Dark Tower: Fall Of Gilead #1 – Review

By Stephen King (creator), Peter David and Robin Furth (writing), Richard Isanove (parts), Dean White (color assists).

The Story: It’s the beginning of the end of Gilead as Farson’s forces, headed by the evil wizard Martin, have make their move against the Gunslingers. Roland deals with the realization of the matricide he has committed, while Cort makes a fatal stumble into one of Martin’s traps.

What’s Good: This is a “professional” comic, meaning, that there is an A list team onboard with experienced editors that have clearly worked out every nuance of this comic long before it has hit the shelves. Additionally, it is hard to go wrong with adapting an already legendary story, such as Stephen King’s Dark Tower. All that being said, this comic still rocks in and of itself.  It is masterfully written and conceived. Many scenes, especially with Roland and his mother, are unforgettable.

As always in the Dark Tower series, the art is beautiful. I’m not convinced that nothing is lost from the lack of Jae Lee on this arc, but Richard Isanove does a yeoman’s job filling in. His designs are very detailed and impactual. Roland’s expressions and overall  countenance are stark and powerful. You feel his horror and grief as wakes up to the reality of the murder he has committed.

What’s Not So Good: Well, Jae Lee is Jae Lee and him not doing pencils hurts this issue. Also, this issue veers away from Roland’s journey and basically just rehashes what we saw in the last issue of Treachery and in the Wizard one-shot. There is a lot of story to tell and spending a whole issue to get to one scene where Steven confronts Roland, is a bit wasteful. However, to be honest, I am nitpicking in finding things not to like in this issue as it mostly superb.

Conclusion: If you’re not reading this series, I recommend going out and getting the trades and jumping on board. With the exception of this not being a new creation, the Dark Tower series is comic book creating at its finest. I came to the Dark Tower series late and had to play catch-up, but it quickly became apparent to me that all the praise and rave reviews of this series is well warranted. The Fall of Gilead looks to be as strong as the previous installments. Whether it holds up the first arc, A Gunslinger is Born, is yet to be revealed, but I think it has the potential. I almost hate buying this series in single issue as it is very hard to wait to the next installment.

One last praise: Because of the extremely well crafted writing and gorgeous art, the Dark Tower series is, to me, highly re-readable. And this is what I ask for in a comic, the fact that it can be and needs to be visited again and again, rather than just a one and done like most titles on the shelf. Highly recommended!

Question for readers of the Dark Tower novels and comics: Would you want to see a comic adaptation of Roland’s adventures post-Gilead, i.e., his journey to the Dark Tower?

Grade: B+

-Rob G