Ka is a wheel; its one purpose is to turn. The spin of ka always brings us back to the same place, to face and reface our mistakes and defeats until we can learn from them. When we learn from the past, the wheel continues to move forward, towards growth and evolution. When we don’t, the wheel spins backward, and we are given another chance. If once more we squander the opportunity, the wheel continues its rotation towards devolution, or destruction.
I had no idea what to expect! When the series began, I was new to comics, so I really had to keep my head down and plow forward so that I could learn as much about this new medium as possible. I wanted so much to do a good job and to please Stephen King and all the longtime Dark Tower fans.
Sometimes, as I'm following a story thread to its ultimate conclusion, I find that I start swimming in deep water and need to run an idea by Steve [King].
Steve [King] has been incredibly supportive. He's also really good about getting back to me when I have questions about plot or characterization.
In the earlier novels, Steve King tells us that John Farson, and perhaps even the Crimson King himself, are but other names and faces that belong to Walter O'Dim. However, in The Dark Tower, he tells us very clearly that Walter, John Farson, and the Crimson King are actually separate individuals.
This is going to sound strange, but I really feel I know Roland very well. In Wizard and Glass, I got to know the young Roland, and then as I traveled with him from Eluria (found in the story "The Little Sisters of Eluria") through Tull and the Mohaine Desert (The Gunslinger), and then all the way to the Dark Tower.
I suppose that, for me at least, the biggest difference betweenThe Gunslinger Born and the next two story arcs (The Long Road Home and Treachery), is that while Gunslinger Bornwas a translation of an existing novel, the next two arcs are really the stories that I've been weaving since I first started working with Steve King on the Dark Tower back in 2000/2001.
In order to capture Mid-World for new readers, I had to streamline the original tale [ The Gunslinger Born], but I also had to incorporate scenes from earlier Dark Tower novels.
As you know, transforming such a big book [The Gunslinger Born] into graphic novel format is really a process of translation.
Originally, I broke the story [The Gunslinger Born] into eight comic books, but when the editors at Marvel thought we should make it more compact, I managed to cut back to seven.
My job on The Gunslinger Born was to take Stephen King's novel and transform it into a detailed, seven issue, scene-by-scene story.
I've learned a heck of a lot this way [making Dark Tower comics]. I've also learned a lot from the editors at Marvel, who are always an equal part in the creative team.
Because I was new to comics, I didn't know what to expect! However, I really like working collaboratively [on Dark Tower series], since I feel that - with so many different imaginations working together - the final product is so much richer. I also feel incredibly lucky to be able to work with such an accomplished and experienced team.
Bringing Mid-World to a new readership felt like a big responsibility, but I'm so glad that readers have enjoyed the story. That is a reward in itself.
After all, I want to make sure I stick with his original vision. So far, [Steven King] comments have always been the same - run with it!
