Graphic Novels

Abstract

Another non-traditional publishing format in which King has become active in the last decade is that of graphic novels, both adaptations and original narratives, including his previously discussed contribution to Scott Snyder’s American Vampire: Volume 1. In 2007 the first installment of The Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born was released by Marvel, inspired by King’s epic seven-novel Dark Tower series and its gunslinger protagonist Roland Deschain. King said in an interview prior to the first issue’s release, “The first few issues … are almost entirely drawn from the books. Readers will recognize them and hopefully be as thrilled as I am” (qtd. in Colton 01d). However, after these early issues, Marvel’s Dark Tower series moved beyond the narrative of King’s own books, delving into times and aspects of Roland’s life that were not featured in the original series, going on to publish nearly a dozen collections featuring the Gunslinger’s exploits, including The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home (2008), The Dark Tower: The Journey Begins (2011), and The Dark Tower: Last Shots (2013). In 2008, Marvel also began publishing a graphic novel adaptation of King’s expansive novel The Stand with Captain Trips (2010), American Nightmares (2010), and The Night Has Come (2013). There have also been standalone graphic novels developed from King’s work, including N. (2010), based on a novella featured in his 2008 collection Just After Sunset, and Little Green God of Agony, a 2012 web comic adapted from a short story of King’s featured in the 2011 anthology A Book of Horrors.