The Dark Tower: Treachery
Encyclopedia
The Dark Tower: Treachery is a monthly, six-issue comic book
mini-series
, a prequel spin-off
of Stephen King
's sci-fi western novel series The Dark Tower
, the first issue of which was published September 10, 2008. It is the third of five such miniseries
based on those novels, following the 2007
mini-series The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born and the 2008
mini-series The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home
. The series is written and illustrated by the same creative team as The Gunslinger Born and The Long Road Home, which includes writers Robin Furth
and Peter David
, and illustrators Jae Lee
and Richard Isanove. Whereas The Gunslinger Born was largely based on the events of The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, Treachery, like The Long Road Home, consists mostly of new material not found in any of the novels.
The story depicts The ka-tet of Roland Deschain
, Alain Johns
and Cuthbert Allgood
dealing with the events following their return to Gilead from Hambry, including the toll that Maerlyn's Grapefruit has taken on Roland's health, his obsessive desire to continue peering into its depths, and the search for John Farson
and the Big Coffin Hunters.
, Alain Johns
and Cuthbert Allgood
from their successful mission in Hambry. Alain and Cuthbert are praised by Roland's father, Steven Deschain, the lord of Gilead, for accomplishing their mission, and are recognized as gunslingers. The two gunslingers, however, are worried about Roland, who is still obsessed with Maerlyn's Grapefruit, the mysterious seeing sphere that Roland acquired during their mission. They are conflicted over their decision to remain loyal to him by keeping his addiction to it a secret, rather than forcing Roland to turn it over to his father. Roland is also troubled by the Grapefruit, through which he is still taunted by the Crimson King
.
A posse that includes the trio's fathers heads out on a mission to thwart John Farson. They come across a group of Farson's men whose loyalty to Farson is wavering. They are ambushed by the posse, and although most are killed, one is able to detonate a grenade
. The explosion is observed at a distance by another Farson deserter, who is turn killed by one of Farson's lieutenants. Charles Champignon, who shielded Steven from the grenade, is badly wounded. Steven applies the gunpowder
from a bullet to his wound and ignites it, cauterizing the wound. They resolve to get Charles home to more proper medical attention before his pregnant wife gives birth.
In Gilead, Aileen Ritter, the niece of the gunslinger trainer Cort, laments how she is excluded from becoming a gunslinger because she is female. Cort wants to betroth her to Roland Deschain, but she would rather die than marry. She steals revolvers from Cort's armory to practice with them. When she joins the boys, Cuthbert dismisses her, but she gets the best of him by putting a bullet through his gun belt as he holds it in his hand. Cort is upset with Aileen for stealing from the armory, and for eschewing the traditional role of females with her gunslinger aspirations, but observes that she is just like her late mother, and resolves that she will choose her own path.
At a nunnery in Debaria called Our Lady of the Rose, Gabrielle Deschain attempts to atone for her infidelity to Steven with Marten Broadcloak, but Marten himself appears, and insists that he is the only one who loves and understands her. He convinces her to murder Steven, and makes her the false promise her that her son, Roland, will be unharmed. At the same time, Steven and his men attempt to strategize how to outflank John Farson, but Justus, their chief source of information on Farson's movements, is actually a spy in Farson's employ.
Within the Grapefruit, Roland sees a vision of Rhea of the Cöos
, the witch behind Susan Delgado's death, arriving in Gilead, and murdering his father. Alain and Cuthbert manage to convince Roland to relinquish the Grapefruit to his father, which Roland does, apologizing to Steven for not doing so upon his return to Gilead. Steven is understanding of Roland's sin, due to the nefarious effect that the Grapefruit has on its victims, and tells Roland he will atone for his actions by showing forgiveness to his mother at the upcoming banquet. Roland begrudgingly agrees. Steven, rather than allowing the Grapefruit to seduce him as it did Roland, hides it in a safe, an act that is secretly observed by Justus, who informs Farson of this.
