The biggest problem with comics for me is they don't convey the level of emotion that a book does. I suppose because with a book you spend more time in a character's head than in a short comic. While I do enjoy these stories of Roland presented in these comics, if I were not a huge fan of the books they would not hold much value for me. I do enjoy reading about this period of Roland's life, which is only told in snippets in the books.

Gilead goes unexplored through much of the Dark Tower novels and what we know from Roland’s childhood comes mostly from his time away from Gilead on his formational mission. This volume of the graphic novels explores Roland’s hometown and breathe life into the city that was the epicenter of power in Roland’s world. It is interesting to visualize the city and see more of Roland’s young life and of the workings of the gunslingers before they were decimated. This volume does cover some familiar ground but adds some details and characters to make it a worthy addition to the series.

Great to see Stephen, Roland's dad, along with Bert and Alain's dads, in action. I love the introduction of Aileen, a girl who wants to be a gunslinger. Making her Cort's niece was brilliant.

Spoiler

I had forgotten that Roland killed his mother! That makes his killing Alain in the same manner two books later a redundant decision.

I love wish they had done more with Aileen.

Pretty good. It's nice to see the story I read in the Tower Series books illustrated as such.

Secret plots swirl around the gunslingers as Roland tries to save his father and himself from the evil influence of the pink sphere. All the intrigue leading up to the Fall of Gilead, the next in the series. Shows us how his obsession with the Dark Tower began and how his mother died.

Like the second collection, [b:Dark Tower The Long Road Home|2834890|Dark Tower The Long Road Home|Peter David|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1224793721s/2834890.jpg|2860996], this was new, original material and it was AWESOME. I can never get enough of Roland and Mid-World and, despite not much face time for Roland himself, this did not disappoint. Recommended for Dark Tower fans.

Okay, now that I've read the first five volumes, I feel like I can give an accurate review. First, let me say that I LOVE the Dark Tower and the artwork in these graphic novels is outstanding; however, I'm left feeling like it was a waste of my time reading these. I think it's a combination of preferring regular books over graphic novels, and that the overall story these volumes told didn't really add anything to the story that I already know and love; therefore, they all received a 3/5 rating from me.

I won't be continuing the graphic novels; the next volumes simply retell what I've already read. I definitely recommend that anyone who appreciates graphic novels to read them, BUT you should know that it won't be an adequate substitute for reading the original novels.

[b:The Dark Tower, Volume 1: The Gunslinger Born|342445|The Dark Tower, Volume 1 The Gunslinger Born|Robin Furth|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437712487s/342445.jpg|2402933]
[b:The Dark Tower, Volume 2: The Long Road Home|2834890|The Dark Tower, Volume 2 The Long Road Home|Robin Furth|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327977405s/2834890.jpg|2860996]
[b:The Dark Tower, Volume 3: Treachery|6215832|The Dark Tower, Volume 3 Treachery|Robin Furth|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327977889s/6215832.jpg|6396466]
[b:The Dark Tower, Volume 4: Fall of Gilead|6697968|The Dark Tower, Volume 4 Fall of Gilead|Robin Furth|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327977491s/6697968.jpg|6893660]
[b:The Dark Tower, Volume 5: Battle of Jericho Hill|7879834|The Dark Tower, Volume 5 Battle of Jericho Hill|Robin Furth|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327977773s/7879834.jpg|13665509]

[b:The Gunslinger|43615|The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375776480s/43615.jpg|46575]

I liked Aileen a lot and would have enjoyed this volume more if Roland had stayed comatose. And I don't remember the entirety of Gabrielle's story but wow did they just make her even more one dimensional? That's almost impressive.

I really enjoyed this story. Each chapter in this series increases my enjoyment. Some of the story we all ready know if you have read the Dark Tower series which is a lot of fun to read. It is a joy to see these scenes in comic form, and nice to see what exactly lead up to these events.

In this story Roland is further consumed by Maerlyn's ball, and his father is on the trail of Farson. This all takes place before the banquet for Roland and the rest of his Ka-Tet for their coming of age. There is not much I can say that wont give something away so I think I'll leave that to you to find out on your own.

I enjoy this series and I'm so glad my library carries these. For any fan of the Dark Tower series, I would recommend this. It fills in a lot of gaps in Roland's early years and it helps me prolong the enjoyment of the Dark Tower.

Again, a beautifully presented comic but I still come away with the feeling that we're on an aimless journey. I don't feel anything is happening.