Results tagged “stephen king”

The Talisman: The Road of Trials #1 is now on sale with two exciting covers to chose from. Cover A is by Massimo Carnevale and the ultra rare Cover B is by Penny Arcade’s Mike Krahulik. Both are available in comic book stores today!

If you happen to pick up a copy we would love to know what you think of it. Please email your thoughts or questions to delreycomics@randomhouse.com. We just might include your letter in a future issue.

Find a comic book retailer near you here.

Welcome to the Territories! Hope you enjoy the visit.

Yesterday I posted that Stephen King would be returning to the Dark Tower, writing a novel or a collection of interwoven short stories that take place between the events of Wizard & Glass and Wolves of the Calla.

This is big news. Dark Tower fans are a cult I am proudly a part of.

It was announced on his website that the tentative title for the book will be:

The Wind Through the Keyhole

I love it!

It will be at least 8 months before Sai King can begin writing the new book. Which begs the question: What is he working on right now? A screenplay for the zombie story Cell but what else? Wish it was the The Talisman / Black House sequel…

Here is a video of Stephen King from last night’s book signing for his new book, Under the Dome. He is absolutely hilarious in it:

Enjoy!

There will be a new Dark Tower novel!

It seems the doors into Roland Deschain’s universe are not entirely closed to Stephen King after all! It is widely known that such doors were not readily open to him over the years. It took ka to open them and ka can be a fickle thing. But it seems the door has opened one more time and King will be writing a new novel set in the middle of the Dark Tower timeline, the plot to take place between the end of Wizard & Glass and Wolves of the Calla.

Back in March 2009, Stephen King spoke to USA Today where he hinted at the prospect of possibly re-entering Roland’s world:

When we were chatting about his (King’s) upcoming book Under the Dome, a novel with political subtext out in November, King said he had recently had an idea for a short story. “And then I thought, ‘Well, why don’t I find three more like this and do a book that would be almost like modern fairy tales?’ Then this thing started to add on bits and pieces so I guess it will be a novel.” That idea, according to King, is for a new Dark Tower novel, a continuation of his epic seven-part fantasy/sci-fi/Western series about a lone gunslinger named Roland and his ongoing hunt for the Man in Black. “It’s not really done yet,” King admits of his magnum opus. “Those seven books are really sections of one long uber-novel.”

With that said, it left a lot unknown, specifically in my mind if King would really venture back into his opus. Apparently while out on tour in support of Under the Dome, King has made a concrete statement about it:

King stated he will write another Dark Tower novel. It will center around supporting characters and revolve around some important events between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla. One fan asked him to make sure Oy comes back, and King said not to worry, that Oy would return.

This is great news for Dark Tower fans! Even if the story doesn’t revolve around Roland, it will assuredly be a lot of fun. Now if we could only find out how far King is into writing this new book and when he conceivably believes it will be published…?

Ka is a wheel…

It is November 10th, the release day for the new Stephen King novel, Under the Dome!

This book is massive in the King lexicon; only The Stand and It are larger self-contained stories. It is a return for the King of Horror to the epic kind of stories he once told at the outset of his career. Under the Dome is also a story that King has said numerous times he tried writing at various times during his life but could never get quite right. He just wasn’t ready yet for it.

In the last two years he became more than ready, apparently. Under the Dome has arrived in bookstores everywhere today and below are some links to Stephen King video content, interviews and other goodies about the new novel:

• Interview: Stephen King on his 10 Longest Novels
• UK Book Trailer (:31 seconds)
• Interview: Susan Moldow, King’s Publisher
• Amazon Videos: King Talks and Reads From Under the Dome
• Video: King Discusses Under the Dome
• Video: King Reads Under the Dome

Under the Dome is now out!

The Talisman: The Road of Trials #0 was released last week in comic books stores!

Lilja’s Library, a haven of information for Stephen King fans, has conducted an interview with artist Tony Shasteen. Tony was chosen by Stephen King and Peter Straub to illustrate the adaptation of The Talisman and from what I have seen so far he is doing a great job.

To read the new interview with Tony, click here!

If you haven’t checked out the The Talisman: The Road of Trials #1 Preview, do so! It really illustrates—no pun intended, honest—the penciling power Tony is bringing to this project.

Got your Issue #0? It’s only $1.00 at comic book stores now!

Here is the comic book cover for Dark Tower: The Battle of Jericho Hill Issue #3.

As usual, Jae Lee and Richard Isanove have done a gorgeous job depicting an emotionally destroyed Roland Deschain, the young man ready for war but saddened that Mid-World has come to its end.

The battle of Jericho Hill will be epic!

