Customer Reviews

Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The young gunslinger will soon embark on his world-spanning quest to destroy his sorcerous nemesis... and Gilead is definitely doomed.

The graphic novel prequel of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series grinds toward its inevitable end... and as Gilead and everyone in it is about to crumble, the story takes on the harrowing dimensions of a Greek tragedy. "The Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead" is filled with blood, tragic deaths, treachery, and evil magic -- and it's a truly brilliant story.

Roland wakes to find that he's killed his own mother under the Grapefruit's spell. Even though it's found that she was a traitor planning to kill her husband, he's faced with the gallows. But it isn't the last death that will tear Gilead apart -- Cort's investigations in Marten's room leads to tragedy when he's exposed to a poisoned book, and another of Stephen's ka-tet falls to the Slow Mutants.

As Marten's web begins to tighten around the city, others fall prey to John Farson's plots and die terrible, bloody deaths -- and Stephen Deschain is gravely wounded in an ambush. Roland and his young friends are called upon to save Gilead from the traitors that riddle its population... but they cannot prevent the death from spreading to even the most invincible gunslinger.

"Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead" is like tumbling down a steep, rocky mountain covered with briars and thistles -- everything just goes downhill, and there's a lot of blood, pain, misery and death. Reading this comic book is a pretty painful experience because our callow young gunslinger is slowly losing everything and everyone that he loves, and the worst part is that there are a few more issues to go.

Peter David and Robin Furth smoothly adapt King's writing into a spare, rough-edged elegance, and they know how to heighten the tragedy of it -- in particular, the destruction of the gunslingers and the loss of the last of Roland's innocence. In fact, the entire story of "The Fall of Gilead" is a shocking string of bloody, violent death -- it was pretty obvious that almost everyone in Gilead would die, but it's still massive shock whenever another gunslinger is murdered.

The artwork is, as always, is brilliant -- bleak, shadowy and locked in perpetual dusk, with bright splashes of red everywhere (blood, scarlet curtains, Aileen's poncho, the Good Man's mask, etc). And it's worth noting that Roland undergoes a change in these issues, slowly morphing from a skinny young boy to a chiseled, strong man. I doubt this was an accident.

This brilliantly dark, bloody series soars into the realm of tragedy in "Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead" -- it can make you weep for people who never were, in a ruined world that never was.

I really enjoyed this hardcover. We begin with an exploration of Marten Broadcloak & his past. It's a simple but enlightening enough tale. Then the fall begins. Noticeably enough the demise of Gilead comes from within. There are some real harrowing scenes in it and the pace is relentless. Roland takes a back seat of sorts & it concentrates more on his father for as long as possible. The art once again is fantastic and really suits the mood of the book. Overall it's a thoroughly enjoyable read & well worth the look for new & old fans of the Dark Tower alike.

They changed the artist. Fail. This series is being written by Robin Furth, not Stephen King, which creates an understandable bit of confusion as to what is official Dark Tower canon and what is not (although King does give his approval to the series and I'm sure he's involved in the production somehow). Maybe, I just need to go back and reread the original novels, but I seem to remember Steven Deschain and his ka-tet dying differently than is being presented in the Fall of Gilead. That could just be me though.

This is, in some ways, entirely new territory for Dark Tower fans. The story being explored here is merely referenced in Wolves of the Calla, when Roland recounts his mother's fate, and cryptically mentions the Battle of Jericho Hill that claimed the lives of his friends Alain and Cuthbert. Here, we see what happens as events unfold in Gilead and learn a good deal about the most eventful and meaningful formative experiences in Roland's life: the death of his father, his ascension to dinh, and his failure to protect his father's city, the city of Arthur Eld, and his friends from John Farson and the Man in Black.

Let's face it though: Furth is not Stephen King, and though she tries to emulate him in box narration ("do ya kennit?" and such), she's just not him and hasn't found her own voice, to this series's detriment. The artwork in this volume leaves much to be desired, and it's fantastically gory (the death of Cort is gruesome to say the least). Perhaps the medium of the graphic novel doesn't do wonderful things for this type of story-telling. Furth does finally help to clarify a couple of things: 1. What happened to Gilead and to Roland's father exactly? and 2. John Farson is indeed distinct and separate from the Man in Black, a.k.a. Walter O'Dimm, a.k.a. Randall Flagg, a.k.a. Marten Broadcloak and not just another one of his alias's. Farson's role in the fall of Gilead and the fate of the Deschains is explained plausibly and with enough new material to keep Tower fans satisfied in the post-King era. He is a miscreant, a rabble-rouser and a revolutionary, an interesting character in his own right. In addition, the fleshing-out of Aileen, the only woman gunslinger continues, and her ties to Roland are further explored. To date, she is the only character outside of the Tower novels to be introduced by the comic writers. I'm on the fence about her still though.

