 Perhaps the highlight of the New York Comic Con '07 programming was held Saturday afternoon, superstar author Stephen King talking about his Marvel Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born series.
NYCC's Stephen King panel filled the largest panel room set up for the convention with fans anxious to both see the acclaimed writer and hear about the comic adaptation/expansion of King's popular Dark Tower series.
Panelists include Joe Quesada, Peter David, Richard Isanove, Jae Lee, Editor Ralph Macchio, Robin Furth, and of course, Stephen King (who has not yet arrived).
Quesada introduced the panel, revving the crowd up prior to King's arrival on the dais. After a quick explanation of the rules of the panel, Quesada spoke about how honored he was to be introducing the panelists. After praising King as a novelist and accomplished author, Quesada joked that it's been very tough for him to break into comics.
Quesada then named the panelists for the crowd: Lee, Furth, David, Macchio, Isanove, and letterer Chris Eliopoulos.
Quesada went on to say that publishing the Dark Tower comic book has been the coming out party for the comic book industry, noting that this project will be able to reach far out into the mainstream, and show that comics are a serious art form, and "an art form to be reckoned with." The Dark Tower coming to comics”, Quesada said – “not just Marvel, but comics, is a great honor, and a very special occasion for the industry.”
Anticipation built as King was reported to be on his way to the hall, and shortly, King entered the hall to a standing ovation from the crowd. Dressed in a gray t-shirt and dark slacks, King acknowledged the crowd with a wave and smile, while people were given an opportunity to take photos.
Convention staffers cleared the front, allowing the panel to begin, giving Quesada an opportunity to turn the panel over to the crowd and open up a question and answer session.
Asked if there are spoilers in the first few novels that would ruin someone’s experience of the comic, King replied, "There are no spoilers, man - you don't not watch the Wizard of Oz because you know how it ends," he added with a smile.
[In order to keep audience members from coming up and taking photos of the panelists throughout the panel, NYCC placed two Stormtroopers (literally, the Star Wars guys) in front of the dais, so there was no crush of people in front of the panel.]
Asked if he's consulting with King on the comic scripts, David reaffirmed that King goes over everything.
Asked by a fan if King would autograph his copy of The Dark Tower if he donated $100 to King’s favorite charity, King said, "No." to the laughs of the audience, allowing David to get in a quick, "I'll do it for a dollar."
"That's not all you'll do for a dollar," King quipped.
“That’s actually true," David answered.
Asked if artists such as Michael Whelan and others who did spot illustrations in the Dark Tower novels could work on the comic book series, Quesada said that while he can't discount anything, the idea of the comic book is to show an audience how special comics can be, and using the same artists that drew in the novels might not be the way they want to go.
But, Quesada said again, that's not to say that they may do something with the artists in the future.
When an audience member wearing New York Yankees paraphernalia came to the mic, Quesada (a Mets fan through and through) ribbed King', saying that Yankee fans weren't allowed to ask questions. "Yankee fans don't need to ask questions," King - a noted Red Sox fan - said, "They know all the answers."
Asked if the theme of The Dark Tower was one of eternal regrets - trying to reach a goal only to have it slip away, King said that, if anything, the them of the Dark Tower is an evolutionary process, that you may not reach your goal at first, at the fifth, or the tenth time, but eventually, you will.
Speaking, without giving away the ending of the end of The Dark Tower, King said (and noting that Harry Potter fans will soon experience the same thing), that when you write a long, long work of fiction, you'll always, always piss off readers at the end.
In clarifying the upcoming stories in the larger comic book project, Furth explained that the next story in the coming second mini-series will build up to the Battle of Jericho, which was seen only briefly in the novel series, but was a landmark in the development of Roland as a man.
"There's always more stories," King said, when asked about seeing more Dark Tower material in comics.
"If you keep calling me Mr. King, I am going to kick your ass", King said to Quesada after one of the numerous times Quesada referred to him that way, which as Newsarama readers know is Quesada usual way of referring to him.
“It's supposed to be 'your honor, or your lordship,'" David deadpanned.
Quesada began to call him Stephen for the remainder of the panel
Asked about details of the story, and if he knew certain events would take place throughout the Dark Tower, King said no, that his job is to stand back and let the story tell itself.
Asked what it was like to work with the great Peter David by a David fan, King replied, "I am not worthy, but I was called and therefore I serve" as David laughed.
Asked about the experience of working with King, Quesada retold the story about the first Marvel meeting with King where, after showing him the oversized art boards, King said, "Can I have those?" It was after that, Quesada said, that her knew they had him.
"I never say never to anything," King said about working with Marvel characters in the future, "But if something comes up in my mind, these are the people I would go to, given the working relationship." King said that he doesn't really have anything in mind, however.
King said that since the Dark Tower project has started, he's begun to haunt comic book shops and Barnes & Noble, but prior to this, he's read Preacher, V for Vendetta, Neil Gaiman's Sandman, and a mix of superhero titles, including Spider-Man.
King said that he had no problem letting the Dark Tower out of his hands, given the caliber of the people he's working with on the project.
Asked if characters who appear in titles that were tangential to The Dark Tower, such as Jack Sawyer in The Talisman series, would appear in comics, King said that Jack Sawyer needs a third book to continue his story.
"I didn't remove 'em, they got bit off!" King joked with a fan when asked why he removed Roland's two fingers in The Drawing of the Three, adding that he essentially watches as the story unspools and chronicles it.
