This continues the fantastic first few issues. The artwork is amazingly detailed, and the story is well adapted. Each place they come upon makes me want to know all of the details and history behind them... the Citgo fields, the psychic enhancer, Maerlyn's orbs... I can't wait to read the next installment! ( )

This book was the reason I decided to read the Dark Tower series. It came into my hands and I wanted to read the original first...many turns of the wheel later, I finally read this graphic novel, which depicts mostly Roland, Cuthbert, Alain, Sheemie, and Marten. A little of a spin-off tale with great art and an expansion to the tale that fits in well with the series. ( )

Where [b:The Gunslinger Born|342445|Dark Tower The Gunslinger Born|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173898471s/342445.jpg|2402933] follows Roland's gunslinger apprenticeship pretty faithfully to King's original telling, The Long Road Home traverses a previously uncharted portion of the gunslinger's tale. Namely, it tells of the journey--nay, flight--of Roland and his friends from Hambry back to Gilead.

I like the story for two main reasons (other than simply being a new story). Foremost, I like it because ultimately it is more a story about the other members of Roland's ka-tet - Cuthbert and Alain - than Roland himself. This is primarily because Roland is unconscious for most of the trip. But don't worry, Roland does make appearances in the story, because as anyone who has ever read a King story knows, "unconscious" does not mean "inactive."

Secondly, I liked the story because it has one of the few genuinely happy endings in the gunslinger oeuvre. Well, mostly happy, since anyone who has read through the rest of the oeuvre knows what's yet to come; but still, it's purt'near as close to a happy ending to a gunslinger story as you'll ever run across. And sometimes you just damn well need a happy ending. ( )

It's funny, as I read this, I was thinking to myself, "Why don't I remember this from the books?" Well, I guess that's because Stephen King did not write this! And it shows! I love Roland, and I loved his ka-tet (Cuthbert and Alain), and I really wanted to like this graphic novel. And it looks great too! But the story is very muddled, and, for me, it did not add anything to the DT tale. The whole Sheemie subplot completely baffled me! It wasn't a long read, but it wasn't really worth it either. ( )

There is so much to love in these Dark Tower comics, and while I've only read two at this point, the artwork is absolutely brilliant. Shocking, evocative, colorful, crazy, and simply gorgeous.

The stories have so far retold and filled in aspects of Dark Tower #4, Wizard and Glass, which is Roland's young days and his initial tragedies, but I should point out that there is MORE story and less. Aspects are filled in that are freaking amazing while a lot of the palaver and mystery from the original book are streamlined nicely in the comic. :)

That's all great. No problems here. I would, however, recommend reading these AFTER you've read the original books. The spoilers are mild for the most part, EXCEPT in one specific way.

After the comic, proper, there are short stories. These shorts carry us back to the days of Eld and give us a glorious look into Arthur, his Ka-Tet, the birth of the Crimson King, and even some rather fantastic insights into the North Central Positronics Corporation. The bestiaries are quite nice, too. :) In other words, we are glutted with great information. It really DEEPENS your understanding of King's worlds. :)

I am tempted to say that these extras are somehow more important and impressive than the glorious artwork. ( )