Alain and Cuthbert, observing that new gunslingers typically are seated next to the prospective brides selected by their fathers, ponder whether Roland will be seated next to Aileen at the upcoming banquet, but Roland, who is still mourning Susan Delgado, has no interest in the issue. Meanwhile, Gabrielle meets with Justus and Kingson, Farson's nephew, who works as a musician. They give her a dagger coated with a deadly poison with which she is to kill Steven, and instruct her to procure the key to the safe in which Steven placed the Grapefruit.
In Gilead, Abel Vannay the Wise, the gunslingers' philosophy
teacher, crafts riddles for a competition at the upcoming banquet. Cort looks forward to the challenge, but both are interrupted by Kingson, who seeks to participate in the competition himself. Kingson later switches out Vannay's bag of riddles for his own, but his treachery is secretly witnessed by Cort.
At the banquet, Steven presents the three new gunslingers, and presents to his son the guns of Eld, which previously served Steven himself. Roland and Aileen share a dance, and later, a personal conversation outside, but when she kisses him, Roland pulls away, still mourning Susan. Kingson squares off against Cort in a competition of riddles, and appears to win the competition, but Cort accuses him of substituting Vannay's scrolls with ones that Kingson himself copied from older texts with poorly thought out, incorrect answers. Cort stabs him to death, and finds a signet ring on him, marking him as one of Farson's spies. Roland finds the Grapefruit missing from his father's vault, and then finds it in his mother's chambers. Gazing into it, he sees a reflection of Rhea of the Coos, approaching him from behind with a garrot. He turns and shoots the woman in the chest, but it turns out to be his mother, Gabrielle, holding a belt with Roland's name stitched into it that she was planning to leave him as a gift. Her last words before she expires are "Roland, I...I love thee.."
As with the previous two miniseries, writer Peter David
appeared at a midnight signing at Midtown Comics in Times Square
, Manhattan
to promote the book. Artist Mike Perkins
was also present to promote The Stand: Captain Trips, Marvel's comic book adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Stand
. Midtown, along with 80 other U.S. stores participating in the midnight launch, were given an exclusive Midnight Opening Variant of the first issue, which features a gatefold
cover.
and Robin Furth
. The handbook serves as a guide to the City of Gilead, featuring original art by David Yardin on subjects such as Buffalo Star, the Queen o’ Green Days, Lord Perth, the Blue-Faced Barbarians, and the Kuvian Night Soldiers.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
mini-series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, a prequel spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's sci-fi western novel series The Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
, the first issue of which was published September 10, 2008. It is the third of five such miniseries
The Dark Tower (comics)
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is a seven-issue comic book limited series, published in 2007 by Marvel Comics. It is the first story arc of five based on The Dark Tower series of novels by Stephen King. It is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Jae Lee and...
based on those novels, following the 2007
2007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
mini-series The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born and the 2008
2008 in comics
-January:*January 9: Teen Titans: The Lost Annual, delayed since 2003, is published.*January 23: Hellblazer #240, marking the 20th anniversary of the series, is released.-February:...
mini-series The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home
The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home
The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home is a monthly five-issue comic book mini-series, a spin-off of Stephen King's sci-fi western novel series of the same name. The first issue was published on March 5, 2008...
. The series is written and illustrated by the same creative team as The Gunslinger Born and The Long Road Home, which includes writers Robin Furth
Robin Furth
Robin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance, which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006...
and Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, and illustrators Jae Lee
Jae Lee
Jae Lee is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Inhumans and The Sentry, both with Paul Jenkins.-Career:Lee first rose to prominence in the industry for his work on Marvel's Namor the Sub-Mariner, Inhumans , and The Sentry, as well as his creator-owned character Hellshock at...
and Richard Isanove. Whereas The Gunslinger Born was largely based on the events of The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, Treachery, like The Long Road Home, consists mostly of new material not found in any of the novels.
