, 2013The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Battle of TullHardcoverJanuary 25, 2012The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Battle of Tull #1-5PaperbackMay 7, 2013The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Way StationHardcoverJune 27, 2012The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Way Station #1-5PaperbackJuly 30, 2013The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Man in BlackHardcoverJanuary 15, 2013The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Man in Black #1-5PaperbackOctober 29, 2013The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Last ShotsPaperback*October 8, 2013The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Sheemie's Tale #1-2, Evil Ground #1-2, and So Fell Lord Perth #1The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the ThreeThe Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The PrisonerPaperbackMarch 10, 2015The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Prisoner #1-5The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - House of CardsPaperbackSeptember 22, 2015The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - House of Cards #1-5The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Lady of ShadowsPaperbackMarch 29, 2016The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Lady of Shadows #1-5The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Bitter MedicinePaperbackOctober 18, 2016The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - Bitter Medicine #1-5The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The SailorPaperbackMay 9, 2017The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Sailor #1-5 Notes Story arc collections 1-10 originally were made available in both hardcover and softcover (paperback) formats. Beginning with collection 11, the only printed edition released was a paperback format (this did not apply to the omnibus editions, which continued to be released solely in hardcover).
Omnibus collections Vol #TitleFormatISBNRelease dateCollected materialThe Dark Tower: BeginningsThe Dark Tower OmnibusHardcoverSeptember 21, 2011Story arc collections 1-5The Dark Tower Omnibus CompanionBonus material not included in the original individual collections (1-5)The Dark Tower: The GunslingerThe Dark Tower: The Gunslinger OmnibusHardcoverSeptember 3, 2014Story arc collections 6-11The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Omnibus CompanionBonus material not included in the original individual collections (6-11)
List of Gallery 13 republished collected editions
Story arc collections