Cannot wait!

Aristotle once coined the general principle of holism as: “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

It can be great fun, however, analyzing the parts!

Where do the parts that comprise you come from?

Where did the parts that make up Shawn Charlton Speakman come from?

I am extremely self aware of who I am—at least who I think I am. Every daily event I have experienced in life has become a part of me. From birth until my last breath, I know that I will be shaped by anyone and everything. It is inevitable. That includes the books I read too. In a way the authors I’ve read over the years have taken up residence in my soul and, like the guiding influence of my parents when I was young, live inside of me, to be called on when needed.

It’s no wonder I love collecting those books that are most meaningful to me.

What characters in fantasy / science fiction best explain who you are?

Here are the main four I can definitively say reside inside:

Superman

No, no father of mine gave his son away, to rocket through the cosmos and help bring light to a barbaric humanity.

That would be cool though, right?

In all seriousness, the majority of who I am can be explained by Clark Kent and how he sheds all selfish desires to help others less fortunate. I try to emulate that. When a friend needs help I am there offering what I can. If a stranger falls down in front of me, I help them up if I don’t catch them first. When a wheelchair-bound man tries to belly up to the bar, I clear away the stools before the bartender can do it. I spend a lot of time and energy putting people at ease, to add a meaningful dialogue with all I meet whether it is talking about sports or giving heartfelt listening and advice.

I try to be a hero for other people who need it, even for what seems the most mundane of needs.

I have always held those ideals, from my earliest memories. But Superman became something more to me when I was diagnosed with cancer almost nine years ago. I began chemotherapy just like many thousands do every day. To represent the strength I would need to survive, I wore one of three Superman t-shirts to treatment every day. It brought a smile to those being infused around me; it kept me focused on the strength I would have to bring to bear.

Needless to say, there is a Man of Steel in my persona—despite looking like Lex Luthor on the outside!

“The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.

That opening sentence to The Gunslinger by Stephen King will be imprinted on my brain until the day I die. It is just one of the best opening lines of any book—ever—and sets up a conflict that resonates for another six books, a short story, and numerous prequel comic book issues.

It appears as though Marvel Comics is not through with Stephen King just yet!

It was just announced that the creative team of Robin Furth, Peter David and Richard Isanove would be returning for another series of mini-series devoted to the adaptation of The Gunslinger. Next month the last arc of new material begins, Dark Tower: The Battle of Jericho Hill, and as it is the climax to his first ka-tet Stephen King and Marvel want to shed more light on why the last gunslinger is the way he is and what pushed him toward his quest for the enigmatic Dark Tower.

I am happy about this. I love that piece of artwork above. I only pray, sai King and sai Quesada, that Jae Lee is doing the pencil artwork throughout the series. Without him or a true penciler on board, this project will be lackluster.

Time will tell!

Ka is a wheel. And it turns, turns, turns…

M-O-O-N! That spells early excerpt!

The Talisman #0 will be released on October 21st in comic bookstores but Del Rey Books has allowed Entertainment Weekly to release early a 12-page full-color excerpt from the issue!

The issue is a prequel to what was written in novel The Talisman. Jack Sawyer is still alive and traveling between our world and that of the Territories. I think Robin Furth and Tony Shasteen do a great job setting up the major conflict that eventually leads to one of my favorite stories of all time.

Visit HERE to read a portion of the prequel issue to the Stephen King and Peter Straub adaptation of The Talisman!

Then locate your nearest comic book shop by using www.comicshoplocator.com!

Enjoy!

As I’ve said, November is basically Stephen King Month.

But some very cool things are happening in October too!

Yesterday the publisher Scribner released the cover for Under the Dome, the new massive horror novel by Stephen King. Scribner and its art department went all out for this cover. It is a multi-panel cover of the dome as it covers the town of Chester’s Mill. The artwork is alive and vibrant, which is a departure from most King covers.

To view the wraparound cover in its entirety, click HERE.

Great stuff. Can’t wait for November!

We have less than a month and November will be here.

What happens in November? Well, let’s see:

• November 10th: Under the Dome, the new massive horror novel by Stephen King, will be published.
• November 18th: The Talisman #1, the comic book adaptation of the novel written by Stephen King and Peter Straub, hits fine comic bookstores everywhere.
• November 25th: Dark Tower: The Battle of Jericho Hill #1, the story of one of the most important tales hinted at in Stephen King’s opus the Dark Tower, also hits comic book stores.

But do you want to get a jump on November in October? Of course you do!

First, read the new Newsarama interview HERE with comic book adapter and writer Robin Furth! She was once King’s assistant but now she is ensuring his books are adapted correctly at Marvel and Del Rey Books.