Some interesting questions linger. As the ka-tet escape Gilead, the only survivors of a massacre as Farson's troops sack the city, when will we see the Battle of Jericho Hill? What role will Aileen play and how will they explain the fact that in years traveling together Roland does not mention her to his new crew? What role is Sheemie going to play before the end? And why doesn't Roland remember him? What becomes of Farson and Gilead once it is in his possession? Why doesn't he pursue Roland after Jericho Hill?

The series is good enough to keep me reading, but probably only because I consider the original a masterpiece of Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror/Adventure/Romance, whatever...as usual the Dark Tower defies classification.

Peter David and Robin Furth, The Dark Tower vol. 4: Fall of Gilead (Marvel, 2009)

No spoiler here; the title tells you what's coming, as did Stephen King's original novels. All David and Furth, who comes on board as a writer for one of the pieces here (she's been a consultant throughout the series), are doing is fleshing out what we already know. While I still wish they'd get back on track with the original books, the work is the same quality we've come to expect from the series so far, and it's enjoyable in that spinoff-series kind of way; not worth it without having read King's original novels, but valuable if you have. *** 1/2

Fleshes out a lot of the back story from the novels that (if you're like me) may have been hard to visualize. The art is different from the other graphic novels, only subtly, but enough to make the whole series lose a tad of cohesion--just a tad. Nitpicking aside, another great effort on the work. The physical product is great also--brown hard cover, wrapped in a nice dust jacket--very cool for a comic series. If you buy one of the series then just go ahead and buy the rest because you will save yourself time and you'll be doing it anyway. They're akin to crack . . .or what I imagine crack to be like!!

I had to wait a full year since "Treachery" before I could get my hands on this one. And the wait was worth it! The Fall of Gilead is, so far, the best volume of the series.

The Good
-Brilliant art... again. The art in the entire series has been awesome, but this volume stands out. Some of the panels, the way they were framed, the colors...ooohh, I felt like I was reading a movie. Every tragic death scene is horribly memorable (Roland holding his deceased mother, bleeding Cort in his bed, Vannay and Dr. DeCurry, just to name a few) and Farson's massive army truly instills a feeling of hopelessness. Most importantly (and noticeably) in this volume were the character's faces. A few panels, such as Roland in the jail cell or Sheemie...wow.
-Story and writing: I was transported to Lord of the Rings. The same hopeless feeling, the intensity, the race against time, all of the right elements are there. Especially after "Treachery", The Fall of Gilead cranks the intensity up to eleven.
-The DT Universe: I'm in love with the novels, reading Fall of Gilead was like a family reunion. There is so much here, so many familiar names, Arthur Eld himself even makes an appearance! This volume made me realize how much I like Cort.
I love the additions to the universe as well, most notably Alieen.

The Bad
-So many people die... :-(

Get this book!

This book was a good purcase for me just based on the info presented in the Dark Tower vein that I didn't know before. I've read all the previous books and graphic novels and it was really cool to find out a little more about Marten/Walter/Randall Flagg/The Man In Black. That being said, now knowing his stature and breeding it's hard to believe his fate in DTVII!! I really enjoyed the story line and the artwork was top notch. It's worth the bucks...

I don't care if you don't read, or have never read, "comic books," or dislike fantasy, or hated The Dark Tower series as it unfolded Stephen King`s epoch, and oft-delayed, vision. I must nevertheless tell you this: If you appreciate great literature, you should be buying and reading and following Marvel Comics' adaptation of The Dark Tower. All of the elements of great literature--passion, tragedy, pathos, irony, and nobility--are included within, in great and equal measure.

If I may, please let me recap what the creators of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead--Robin Furth and Peter David in collaboration on the narrative, and Richard Isanove on the artwork--have been doing with this volume and the three that preceded it. Their intent is to tell the opening of King's opus in linear and in comic book form, with some additional first-class mortar added to King's solid brick masonry. The result is a story with which you may already be familiar, with additional elements newly revealed, all told from a new perspective and with King's approval and blessing. The result--with Fall of Gilead, four hardbound volumes to date, each of which collects a six-issue story arc as well as two sets of covers for each issue featured therein--is a flawless execution of storytelling born of concept, story, and art.

There is deep and dark tragedy within the pages contained between the binding of Fall of Gilead, and it is spooned out in heartbreaking, incremental pieces. Fall of Gilead begins with a crack or two in the foundation, which leads to other cracks, and then collapse. All of the above are occasioned by magic, bewitchment, betrayal, and passion. Indeed, it begins, as does everything, with sex, as the Magician, Marten Broadcloak, seduces the wife of Steven Duchain, Lord of Gilead, while she in turn is murdered by Roland the Gunslinger, her own son--by accident, but murdered nonetheless. The opening chapter, "The Sorcerer," originally published as a standalone work, serves as an epilogue, if you will, to Treachery, the volume that immediately preceded it, and as a prologue to Fall of Gilead. "The Sorcerer" reveals more, but not all, of Marten's grand scheme, providing additional and horrific explanation to what has gone before and provides the six chapters that, as published issue by issue, constitute the Fall of Gilead story arc. One by one, many of the friends whom we come to love over the course of the previous three volumes are irrevocably, horrifically lost, their passing made all the more terrible as much by the nobility of their death as by the offal-encrusted hands of those who cause them. Isanove's art is unflinching here. The unadorned cruelty of Broadcloak and John Farson, the dark lord who believes that Broadcloak is in his employ (and who may be in for a surprise before all is done), and the betrayal of Gilead are unflinchingly portrayed as well. As with the prior volumes, the script by Robin Furth and Peter David is the equal of the art, a seamless story that respects the original foundation while creating something that is new and yet familiar, like a ghost memory come to life.


