by Bev Vincent
I was really proud of those covers. I’m not a great cover artist and those were just fun covers to draw. That last one, I think I did three, maybe four versions, because we threw several things at the wall to see what would stick. The editors were fine with what I was doing, but I kept rejecting it until we finally hit on that one. There’s an image like that at the end of the fourth issue, where he’s walking through town and nobody’s there, which is such a classic Western scene. The shutters banging in the wind. The deserted town. I knew I wanted to do that close-up of him pushing his jacket back so he can get easy access to his gun because he’s sensing trouble. As soon as I drew that image in the issue, I said, “Oh, that’s the cover.” The editors were like, “Yeah, but it needs something extra.” As I started working on the issue and paying attention to him getting wounded, the blood came to me and that became the cover I’m happiest with. I hope they use that one for the trade, but they’ll probably use the first one.
Q: Do you listen to music when you work?
A: I had a four-hour playlist of Ennio Morricone Western movie soundtrack music that I listened to the entire time. That stuff is cool anyway. I listened to a lot of soundtrack music while I was working on it. I ended up listening to some action movie soundtracks while I was working on the last issue.
Q: Do you have any thoughts on a movie adaptation of the Dark Tower series?
A: They should hire me to do all the storyboards! I think it will be cool. I’m looking forward to seeing it. It will be interesting to see how somebody else does a film version of these sets that I’ve drawn. Robin told me that they’d shown some of the work I did on Sheb’s honky-tonk to Ron Howard, so we’ll see what they end up doing.
I wish I could say that I’m a big Dark Tower geek, but unfortunately I’m not. I’m a big Stephen King fan, but those are ones that I had not gotten into at the time we started doing this. I like the first one because it’s more like his older, more minimal style than the other ones. My favorite stuff of his is ’Salem’s Lot and Carrie and The Shining. When they came out, they must have knocked people’s socks off. People must not have ever seen anything like that. I get the impression that they’re all very personal to him. I really like that about them. I felt that stylistically, The Gunslinger was similar to those in writing style. The Shining is one of my favorite books of all time. That’s just a great novel, period. Forget horror novel. Forget genres. That’s just a great novel.
STEFANO GAUDIANO
Stefano Gaudiano, who inked The Battle of Tull, was born in Milan and lived in Rome until his first year of high school, at which time he moved to the United States. He has no formal art training, describing himself as self-taught. He was introduced to Marvel comics while he was still living in Italy. When he noticed the credits at the beginning of the issues, he realized that people actually drew them—a machine didn’t produce them. He was a huge fan of Stan Lee’s superhero creations and the atmosphere of communication between the creators and the fans. He started copying pictures out of the comics and decided by the time he was eleven or twelve that drawing comics was what he wanted to do for a living.
He started self-publishing comics in the 1980s, after he moved to the United States. His first paid work was on a book called Kafka for Renegade Press. A string of small jobs led him to work for bigger publishers and his childhood dream became reality. Being an inker has given him the opportunity to work on a wide variety of characters, including Batman, Daredevil, Spider-Man, the Mighty Thor, Iron Man, Captain America. As a freelance artist, he also does newspaper illustrations and storyboards for animation and video games.
The following interview was conducted via telephone in October 2011.
Q: How do you describe the job of the inker?
A: The inker is usually either an artist or an apprentice, somebody who, instead of penciling—drawing a whole book from a script or writing and drawing his own book—is assisting another artist to finish the drawings. Originally it was a necessary step for printing because the technology was such that you couldn’t reproduce pencil work. Everything had to be done in clean lines that could be reproduced through metal engravings. Inking was developed to turn sketches into something very clean and crisp that the printer could reproduce.
Now the job of an inker is almost redundant because there are techniques that will allow art to be reproduced from pencil. But Michael Lark, who is the penciler that I worked with on Dark Tower and also my main collaborator on other books for Marvel and DC, likes to work with me because it frees him up to do a little bit more of the design work on the content. He leaves the pencils finished enough that I can tell what he wants, but he saves himself some work by passing the unfinished drawings on to me so that I can add textures, fill in the blacks and clean things up a little bit. It’s his choice to work with me to save himself some work on the back end and be able to do a little bit more of the heavy lifting creatively at the outset.