The story depicts The ka-tet of Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
, Alain Johns
Alain Johns
Alain Johns is a fictional character in Stephen King's Dark Tower series.Alain was a member of Roland Deschain's original ka-tet along with Cuthbert Allgood and Jamie De Curry. In the original version of The Gunslinger, Alain was not mentioned, although Roland recalls having a friend named 'Allen'...
and Cuthbert Allgood
Cuthbert Allgood
Cuthbert Allgood is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is Roland Deschain's childhood friend and a member of his original ka-tet. Cuthbert, often called Bert, is first featured in The Gunslinger, but he does not play a major role in the series until Wizard and...
dealing with the events following their return to Gilead from Hambry, including the toll that Maerlyn's Grapefruit has taken on Roland's health, his obsessive desire to continue peering into its depths, and the search for John Farson
John Farson
John Farson is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels and comic books. Known as "The Good Man", Farson is the leader of a revolution in In-World who appeals to the common people, wanting to end the training of Gunslingers and re-distribute power. His stated...
and the Big Coffin Hunters.
Publication dates
- Issue #1: September 10, 2008
- Issue #2: October 8, 2008
- Issue #3: November 12, 2008
- Issue #4: December 24, 2008
- Issue #5: January 28, 2009
- Issue #6: February 25, 2009
Plot
A momentous celebration is held in Gilead following the return of Roland DeschainRoland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
, Alain Johns
Alain Johns
Alain Johns is a fictional character in Stephen King's Dark Tower series.Alain was a member of Roland Deschain's original ka-tet along with Cuthbert Allgood and Jamie De Curry. In the original version of The Gunslinger, Alain was not mentioned, although Roland recalls having a friend named 'Allen'...
and Cuthbert Allgood
Cuthbert Allgood
Cuthbert Allgood is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is Roland Deschain's childhood friend and a member of his original ka-tet. Cuthbert, often called Bert, is first featured in The Gunslinger, but he does not play a major role in the series until Wizard and...
from their successful mission in Hambry. Alain and Cuthbert are praised by Roland's father, Steven Deschain, the lord of Gilead, for accomplishing their mission, and are recognized as gunslingers. The two gunslingers, however, are worried about Roland, who is still obsessed with Maerlyn's Grapefruit, the mysterious seeing sphere that Roland acquired during their mission. They are conflicted over their decision to remain loyal to him by keeping his addiction to it a secret, rather than forcing Roland to turn it over to his father. Roland is also troubled by the Grapefruit, through which he is still taunted by the Crimson King
Crimson King
The Crimson King, also commonly known as Los', is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the antagonist in the novel Insomnia the main villain due to a plot twist in Black House and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.-Fictional...
.
A posse that includes the trio's fathers heads out on a mission to thwart John Farson. They come across a group of Farson's men whose loyalty to Farson is wavering. They are ambushed by the posse, and although most are killed, one is able to detonate a grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
. The explosion is observed at a distance by another Farson deserter, who is turn killed by one of Farson's lieutenants. Charles Champignon, who shielded Steven from the grenade, is badly wounded. Steven applies the gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
from a bullet to his wound and ignites it, cauterizing the wound. They resolve to get Charles home to more proper medical attention before his pregnant wife gives birth.
In Gilead, Aileen Ritter, the niece of the gunslinger trainer Cort, laments how she is excluded from becoming a gunslinger because she is female. Cort wants to betroth her to Roland Deschain, but she would rather die than marry. She steals revolvers from Cort's armory to practice with them. When she joins the boys, Cuthbert dismisses her, but she gets the best of him by putting a bullet through his gun belt as he holds it in his hand. Cort is upset with Aileen for stealing from the armory, and for eschewing the traditional role of females with her gunslinger aspirations, but observes that she is just like her late mother, and resolves that she will choose her own path.
At a nunnery in Debaria called Our Lady of the Rose, Gabrielle Deschain attempts to atone for her infidelity to Steven with Marten Broadcloak, but Marten himself appears, and insists that he is the only one who loves and understands her. He convinces her to murder Steven, and makes her the false promise her that her son, Roland, will be unharmed. At the same time, Steven and his men attempt to strategize how to outflank John Farson, but Justus, their chief source of information on Farson's movements, is actually a spy in Farson's employ.
