The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King’s Epic Fantasy (26 page)

For the first edition of
The Gunslinger
, Whelan produced several pen-and-ink spot illustrations, along with six acrylic or watercolor board paintings.

1.
Silence Came Back in, Filling Jagged Spaces…
—Roland after the battle of Tull

2.
They Paused…Looking up at the Dangling, Twisting Body.
—Roland and Cuthbert at Hax's hanging

3.
The Way Station
—Roland and Jake leaving the Way Station

4.
He Could See His Own Reflection…—
Roland looking in the spring near the Speaking Circle

5.
The Boy Shrieked Aloud…—
Roland and Jake fending off the slow mutants (also used for the cover)

6.
There the Gunslinger Sat, his face turned up into the fading light
—Roland on the beach with the Dark Tower on the horizon

He also drew black-and-white illustrations, which appeared at the beginning of each chapter:

1. The Gunslinger—Brown with Zoltan on his shoulder

2. The Way Station—Jake sitting in the shadow of the Way Station

3. The Oracle and the Mountain—Roland using the jawbone to fend off the demon in the Speaking Circle to save Jake

4. The Slow Mutants—young Roland with his hawk, David

5. The Gunslinger and the Dark Man—the man in black's skeleton after the palaver at the golgotha

The third Donald M. Grant printing of
The Gunslinger
features a new cover, based on the battle of Tull painting. Whelan produced another painting of Roland for the cover of the Plume trade paperback of
The Gunslinger
(based, presciently, on a profile shot of Stephen King). The final artwork used for that cover is an amalgam of the new painting coupled with the sky extracted from another of his works. He illustrated Grant's book that combines the revised and expanded version of
The Gunslinger
with “The Little Sisters of Eluria,” and he profusely illustrated
The Dark Tower
, the final book in the series (see below). He also contributed the definitive depictions of the main characters for the character orbs in the Discordia interactive game at King's official Web site. Because King's description of Roland and the Dark Tower evolved over the two decades between the times Whelan worked on
The Gunslinger
and when he illustrated
The Dark Tower
, Whelan thought of himself as something of a weathervane, responding to these changes.

“T
HE
L
ITTLE
S
ISTERS OF
E
LURIA
”

Artists: Michael Whelan and Erik Wilson

For the novella's appearance in
Legends
, edited by Robert Silverberg, two artists contributed illustrations. Michael Whelan created a painting of Roland standing before an open magic door with the Dark Tower in the background and a pencil drawing of Roland with crossed guns standing in a cemetery. Erik Wilson's drawing is a montage of scenes from the story that features the sisters, the mutants, the dog with the cross-shaped patch of fur, the doctor bugs, the Tower, and Roland in bandages.

For the Grant edition of
The Gunslinger
combined with “The Little Sisters of Eluria,” Whelan produced another set of color paintings and
black-and-white illustrations. The original artwork from
The Gunslinger
is also included in this edition.

1.
Quest
(frontis)—Roland crossing a desert. His very long shadow extends in front of him.

2.
The Gunslinger Stood in His Dusty Boots
—Roland, wearing a hat, with his guns crossed at his shoulders and a decrepit signpost in the background

3.
Time Belongs to the Tower
—A hatless Roland with the moon in the background and vultures circling

4.
Sister Mary Came from the Shadows
—A ghastly figure in a robe enters a tent, bearing a candle, skeletons at her feet

5.
The Gunslinger Moved on West
—A two-page spread featuring Roland and his horse standing before a Western scene. Behind him, mesas and Eluria on the horizon.

6.
The Man in Black Fled across the Desert
—A two-page spread. Walter, in his black robe, grinning fiendishly as he crosses the desert. He's carrying tarot cards, one of which features the Tower.

7.
The Gunslinger Followed
—Roland stands in the swirling desert with the demonic Walter in the background. There's a rotting signpost near him

8.
Roland and the Dark Tower
—Roland stands astride an Unfound Door with the Dark Tower in the background (from
Legends
).