I find inking to be a lot more manageable ever since I had children. It’s the sort of job that I can put aside and get back to without having to go through the process of getting back into the creative mode. Some people have an easier time penciling. I was talking to Sean Philips, who did one of the arcs, too, and he’s amazing. He can pencil and ink books and he’s got a family but somehow he manages to keep his head clear and get all of his work done and it seems to be something that he can handle. I found after I had children that I just could not snap in and out of the drawing mind-set easily at all, so ever since then I’ve done mostly inks.
Q: Does he send you an electronic image, or do you get a physical pencil sketch?
A: I used to get physical pencil sketches, but ever since I started working with Michael I’ve been working from just JPGs. I turn them into blue lines and print them out. Then I ink in black and when I scan them, the blue disappears and we’re just left with the black lines. It’s a great system because it allows me to make little changes that I need to make and it saves me time erasing and cleaning up the pages. After I’ve scanned the inks, I send them to Marvel and Richard Isanove colors them and they get lettered and that’s a book.
Q: Were you familiar with the Dark Tower series before you started working on The Battle of Tull?
A: No, I wasn’t. I was of course aware of Stephen King’s work but haven’t read a lot of his work. I wasn’t familiar at all with the Dark Tower series, so I got The Gunslinger book that the episode we illustrated was taken from and read that, but that was the extent of my awareness of it.
Q: Do you have any favorite scenes from The Battle of Tull?
A: I love the whole part of the first book that shows Roland approaching Tull. It’s got a great spaghetti Western feel, going through the desert. It’s a great atmosphere. I was listening to Sergio Leone movie soundtracks while I was working on the books. Michael did a great job cinematically introducing the sets.
I also enjoyed the scenes of Roland on the mule going through the desert. Richard did a great job on the very last page, creating that atmosphere of moonlight as Roland rides off into the desert with Tull in the distance. That was probably my favorite stuff to work on and visually I think it worked beautifully.
One that gave me a lot of problems—almost made it difficult to finish the book—was a horrible scene where Roland confronts Sylvia Pittston in her shack. That was brutal. I thought the scene was very powerful and I love what Michael did with it, but it was almost inexplicable to me. I was going through the motions of finishing the art and feeling really uncomfortable with the whole thing. In spite of those negative feelings, that scene with Sylvia Pittston stuck out in my mind as one of the best scenes.
Something that added heaviness to Roland’s interaction with Sylvia Pittston is that Michael uses models for some of the characters, and the model that he used was a big fan of the series. But she was diagnosed with cancer while she was working on the book with Michael and that added the pall of heaviness on the series as we finished it up.
I’m no
t familiar with the Dark Tower series as a whole. After drawing that scene, I just couldn’t understand Roland’s motivations and the nature of Roland’s character. It made it difficult when we got to the end, the massacre at Tull. I couldn’t see Roland in any kind of positive light. I’d be curious to see what the character arc is going to work out like. There’s obviously more to Roland than what I got to see, so I’m looking forward to exploring that eventually as a reader.
LAURENCE CAMPBELL
Laurence Campbell, artist for The Way Station, started working in graphic design in London at the age of sixteen, before studying illustration at Central Saint Martin’s Art College. He continued to tutor at the college for the next decade while drawing comics in his spare time, including work for 2000 AD, a British weekly comic, and Caliber and Image comics. He joined Marvel in 2006. Before working on Roland, he drew other dark, moody characters like the Punisher, Wolverine and Moon Knight.
The following interview was conducted via e-mail in October 2011.
Q: What is your history with King’s Dark Tower series?