Asked about the rumors that The Dark Tower is going to be adapted by either Frank Darabont or JJ Abrams, King said that he's said no to everybody until recently, because the chances of it being a good movie weren't that good.
While he normally doesn't concern himself about film adaptations of his work, The Dark Tower is his life's work, and he feels a bit more protective about it. When the chance came to do The Dark Tower as a comic book, King said that he felt this was as good as it was going to get in terms of an adaptation of his work.
King said that the adaptation of the comic, which was so well received, rekindled interest in the property in Hollywood, and he related a story about Frank Darabont calling him and asking about it. King said that he joked with Darabont that he has too much on his plate and couldn’t possibly do it all.
On the JJ Abrams rumors, King said that he trusts both Abrams and Damon Lindeloff and admires their work, and told Abrams that he could option the property for a possible film. When Abrams asked how much King wanted, he told Abrams "$19 dollars", and that's how much Abrams paid for it.
A fan pointed out that since King likes to be in his movies, would a character be drawn in his likeness in the comic? Jae Lee replied with a laugh that while King is in the Dark Tower series in the later books, that as an artist, he's really bad with likenesses, so probably no.
Asked what his inspiration was for Baline the Mono - the insane monorail in The Dark Tower, King said he didn't know, probably HAL from 2001, but the idea of a machine that's gone bad is pretty creepy, especially if that machine wants to commit suicide, and you're inside.
When asked why the "Wizard and Glass" era was selected when the idea of a comic book came up, King said that it was pointed out that that story and that part of Roland's life has a distinct beginning, middle and end, and in the middle, there's a blank spot, which is the Battle of Jericho Hill, which he can't wait to see Jae draw, where thousands of people are fighting and screaming and yelling like a scene from Braveheart.
King said that he can't wait to see Lee draw that, but that the whole swath - from when Roland leaves Mejis, to his ultimate escape as the only survivor from Jericho Hill - under a pile of dead bodies in a dead cart, is a story that he can't wait to see told.
Furth agreed adding that she likes this period of Roland’s life, where he's transforming, changing from the boy into the grim adult that is best known in the stories.
"I never see them" King replied when asked if he sees an actor in his head when he comes up with a character, noting that's why it was so exciting when he saw the characters appear in the comics artwork. "I really don't see them, because I'm behind their eyes," King added, "Maybe if they look into a mirror, I'd be able to see them."
Asked about rumors of a rewrite of the entire Dark Tower novel series, King said that's correct, saying that he sees the whole series as a first draft, which is why he went back and rewrote the first novel and added to it. Now, that he has a clear vision of how the story ends and works, he feels that he should go back and rework the stories so they all work together.
Picking a specific element, King noted that Horn of Eld, which is familiar to readers for its appearance and importance in the latter novels, was something that he went back and added into the new version of Book One. King said that when it is all said and done, he might end up novelizing the comic book material in the final, final version.
Given that the Dark Tower novels had Marvel references in it (the masks of the creatures that resembled Dr. Doom), King said that they may show up, but in regards to putting specific things in the coming work joked, "don't mistake us for people who know where we're going."
In referring to King's comments about rewriting the entire series, a fan said that George Lucas has demonstrated to people that rewrites are bad, and asked him please not to do them. King said if he does rewrite the series, it wouldn’t be re-released as a Special Edition in a variety of formats.
Asked if he was considering adapting any other of his works to comic books, King said that, prior to the panel in the green room, the panelists were kicking around the idea about adapting The Stand. The questioner suggested The Talisman, to which King replied would be a good idea, as well as Eyes of the Dragon, which was a suggestion from another fan.
Asked about his geek moment with the project, Jae Lee said it came just previous to the panel, when they were escorted into the room by armed Stormtroopers.
For King's part, his geek-out moment came when he went to Marvel's offices, which he compared to going to Disneyland.
In regards to his geek-out moment for the project, Quesada referred back to his earlier story of hearing King spill out possible and potential stories at the very first pitch meeting, saying that it was amazing to see King speak in three-act structure, and tap into a vast well of ideas and pull them into reality.
David said he had two geek-out moments, the first when he saw King's hand-written notes on his script for #1 which said, "Great job" while the second was when he was at a social gathering where he was talking to Furth about possible stories, including one where Roland meets and finally deals with Rhea, the witch of Wizard and Glass. Just planning out possible stories at that moment, David said, was just a sublime moment for him.
Isanove said that he spun three times in his chair when he heard that he was working on the book, tried to call his wife, couldn't find her, and had to call all his friends to tell them. He added that the moment was tempered when he then heard that he had to do four pages virtually immediately.
Eliopoulos said that for him, the best moment was when he received the script for issue #1 and was told to letter it, and not tell a soul. The letterer said that he actually told his wife, he was so excited.
Asked about his coloring, Isanove began to praise Lee, when he was interrupted by Quesada who said, "You do realize you color Jae better than you color me." Isanove, joking shot back, "Well, it's always easier with a better artist," to which Quesada said, "You do realize that I am the Editor-in-Chief of the company, not just an artist?"
"Once you start, the mindset kind of comes," King said when asked if he has to get into a particular kind of mindset when he writes vastly different works.
King admitted that he does think about how differently his life would have been if he hadn't been hit by the van that nearly killed him, noting that much of that work an thought was poured into The Dark Tower.
King continued on that theme, saying that what happened in that accident gets plugged into the work where it can go.
The panel then ended with a standing ovation for King and the panelists.
End of live updates...
New York Comic Con 2007 coverage brought to you by Comicraft's ELEPHANTMEN #7, on sale right now from Image Comics!
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