T
HE
D
RAWING OF THE
T
HREE

Artist: Phil Hale

Phil Hale is part of a group of artists who have illustrated multiple Stephen King books. He contributed one plate to the 1984 Donald M. Grant limited edition of
The Talisman
and illustrated
Insomnia
.

He was not happy with his artwork for the first edition of
The Drawing of the Three
so, given the opportunity twelve years later, he replaced all of it. The illustrations bear the same names as the originals, but the style and composition is markedly different. The new illustrations are less cartoonish, more subdued in color and more photorealistic.

His 1989 illustration of Roland standing in front of a door with his hand bandaged and his clothing ripped, done for the NAL audio version of
The Drawing of the Three
, represents an intermediate stage in his evolution. The
painting is colorful but less gaudy than the work for the original Grant edition, but not as realistic or dark as those in the second edition.

In addition to small, symbolic black-and-white illustrations for the beginning of each chapter, Hale produced ten oil-on-linen color prints. They are:

1.
Did-a-Chick
—Roland stomps on one of the lobstrosities

2.
Roland
—The wounded gunslinger

3.
On the Beach
—Jack Andolini gets a surprise

4.
Souvenir
—Eddie, naked, in Balazar's hideout, and Henry Dean's head

5.
Waiting for Roland
—Eddie with a knife to Roland's throat while Roland is with Odetta

6.
Detta
—Detta Walker strapped into her wheelchair

7.
Waiting for the Pusher
—Eddie trying to stay awake next to Roland's body and the doorway

8.
Nothing but the Hilt
—During Roland's robbery at Katz's Drug Store

9.
Jack Mort
—the Pusher, after the lighter stops a police officer's bullet

10.
The Gunslinger
—cover art. Roland with a fiendish rictus on his face.

T
HE
W
ASTE
L
ANDS

Artist: Ned Dameron

Ned Dameron was an artist exhibitor at Necon, the Northeast Writer's Conference, which was cofounded by Donald M. Grant, where Stephen King saw some of his work—much of it from Grant editions of Robert E. Howard books—in the art room. Grant suggested Dameron as the illustrator for
The Waste Lands
and, after seeing some of his non-Howard work, King agreed.

Dameron produced twelve full-color paintings (oil on acetate) for
The Waste Lands
, spot illustrations for the book's sections, and a gouache and watercolor on scratchboard drawing of Jake and Oy for the endpapers. Several of his illustrations are two-page spreads. They are:

1.
Mir Embraced the Tree

2.
Hold Me Still, Roland
—Susannah on Roland's shoulders, firing at Shardik

3.
The Dark Tower

4.
The Rose
—Jake in the vacant lot

5.
Charlie the Choo-Choo
—reproducing a page from the book

6.
The Plaster Man Roared
—featuring the doorkeeper

7.
Roland Knelt before Her
—Aunt Talitha from River Crossing

8.
Better Duck, Dearie
—Gasher with Jake in Lud

9.
He Fired
—Roland, wearing Aunt Talitha's cross

10.
Blaine the Mono
—after they left Lud

11.
Leather Wings
—pterodactyl-like creatures outside Lud

12.
The Waste Lands.

Dameron also contributed artwork to the Donald M. Grant limited edition of
The Talisman
. He sells his artwork—oil paintings and sculptures—in galleries in Louisiana under his given name, Edward Palfrey Dameron, using Ned Dameron for his commercial illustrations.

W
IZARD AND
G
LASS

Artist: Dave McKean

Dave McKean became well known as the cover artist for the Sandman graphic novels. He uses Photoshop to combine a variety of images to create pieces that resemble dioramas. One gets the impression that these abstract photomontages have a third dimension, as with found objects affixed to a canvas.

McKean produced fourteen color plates. He also did full-page black-and-white sketches for the prologue, afterword and each of the four major sections.