A: Marvel approached me about drawing an arc of the Dark Tower as I was finishing Marvel Universe vs. Wolverine. I was very excited about this as I had a paperback copy of The Gunslinger from years ago and the opportunity to work on the Stephen King graphic novels was something I was very much interested in. I can still remember picking up the book and being very excited by the idea of a cowboy in a fantasy setting. I remember the cover pulling me in. I also remember my friend basing his Dungeons & Dragons character on the gunslinger! I now own all the graphic novels and have really enjoyed them. I’ve not read any of King’s other books, though the TV adaptation of ’Salem’s Lot scared the hell out of me when I was a kid and I still get a chill when I hear tapping on the window.
Q: What are you doing for The Way Station?
A: I’m doing pencils, covers and inks. I’m very excited to be working with Richard. I think his coloring is amazing. In my opinion, he is an essential part of the book. Before starting my arc on The Way Station, I was looking at the other artists who I was going to follow and felt that Sean Phillips and Michael Lark brought a real cowboy essence to the book while Jae Lee, I felt, brought a more fantasy iconic look to the book. I have tried to find a balance between the two styles. It is very flattering to be part of a project with such established artists. I’m loving the way the story has been planned out and am really enjoying the art. It really is a great package.
Q: Do you know how you were selected for The Way Station?
A: Ralph Macchio (the editor of the Dark Tower series) was my editor for Marvel Universe vs. Wolverine. I was offered the opportunity to draw the arc as I was coming to the end of my previous strip. I pretty much jumped at the chance.
Q: How much are you influenced by the depictions of the characters created by other artists?
A: I bought all the trade paperbacks and then researched and found reference to get the feel of the story right. Obviously you have to respect how other artists have drawn the characters. Generally, though, I am just drawing what I feel is right for the story. I think a lot of credit goes to the editors who have picked all of the artists, as I think there is a line of similarity between all of us.
Q: How did you approach Jake Chambers, whom you debuted in the graphic novels?
A: When I first read the script, I found Jake Chambers’s backstory very touching. I felt that while I wanted to read it, a part of me didn’t want to, as it gets pretty dark. I’ve just tried to make Jake an innocent-looking boy. At this moment I am drawing the point where Jake first appears.
Q: What is your process after you receive the script?
A: The script I’ve been given is not a full script, more of an old “Marvel style” script, which just gives directions. At first I found this a surprise and a challenge. But now I really enjoy it as I get the chance to pace the book for myself. Because the story is adapted from a book, it does give you the opportunity to be a little bit experimental with page layouts but not to the detriment of the storytelling—that must always come first.
You don’t get too much time when drawing the comic, but you do have to spend time planning and working out layouts, costumes, etc. The more time I spend on this in the beginning, the more time is saved later on, and getting ideas down on paper can confirm thoughts in my head. I’m only on issue one at the moment, but have enjoyed drawing the open scenes of the desert. I also enjoyed Roland fighting the desert dogs.
Q: How much do you interact with Richard Isanove during the creative process?
A: When I send him the pages, I send him my thoughts of how I see the scene and possible color ideas. However, the final product is down to Richard and I have total faith in him. I purposely made the artwork more spacious on The Dark Tower because I think this works to Richard’s strengths.
Q: How much do you interact with Robin Furth during the process?
A: I have e-mail contact with Robin and send the artwork to her to be approved. She always has a great knowledge of the Dark Tower, and when I have any questions, she’s been incredibly helpful.
Q: Are you at all influenced by The Punisher in the way you approach Roland?
A: There is a certain mood and presence that The Punisher has that I guess can be seen in Roland, though maybe not as dark. Just to add, I’m really excited about drawing the strip. It’s an honor to be part of the team.
DARK TOWER GUIDE TO MANHATTAN
The Dark Tower series features some universes that are similar to our own. There is Keystone Earth, where Stephen King lives, but there is also the reality of Eddie Dean, which has Co-Op City in Brooklyn instead of the Bronx.