Stephen King's The Dark Tower adaptation in general, and Fall of Gilead in particular, is nothing less than the dark matter of nightmare brought to vision.
-- Joe Hartlaub

If you're a huge fan of DT series, buy this. They have changed story a little, and there's some new stuff here. If you're a casual fan, wouldn't recommend this to you. If you're a comic book fan, I would recommend this as it is a really good series from Stephen King, and it translates well to comic books.

Fall of Gilead is the fourth volume of the limited series Marvel comic based on Stephen King's beloved Dark Tower series and the third to provide an entirely new narrative. I confess that it's been years since I've read the Dark Tower series, which leaves me to critique these volumes as they are. It's no secret that King was all over the place with his writing of the novels and I'm aware of complaints that some of these comics depict events that don't quite match with King's take on the story or are inspired by the briefest mention in his books and then taken in an entirely new direction. For those with a scholar's familiarity of the Dark Tower series, this may be a problem and an annoyance. For those who just so love the world King created and would like a worthy reason to return to it, this will no doubt suit you. These volumes are co-dependent on whether the reader has previously read King's novels and therefore certain spoilers are totally irrelevant. The title lets you know what you're in for; this volume is about the fall of Gilead. What is most unexpected is how well the story is told, with lovely presentation.

The Fall of Gilead segment is preceded by a one-shot entitled The Sorcerer, which was plotted and scripted by Robin Furth. It recounts the events of Treachery from the perspective of Marten Broadcloak and does so effectively, neither staining the mystique of one of King's most interesting characters nor coming off as the same story being told again to fill pages. It's a short tale, well-told but simply a prelude to the real story. Roland's mother Gabrielle is dead and his father, Steven Deschain begins to unravel the plot to overthrow Gilead. Roland is jailed, while Steven and his citizens find that they're on the brink of war with John Farson's gang. This is the most violent volume thus far and the most vividly drawn.

As usual, this volume is plotted by Robin Furth and scripted by Peter David. However, Jae Lee, one of the two artists responsible for bringing King's world to life, has quietly stepped down for no apparent reason and has left Richard Isanove to take sole charge of bringing these characters to life through his chosen medium. The art in this volume is, in my humble opinion, the best artwork of any volume thus far. I was not aware of Lee's departure until I finished this volume and upon doing so, it seems to reveal Isanove as the true creative force behind the visuals of the story. I was floored by nearly every panel.

The artwork has frequently outshined the writing, although both Furth and David have some very large shoes to fill. I've found the writing getting progressively better and truer to the tone of King's books with each new volume, this one being no exception. Just like in King's books, I find myself becoming emotionally invested in these characters and sympathizing with their individual plights. The writing is still imperfect however, especially when trying to capture (or perhaps imitate) King's playful tone. King knows precisely when to throw in something playful to keep his story from becoming too serious, something Furth seems to struggle with. Here, the dramatic moment where Steven Deschain learns what his wife has done is ruined by his campy declaration: "arrest the b****." Perhaps it was intentional to destroy the emotional buildup that came before it, as well as destroy the potential for being a powerful moment. Regardless, it seems out of place and forced. Comparatively, Steven Deschain's "You who hold the key to my heart...and my safe" a few pages later is formulaic too but more effectively amusing and well-placed.
The juxtaposition of the writing and the artwork has really hit a creative peak with this story. This volume sucks you in with a paralyzing grip and, with each volume functioning as a part of a cohesive whole; it makes the whole progression very cinematic. Just like a movie, the first few volumes were build-up while Fall of Gilead is the epic climax. Even so, there's still one volume left in this particular chapter run.

In Fall of Gilead, all these characters so beautifully brought to life are likewise beautifully brought to death. I applaud Furth and David for taking King's vague ideas and giving them such strong emotional impact. Aside from being my favorite volume thus far, with what I consider to be the best artwork yet; this is also the most epic volume. It's exciting, gripping, and tragic. It now officially stands on its own as strong material rather than simply being the more dismissive "worthy companion piece." I am becoming more pleased with the direction of this series than I could have imagined. This is a must-read for Dark Tower fans, so catch up on the previous volumes and see what you've been missing.

GRADE: A