Second, on October 20th, Del Rey and the creative team of Furth, Shasteen and Ruffino will publish in comic bookstores The Talisman Issue #0, a full color prequel to the novel of the same name!

Get the jump on, in October!

M-O-O-N! That spells… Halloween?

Happy weekend!

Back in 2002 I had the opportunity to work on a Big Movie. It was a buddy cop movie and two Big Stars attached, a big director coming off a very successful teen flick, and a friend of mine was hired to write the script. Lotta money on the line. I came on to consult.

We sat down in a hotel room and started writing dialogue. It was a great experience. Knowing that the lines we were writing would be coming out of the mouths of two of the most popular male actors in recent cinema history was a great thrill.

Early on we wrote a scene where the two cops were checking out some suspicious house. There’s a vicious dog barking in the background, threatening them. You hear a gunshot and the barking stops. We thought it would hilarious to have one of the guys actually shoot the dog. Just the thought of how clever and funny it would be kept us sailing forward through pages, scenes, conflicts. This would be the greatest buddy cop comedy ever.

We turned in some pages.

Two weeks later we got fired.

There was only one note.

“You shot the dog?”

“Well, yes,” we replied, “it’s the last thing anybody would expect, which is why it’s funny.”

Deaf ears.

We shot the dog.

And we say, “Thank you, God, for the lesson.”

Several years later, I was writing a novel called Eat the Dark for Del Rey books. In it, some very nasty things happen to a family trapped inside an old hospital. They have a young son, a five-year-old, is hiding from a supernatural killer in the dark. At one point, Erich Schoeneweiss, the Production Manager at Del Rey, asked, “Are you gonna kill the kid this time?” His point was, in most horror novels, the author never actually kills the kid. They put the kid in jeopardy, they use him as a kind of emotional hostage to keep the reader guessing, but when the rubber hits the road, the kid lives.

Not always, of course.

Stephen King has killed the kid a couple times, most notably in Cujo and Pet Sematary. In the latter case King pulled the particularly cruel stunt of killing the kid, then making us think that the kid wasn’t really dead, and then revealing that he indeed had killed the kid.

Imagine the hate mail. But I must tip my hat.

The theory being that, sooner or later, in one book or another, you have to kill the kid. Especially if, like King, you include children as characters in most of your work. Because at some point, the reader is going say, “Now wait a minute. This fellow is a piker. I’ve read his work before. He won’t really let this child die.” Because the reader relaxes. Because he is not an idiot.

And at that moment, as a writer, you lose a little bit of your soul.

But back to dogs.

I have killed them, from time to time. In an unpublished novel called Stillwater, I had one get eaten by a bull shark in a lake up in Maine. The dog in question belonged to the bad guy, but still, it was a dog, and I hated to see it go. I like dogs, you see. I like children too.

And perhaps one day I’ll get up the gumption to kill one of them.

Being a parent doesn’t help. I can’t even read a book like Cujo nowadays, not even the part where the little boy and his mother aren’t trapped in the Pinto, dying of dehydration. I can’t even read the part about the monster words, the incantation that the boy’s father hangs on his wall to keep the evil things in his closet at bay. It turns me to jelly. I had no problem with the book when I first read it back in high school, but it’s emotional kryptonite to me now.

So does being a parent make you a worse horror writer?

No, I don’t think so. But only a fool would argue that it doesn’t change you. The paradox that I’ve discovered is that, while having kids in real life makes it infinitely harder to kill them on paper, it also makes it much easier to imagine and describe in detail the anxieties and outright dreads of their parents. One becomes so fluent in limning these parental phobias, exploiting them to maximum effect, that the urge to do so is almost irresistible.

And again, the writer who relies on these tricks puts his soul at hazard. He becomes like the impotent lover who, upon finding his noodle resignedly limp, redirects all his energies on becoming the world’s best kisser.

At first my short-term solution was to stop using children in my future work, until such time as I was able to actually finish one of them off.

Whether or not this will qualify as a step up in my development as a novelist, I have no idea. But I will tell you this—both Death Troopers and No Doors, No Windows have children and teenagers featured in them.

Does this mean I finally bit the bullet and did what was necessary?

Well. You’ll have to read for yourself and find out. Hopefully I made the right choice.

I’ve already killed the damn dog.

Dark Tower fans, get ready.

In November the battle of Jericho Hill begins!

Gilead has fallen. Few survive. Roland and his ka-tet flee the horde of the Crimson King, who is bent on reducing reality to utter chaos. The battle of Jericho Hill looms and nothing for Roland will ever be the same again.