Within the Grapefruit, Roland sees a vision of Rhea of the Cöos
Rhea of the Cöos
Rhea Dubativo of the Cöos is a fictional character who appears in several novels by Stephen King, most notably his Dark Tower series, as well as the comic book spinoffs of that series. Rhea is a very stereotypical fairy tale witch in appearance, personality and abilities; she is old, ugly, rides a...
, the witch behind Susan Delgado's death, arriving in Gilead, and murdering his father. Alain and Cuthbert manage to convince Roland to relinquish the Grapefruit to his father, which Roland does, apologizing to Steven for not doing so upon his return to Gilead. Steven is understanding of Roland's sin, due to the nefarious effect that the Grapefruit has on its victims, and tells Roland he will atone for his actions by showing forgiveness to his mother at the upcoming banquet. Roland begrudgingly agrees. Steven, rather than allowing the Grapefruit to seduce him as it did Roland, hides it in a safe, an act that is secretly observed by Justus, who informs Farson of this.
Alain and Cuthbert, observing that new gunslingers typically are seated next to the prospective brides selected by their fathers, ponder whether Roland will be seated next to Aileen at the upcoming banquet, but Roland, who is still mourning Susan Delgado, has no interest in the issue. Meanwhile, Gabrielle meets with Justus and Kingson, Farson's nephew, who works as a musician. They give her a dagger coated with a deadly poison with which she is to kill Steven, and instruct her to procure the key to the safe in which Steven placed the Grapefruit.
In Gilead, Abel Vannay the Wise, the gunslingers' philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
teacher, crafts riddles for a competition at the upcoming banquet. Cort looks forward to the challenge, but both are interrupted by Kingson, who seeks to participate in the competition himself. Kingson later switches out Vannay's bag of riddles for his own, but his treachery is secretly witnessed by Cort.
At the banquet, Steven presents the three new gunslingers, and presents to his son the guns of Eld, which previously served Steven himself. Roland and Aileen share a dance, and later, a personal conversation outside, but when she kisses him, Roland pulls away, still mourning Susan. Kingson squares off against Cort in a competition of riddles, and appears to win the competition, but Cort accuses him of substituting Vannay's scrolls with ones that Kingson himself copied from older texts with poorly thought out, incorrect answers. Cort stabs him to death, and finds a signet ring on him, marking him as one of Farson's spies. Roland finds the Grapefruit missing from his father's vault, and then finds it in his mother's chambers. Gazing into it, he sees a reflection of Rhea of the Coos, approaching him from behind with a garrot. He turns and shoots the woman in the chest, but it turns out to be his mother, Gabrielle, holding a belt with Roland's name stitched into it that she was planning to leave him as a gift. Her last words before she expires are "Roland, I...I love thee.."
Promotion
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
appeared at a midnight signing at Midtown Comics in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to promote the book. Artist Mike Perkins
Mike Perkins
Mike Perkins is a British comic book artist known for both his inking work and full art duties on comic books such as Captain America, Ruse and Stephen King's The Stand.-Career:Mike Perkins began drawing at a very early age...
was also present to promote The Stand: Captain Trips, Marvel's comic book adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Stand
The Stand
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It demonstrates the scenario in his earlier short story, Night Surf...
. Midtown, along with 80 other U.S. stores participating in the midnight launch, were given an exclusive Midnight Opening Variant of the first issue, which features a gatefold
Gatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
cover.
Reception
The trade paperback collection of the series made the New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller List in May 2009.Related releases
On February 11, 2009, Marvel released the The Dark Tower: Guide to Gilead written by Anthony FlaminiAnthony Flamini
Anthony Flamini is an American freelance comic book writer.-Comics Work:Writer*All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #1-12...
and Robin Furth
Robin Furth
Robin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance, which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006...
. The handbook serves as a guide to the City of Gilead, featuring original art by David Yardin on subjects such as Buffalo Star, the Queen o’ Green Days, Lord Perth, the Blue-Faced Barbarians, and the Kuvian Night Soldiers.
External links
- Robin Furth Interview at NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
- Robin Furth and Ralph Macchio Interview at Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...