Manhattan is the ka-tet’s most frequent Earth-side destination. Eddie Dean, Odetta Holmes and Jake Chambers all come from New York. After leaving ’Salem’s Lot, Father Callahan went to New York, and Irene Tassenbaum lives there. Even John Cullum went there once, when he was in the army.
The ka-tet’s primary focus in Manhattan is a neighborhood called Turtle Bay, the area between 41st and 54th streets from Lexington Avenue to the East River. Though many of the businesses mentioned in the series are fictitious, there really is a black office tower at the corner of Second Avenue and 46th and, nearby, a pocket park with a turtle statue. For a while there was even a construction barricade upon which someone had written “Roland Deschain was here.”
If you find yourself in Manhattan with some time on your hands, here are the main sites of interest.
1) Second Avenue and 46th: The last piece of property Calvin Tower owns in Manhattan: Lot #298, Block #19. Originally the location of Tom and Gerry’s Artistic Deli. Later a vacant lot containing the pink rose that represents the Dark Tower in Keystone Earth and the proposed site of Turtle Bay Luxury Condominiums. Finally, 2 Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, an office tower built by Tet Corporation to protect the rose. In The Dark Tower, it is described as being at least ninety-nine stories tall, whereas in reality it has only sixteen stories. The Paper Patch stationery store is also located at this intersection.
2) 844 Second Avenue (at the 45th Street intersection): Blimpie’s. A fast-food restaurant.
3) Second Avenue and 47th Street: Roland Deschain walked into the middle of this busy intersection and stopped traffic by saying, “Hile! Stop in the name of Gilead!”
4) Second Avenue between 49th and 48th: Reflections of You. Both Eddie (in a dream) and Jake walk past this mirror store.
5) Second Avenue and 51st: Tower of Power Records.
6) Second Avenue near 51st Street: Station Shoes & Boots. Between Tower of Power Records and Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind.
7) Second Avenue and 52nd: House of Cards Magic Shop and Chew Chew Mama’s restaurant. Father Callahan and Lupe Delgado used to have lunch there. After 1994, Chew Chew Mama’s became Dennis’s Waffles and Pancakes, frequented by Trudy Damascus. In the real world, the Turtle Bay Tavern is here.
8) Second Avenue, between 52nd and 54th: The Manhattan Restaurant of
the Mind bookstore is on the east side of Second Avenue.
9) Second Avenue and 54th: Barcelona Luggage store. Arrival location for todash trips.
10) 54th Street just off Second Avenue: Kansas City Blues, a midtown saloon.
11) 47th Street between First and Second avenues: Turtle Bay Washateria, where Calvin Tower and Aaron Deepneau scared off the Hitler Brothers, who were about to kill Father Callahan. There is a doorway between different versions of New York here.
12) First Avenue and 47th: Home, the “wet” shelter where Father Callahan worked.
13) First Avenue and 45th: United Nations headquarters. Jake sees this building while he is in the vacant lot.
14) First Avenue and 46th: United Nations Plaza Hotel. Later the New York Plaza-Park Hyatt and destined to become the Regal U.N. Plaza Hotel owned by Sombra/North Central in July 1999. This is where Mia and Susannah wait for Richard Sayre’s call.
15) Third Avenue between 47th and 48th: Marine Midland Bank. Home did its banking here.
16) Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th: Jake’s apartment. Its exact location isn’t specified, but he crosses 39th after leaving his apartment to walk to school. Jack Mort passes the apartment after crossing 40th heading south.
17) Fifth Avenue and 43rd: “The pushing place,” where Jack Mort pushes Jake in front of Enrico Balazar’s car.
18) ? Avenue and 33rd: MidTown Lanes, where Jake used to bowl.
19) 56th Street between Park and Madison: The Piper School, which Jake attends.
20) Fifth Avenue and 41st: New York Public Library. Father Callahan looks up the zip code Aaron Deepneau left for him here and steals the book Yankee Highways. Bango Skank wrote his name in a men’s room bathroom stall.
21) Lexington and 59th: The intersection where Jake and Father Callahan got out of the cab on the way to the Dixie Pig.