Those who are Dark Tower fans know the significance of Jericho Hill. It was mentioned in the novels but much of it is still a mystery. When Marvel announced they would be adding new stories of Roland and his search for the Dark Tower to canon, all Dark Tower fans I can safely say wanted the battle of Jericho Hill told.

And it is coming. On November 25th.

And not only that, but Jae Lee returns to penciling duties!

So not only does the new Stephen King epic novel Under the Dome (Nov. 10th) and The Talisman #1 (Nov. 25th) comic book adaptation come out in November, but the Dark Tower: The Battle of Jericho Hill #1 does too!

What a great month to be a Stephen King fan, eh?

Let the horn be blown!

For more than 3 decades Del Rey Books has been bringing the best books to fine bookstores everywhere. So when the sci-fi and fantasy publisher announced they would be adapting the Stephen King and Peter Straub story The Talisman into a monthly comic book series, I knew they would do justice to one of my favorite novels of all time.

And beginning next month, Del Rey will be bringing the best to comic book stores too!

The Talisman #0, a prequel to the beloved novel, will be published next month in full color. That is just a reminder.

But every month that passes we are given glimpses into how Del Rey is handling this, and I must say I am extremely excited!

Click on the cover and its variant to The Talisman #2!

The Talisman #2 Cover

The Talisman #2 Variant

Once again, Massimo Carnevale has done an absolutely brilliant job! His cover art is blowing me away. I thought his cover on Issue #0 was great. Then it got better in Issue #1. And Issue #2 above is by far my favorite, dark and moody!

Today Del Rey announced Tommy Lee Edwards as the variant cover artist for Issue #2 of The Talisman, on sale in December. He is an illustrator whose comics credits include The Question, published by DC Comics, and Marvel 1985, published by Marvel. I think his variant cover is gorgeous. It must be Morgan of Orris. I love the pose, the colors and the look in Morgan’s eyes—confident evil.

This project is truly shaping up to be something special!

More soon.

Newsarama posted the variant cover to The Talisman: The Road of Trials #1!

Here is the press release:

Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today Mike Krahulik, artist and half of the creative duo behind the hit gaming and geek culture-based webcomic Penny Arcade (www.penny-arcade.com) as the variant cover artist for Issue 1 of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman, on sale in November.

“Penny Arcade is the online phenomenon which debuted in 1998 whose global readership generate over 50 million pageviews a month. Mike Krahulik is also known as Gabe, his online persona in the Penny Arcade comics. Krahulik has lent his distinctive art style to promotional comics for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Prince of Persia, Fallout 3, and other video games, as well as advertisements for the Entertainment Software Association.

“The epic saga of The Talisman debuts with Issue 0, a never-before-told prequel to the story, to be published by Del Rey Comics in October. The Talisman novel, originally published in 1984, is the story of a teen boy named Jack Sawyer, who can save his dying mother only by retrieving a magical talisman. To find it he must cross back and forth between our world and the frightening and dangerous landscape of its “twinner” counterpart. Issue 0 explores the separate lives of Jack’s father—in our world, and in the mysterious realm known as the Territories—and how evil scheming will forever change Jack’s peaceful life.

“The series is being adapted by Robin Furth and illustrated by Tony Shasteen, with regular cover art by Massimo Carnevale and coloring by Nei Ruffino. The Talisman Issue 0 will be available in comic book stores everywhere on October 21, 2009, and The Talisman Issue 1 will hit comics stands on November 18, 2009.

Here is the cover to The Talisman: The Road of Trials #1. The Talisman is the comic book adaptation of the bestselling Stephen King and Peter Straub novel.

The cover was painted by the incredibly talented and fan favorite Massimo Carnevale (Y: The Last Man and Northlanders).

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Issue #0 will be published in October, with #1 following in November!

Forthcoming: My review of Issue #0.

As readers of Suvudu know, we are proud to launch Del Rey Comics with the adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s THE TALISMAN. The comic will be adapted from the novel by Robin Furth with pencils and inks by Tony Shasteen, colors by Nei Ruffino, and cover paintings by Massimo Carnevale.

We’re so excited about this book that we have created a special black and white preview edition of issue 0 that we will give away for FREE at San Diego Comic Con. Come by the Del Rey booth, #1129, and ask for your copy.

Not going to comic con? The full color issue 0 will be available in comic shops around the country on October, 21 for $1.00. Find your local comic book shop at comicshoplocator.com.

We also want to know what you think of it. Please email us at delreycomics@randomhouse.com

Robin Furth is one of the more interesting people I have met.

I mean, how could she not be having once been Stephen King’s personal assistant!

I bet she has stories galore!

