“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With these unforgettable words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King’s iconic character Roland Deschain of Gilead. Roland is the last of his kind, a “gunslinger” charged with protecting whatever goodness and light remains in his world—a world that “moved on,” as they say. In this desolate reality—a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic, and yet one that mirrors our own in frightening ways—Roland is on a spellbinding and soul-shattering quest to locate and somehow save the mystical nexus of all worlds, all universes: the Dark Tower.

Now, in the graphic novel series Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: Beginnings, originally published by Marvel Comics in single-issue form and creatively overseen by Stephen King himself, the full story of Roland’s troubled past and coming-of-age is revealed. Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, plotted by longtime Stephen King expert Robin Furth, and scripted by New York Times bestselling author Peter David, Beginnings is an extraordinary and terrifying journey into Roland’s origins—ultimately serving as the perfect introduction for new readers to Stephen King’s modern literary classic The Dark Tower, while giving longtime fans thrilling adventures merely hinted at in his blockbuster novels.

Taking place directly following the shocking events seen in The Gunslinger Born, Roland along with Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns must flee for their lives from the town of Hambry, with a murderous posse close behind and the road ahead to Gilead and home fraught with peril. But Roland cannot resist the lure of their stolen prize—the enchanted seeing sphere nicknamed “Maerlyn’s Grapefruit”—and finds his consciousness trapped inside this mystical orb…where many important secrets lie in wait, their revelations heralding death or worse. And while Roland’s ka-tet is absorbed in its own drama, something is emerging from the desolate place known as the Dogan, as a long-slumbering spirit that portends great evil has awakened….