Jae Lee To Illustrate New Dark Tower Novel

On his website, Stephen King announced yesterday that Marvel artist Jae Lee will provide the art for the next Dark Tower novel, The Wind Through The Keyhole.  Lee joins a fine collection of artists who have lent their talent to the series.  Folks like Michael Whelan (Books The Gunslinger & The Dark Tower), Phil Hale (The Drawing of Three), Ned Dameron (The Waste Lands), Dave McKean (Wizard and Glass), Bernie Wrightson (The Wolves of Calla), and Darrel Anderson (The Song of Sussanah).  Publisher Donald M Grant will deliver a limited Deluxe Edition release of 800 copies signed by King and Lee.  No word yet on the price tag.

I think Jae Lee is a great addition to the series.  His work for the Marvel comic has been outstanding and I also have had the good fortune of meeting the man a long, long time ago.  In 1992, just after Marvel snagged him for their hip, new take on Namor The Sub-Mariner, Lee did a signing at my local comic shop in Burke, Virginia.  I was 12 at the time and I had just suffered a rather painful signing experience with Todd McFarlane at the Philly Wizard Con.  However, unlike McFarlane, Lee was quite kind to this budding comic dork.  And yes, I still have my signed Namor #26.

                   Michael Whelen                                             Phil Hale

Ned Dameron

                        Dave McKean                                  Bernie Wrightson

                   Darrel Anderson                                             Jae Lee

--Brad

Stephen King To Constant Readers: New Dark Tower Book!?!?!?

On his website, Stephen King has just announced that he's completed a new book in The Dark Tower saga called The Wind Through the Keyhole and it should hit bookstores some time next year!!!  He states that it will take place between book 4 (Wizard and Glass) and book 5 (The Wolves of Calla); it won't be as long as books 2-7 but it will be significantly longer than the first book, The Gunslinger.

Whoa...although, I can't really say I'm surprised.  The Dark Tower has been picking up steam thanks to the success of the Marvel comics series and all this buzz surrounding Ron Howard's crazy TV/Movie format adaptation.  Call me cynical, but a new Dark Tower book from King seemed inevitable.  And despite my disappoint at the climax of Book 7, I'm kinda stoked about a new Roland book.  At least, much more so than King's upcoming JFK Time Travel book 11/22/63.

--Brad