Being an expert on all things King-related, Robin has been tapped to fulfill some of King’s creative endeavors. She has plotted four Dark Tower comic book series, bridging the time period between Wizard & Glass with The Gunslinger. She has also been hired by Del Rey Books to write the comic book adaptation to the Stephen King and Peter Straub novel The Talisman, which I am really excited about since that is one of my favorite books!

I sent Robin a short interview a few weeks ago, just to get her initial thoughts on the new project and how it was going.

M-O-O-N! That spells interview!

Suvudu: Where are you at in The Talisman project?

Robin Furth: So far I’ve written a prequel, which we call Issue 0, a detailed overview of Talisman Graphic Novel Volume I (that’s issues 1-6 of the comics, and Parts I and II of the novel), as well as the panel by panel breakdown and the script for the first issue. I’m working on the script for the second issue now. I’m really enjoying this adaptation, though I must say I bite my fingernails every time I hand in a script. In some ways Issue 0 was the scariest. As you can imagine, it isn’t every day you’re asked to write the backstory for a novel that you love! And to make the whole thing even scarier, I wrote the script and then—after the editors had gone over it and given their very helpful feedback—it was sent directly to Steve King and Peter Straub to get their approval. They gave it the thumbs up, and I think I nearly passed out with relief. I won’t tell you what happens in Issue 0, except that it takes place while Jack’s dad is still alive. Since in the actual novel Phil Sawyer’s memory is a big influence on Jack, I thought it was really important for new readers to learn a little bit more about him. It was also a great way to bring in all the flashbacks that we’re told about in the book but which we would have a very difficult time fitting into the comic books.

My overview for the first six issues took a LONG time. I think I had the editors a little scared! I can work quickly when I have to (and in comics, your back is often up against the wall since deadlines are all-important) but sometimes I really feel that to do the story justice I have to take my time and think things through. Since in comics the old adage show, don’t tell really holds true, I had to spend a lot of time deciding which scenes were crucial, and then how I could get additional information into those scenes, so that readers of the comics would get the ambiance of the original novel. Then, as the editor Betsy Mitchell can attest, after the dialogue was written, we had to go back through and chop half of it away, since I had the characters talking so much that the letterer would have had a heart attack!

S: What have you liked so far about adapting Steve’s and Peter’s book?

I cannot believe we are already in June! It seems just yesterday when I was at the February NY Comic Con and had the chance to meet, interview and hang out with Stephen King comic book writer Robin Furth and The Talisman artist Tony Shasteen!

Remember the NYCC Suvudu videos?

- Robin Furth
- Tony Shasteen

Well, since February, Robin and Tony have been hard at work on The Talisman, the comic book adaptation to the long-time bestselling novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub!

The Talisman #0 will launch the series on October 21, 2009, but those who are attending the San Diego Comic Con will get the true first look at the comic book series, where Del Rey Books will be giving away FREE black and white copies of Issue #0!

We also now know who will be supplying the comic book adaptation cover artwork and who will be supplying the interior coloring! Thanks to the Official June 16th Press Release, we know Massimo Carnevale (Y: The Last Man) will be supplying the cover artwork! He is an extremely talented artist and makes an excellent and award-winning addition to the creative team. And coloring the black and white artwork supplied by Tony Shasteen will be Nei Ruffino, who is currently working on Supergirl and Green Lantern for DC Comics!

The exclusive Comic Con The Talisman #0 can be found at the Del Rey booth (#1129) this July 22-26! To get it, you will have to attend the convention!

Or know someone who is going!

More to come soon!

M-O-O-N! That spells adaptation!

As reported HERE in February, Del Rey Books will be adapting The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub into a monthly comic book series, to start releasing at the end of the year!

And since it was announced the project has been moving forward!

The Talisman is definitely one of those foundational books that make up who I am as a whole. I first read it after I had read the first two Dark Tower books and the connection between them could not be ignored. And like the Dark Tower series The Talisman is filled with great characters—both good, evil and in between—and the settings are wondrous. The kid who still lives within me and who yearns to visit the Territories is excited to see the tale of Jack Sawyer come to life!

Tony Shasteen, the artist Del Rey tapped for the project, produced character sketches before the first page of the comic book was produced, each one of them sanctioned by King and Straub. In February we showed you Morgan Sloat and Speedy Parker.

Well, Tony, Del Rey, and StephenKing.com have released the next three!

Visit HERE to view the character sketches for Lily Cavanaugh, Jack Sawyer and Phil Sawyer!

A lot more will be coming in the next few months concerning the adaptation of The Talisman, so stay tuned!

M-O-O-N!