Matt T's Comic Review
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1
Stephen King/Robin Furth/Peter David/
Jae Lee/Richard Isanove
Marvel Comics

OKAY, YOU'RE PROBABLY ASKING ONE OF TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BOOK. EITHER:

1) Oh my god, I LOVE Stephen King, and the Dark Tower books are my FAVORITES!!!!! Does this comic live up to the level of what might be King's magnum opus?!??  

OR

2) Oh my god, I cannot STAND Stephen King or his insane fans, and I presume this comic is just another crappy tie-in. Is it actually worth all the hype?

The good news is, I don't have to give two answers -- whichever question you're asking, the answer is yes. Marvel's interpretation of King's work is a genuinely excellent comic, no matter your familiarity with the source material. If you love King's original, you'll find this retelling of Roland's quest -- in a slightly more chronological order -- a fascinating, well-executed, almost reverent interpretation of the work. Peter David's script maintains King's voice and most of his best lines (including the memorable series opener, although David teases around it a few times before giving up the money shot), and Jae Lee and Richard Isanove blow the roof off with their art. There were at least three separate times in twenty-odd pages where I actually stopped and said, "Man, that is JUST how I pictured it." (And two or three more where I thought, "That's not how I pictured it, but it's much, much better.")

If you're not familiar with King's books, or even if you actively loathe them ... this is still an excellent book. David is a consummate professional; there's a reason he was one of the only ones to make the jump from Marvel sales to Marvel creative a quarter century ago, and it's the same reason that he's still around and relevant all these years later: he's a damned solid comic writer. At his worst, he's better than 85% of what's on the shelves, and this is FAR from his worst. And, as noted above, Lee and Isanove are doing the work of their already-storied careers with the art.(I fully expect to see them roundly honored for this one at the usual awards next year.) This is a top-notch fantasy comic, exactly the kind of non-super-hero genre comic Marvel has never before managed to produce, and if you're even remotely interested in that sort of thing, you should pick this up.

I'm not sure how else to put it. No matter what baggage you're bringing to it (or not), this is a very, very good comic. It's well worth your $3.99.

New Avengers #31
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Cover: Leinil Francis Yu
Arrived Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Make sure that you read New Avengers #31 if you keep up with the Marvel Universe!!

No hype! No BS! The most important last page of any Marvel comic this year!
Do not miss it!

32 PGS./Rated T+

3 JOSS WHEDON BOOKS ARRIVED ON WED, MAY 02, 2007:

Astonishing X-Men #21

The Story: “UNSTOPPABLE” PART 3 (OF 6)! Ord and his people of Breakworld lead the charge to take down the X-Men and S.W.O.R.D. And when this fight’s over…
Not everyone is coming back!

MARVEL 32 PGS./Rated T+

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: #3

With Buffy incapacitated, Amy the witch has taken the opportunity to-get this-lay siege with an army of the undead. Willow takes her on in a witches' battle royal as hundreds of Slayers defend their Scottish citadel, but without the kiss of true love, Buffy will be out of commission indefinitely-with an unwelcome familiar face, and an image you won't soon forget.

Buffy creator Joss Whedon brings Buffy back to DARK HORSE in this direct follow-up to Season Seven of the smash-hit TV series.

Runaways #26

The Story: “DEAD END KIDS”
The kids continue their New York adventure and encounter someone dangerous that they’ve never met before. Hint—LOOK BEHIND MOLLY ON THE COVER. Will he punish the Runaways? Superstar Joss Whedon (Buffy, ASTONISHING X-MEN) and rising star Michael Ryan (NEW X-MEN, NEW EXCALIBUR) continue a tale that will take the Runaways somewhere they’ve never been before! PART 2 (of 6)!

MARVEL 32 PGS./Rated T+

DC has four new WW III ONE SHOTS
(tie-in with the 52 WEEK series)
"Part 1: A Call To Arms", "Part 2: The Valiant"
"Part 3: Hell Is For Heroes", "Part 4: United We Stand" Arrived Wednesday, April 18, 2007

 Along with telling of the war, and how it rages
 through the DC Universe, the four regular-sized
 special issues will also answer some nagging questions that have been topics of discussion for DC readers since the start of One Year Later in the books – things like: How did Firestorm get separated from Cyborg and then merge with Firehawk? Why is Cassandra Cain evil? Why did Jason Todd take over the Nightwing mantle? When did the Teen Titans disband? How'd Martian Manhunter transform?    See cover art and summaries!

Captain America #25, 2ND PRINTING
"The Death of the Dream - Part 1"
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Cover and Art: Steve Epting
Arrived Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Leaping from the final pages of Civil War, this is the *only place* readers can find out what happens next in the life of Steve Rogers, aka CAPTAIN AMERICA! Trust us, folks, this oversized 25th issue will stun readers and send shockwaves through the entire Marvel Universe for the next year!
48 pages/Rated T+

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 8) #1
Variant Cover NEW PRINTING
"The Long Way Home - Part 1"
Writer: Joss Whedon
Artist: Georges Jeanty
Arrived Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Since the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers--newly legion--have gotten organized and are kicking some serious undead butt. But not everything's fun and firearms, as an old enemy reappears and Dawn experiences some serious growing pains . . .

Buffy creator Joss Whedon brings Buffy back to Dark Horse in this direct follow-up to season seven of the smash-hit TV series.

  DOES MAD NEED A MUSEUM?
  by Richard Corliss

 Read Time.com's February 03, 2007 article.