The color plates are:

1.
Rose

2.
God Help Us
—the
ka-tet
in Topeka with the last page of the
Topeka Capital-Journal
showing the crucifixion*

3.
All Hail the Crimson King
—Eddie's dream of the bulldozer in the vacant lot

4.
Two Drops of Poison
—Rhea extracting poison from Ermot*

5.
Her Arms and Belly and Breasts Breaking Out in Gooseflesh
—Susan Delgado being tested for purity

6.
And at the Bar, a Whole Line of Assorted Toughs
—inside the Travellers' Rest, featuring “The Romp”*

7.
Cuthbert, Meanwhile, Had Reloaded
—the showdown in the Travellers' Rest with the Big Coffin Hunters

8.
But He and His Love Were No Longer Children
—Roland and Susan and their clandestine meetings in Hambry

9.
Pinch and Jilly
—a puppet show for the Reap Fair*

10.
Smiling Lips Revealed Cunning Little Teeth
—Randall Flagg

11.
There They Died Together-o
—the story of Robert and Francesca, the Hambry version of
Romeo and Juliet

12.
Of the Three of Them, Only Roland Saw Her
—Roland, Alain and Cuthbert on horseback, with Susan, the girl in the window, waving

13.
The Firelight Made Baleful Streaks on her Face
—Cordelia Delgado*

14.
It cut the old man's throat efficiently enough
—Roy Depape murdering Mayor Hart Thorin

15.
The Dark Tower Rearing to the Sky
—part of Roland's vision in the pink Wizard's Glass

16.
A Flash as the Big Bang Exploded
—Roland, Alain and Cuthbert attacking the tankers at Hanging Rock

17.
The Wicked Witch of the East
—part of the
ka-tet
's vision in the pink Wizard's Glass

18.
And Then That Strange Albino Leaf Caught His Eye
—Eddie finds Randall Flagg's message after they leave the Green Palace*

* omitted from Plume paperback

T
HE
W
IND
T
HROUGH THE
K
EYHOLE

Artist: Jae Lee with coloring by June Chung

Jae Lee produced a series of black-and-white and color illustrations. See the interview concerning his work on
The Wind Through the Keyhole
and on
The Gunslinger Born
elsewhere in this book.

Color:

1.
They Regard Each Other
—Tim Ross and the tyger, used as both the cover and the frontispiece

2.
I Turned to Run…It Caught Me
—Sister Fortuna from Serenity and the skin-man

3.
He Kneed His Mount in a Circle
—The Covenant Man with Tim Ross on his horse

4.
She Was Looking at Him from Beady, Red-Veined Eyes
—Tim Ross and the dragon

5.
Ancient Tumblers Turned
—Tim Ross frees the tyger from its cage

6.
It Lunged, Fangs Flashing
—The skin-man as a pooky

B&W:

1.
Jake Snatched Him Up
—Jake with Oy as the starkblast approached

2.
Scales Instead of Skin
—the skin-man as described by Sister Fortuna

3.
Those Were Good Years
—Tim Ross on his father's shoulders

4.
Perhaps it Would Work
—young Roland looking at a bullet

5.
Storm's over, Sugar
—a bin-rustie on a limb with icicles

In addition, there are black-and-white drawings on the section pages.

1. Starkblast—a billy-bumbler

2. The Skin-Man—the shape-shifter in one of its many guises

3. The Wind Through the Keyhole—Armaneeta, the
sighe

4. The Skin-Man—the miners from Little Debaria

5. Storm's Over—Roland

Bin-rusties appear throughout, and what appears to be a cave drawing forms the book's endpapers.

W
OLVES OF THE
C
ALLA

Artist: Bernie Wrightson

Like Michael Whelan, Bernie Wrightson is another artist with a long and varied history of illustrating Stephen King projects. He produced the movie poster and the comic book associated with the anthology movie
Creepshow
and illustrated the limited editions of
Cycle of the Werewolf
,
The Stand
and
From a Buick 8
.

Wrightson was on the set of
The Green Mile
with his friend, director Frank Darabont, to celebrate King's birthday in 1998. Someone made a cake that reproduced the cover of the final installment of the serialized novel, and King played around with the cast, agreeing to take his place in the electric chair. During that party, King asked Wrightson if he would illustrate the fifth book in the Dark Tower series. He agreed and reread the previous four books before tackling the new manuscript. Wrightson contributed twelve acrylic-on-board paintings, plus black-and-white spot illustrations and endpaper artwork featuring Susannah as Mia. They are: