Revised Versions

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Takoren

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My apologies if this has been asked before.

Have any volumes of The Dark Tower received revised versions other than the first? I don't think they have, but I keep hearing people saying "but in the revised version..." in regard to the later books.

For example, someone said once that in the revised version of Wizard and Glass, Roland's confrontation with Marten in the Emerald City is revised to be a confrontation with Walter. I checked that one out. In my local chain store, an obviously more recent edition than my own certainly does not change that confrontation.

I also heard that revised versions of The Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands do make mention of the Crimson King, who doesn't even get name-checked in the initial versions of the first three books.

I know there's the revised and expanded edition of the first book. I have a copy of both. But if there are revised versions of THOTT, TWL and W&G, I want to know so I can go grab them.
 

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My apologies if this has been asked before.

Have any volumes of The Dark Tower received revised versions other than the first? I don't think they have, but I keep hearing people saying "but in the revised version..." in regard to the later books.

For example, someone said once that in the revised version of Wizard and Glass, Roland's confrontation with Marten in the Emerald City is revised to be a confrontation with Walter. I checked that one out. In my local chain store, an obviously more recent edition than my own certainly does not change that confrontation.

I also heard that revised versions of The Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands do make mention of the Crimson King, who doesn't even get name-checked in the initial versions of the first three books.

I know there's the revised and expanded edition of the first book. I have a copy of both. But if there are revised versions of THOTT, TWL and W&G, I want to know so I can go grab them.
Steve has only revised the first one.
 

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I haven't either. I am not certain whether I want to or not. I am not sure if they are true canon.
I don't think they would be considered to be so since Steve did not write any of them. Robin Furth does check with him when things are going to go in a different direction from the original to make sure he is okay with them but he's said he stopped reading them a long time ago. He doesn't want to be influenced in case he decides to write more DT stories or books later on.
 

Takoren

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Nov 25, 2015
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I don't think they would be considered to be so since Steve did not write any of them. Robin Furth does check with him when things are going to go in a different direction from the original to make sure he is okay with them but he's said he stopped reading them a long time ago. He doesn't want to be influenced in case he decides to write more DT stories or books later on.
I'm glad to know that. I always thought of them as unnecessary but then I hear people talking about the Crimson King being some kind of were-spider, with depictions of him looking demonic and I think "Nah, he was just a crazy old man, where did all this come from?"
 

Takoren

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Even in the books he's described as being a shape shifter.

Although I didn't care too much for the comics themselves, I thought the illustrations by Jae Lee of the Crimson King were pretty awesome.
It's been about a decade since I last read these books (and I never read The Wind Through the Keyhole) so there's a lot I don't remember. I can't wait to read them again.
 

muskrat

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Seems to me the Marvel version has it that Flagg/Walter/Martin/Maerlin is all the same guy, but a bit of book seven and definitely the central tale of KEYHOLE has Maerlin an altogether different character. At least that's how I remember it, can't say for sure. Maybe Bob Gray knows?

Anyhoo, gimme King's version of DT over *choke!* Peter David's ANY old day.
 

Takoren

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Seems to me the Marvel version has it that Flagg/Walter/Martin/Maerlin is all the same guy, but a bit of book seven and definitely the central tale of KEYHOLE has Maerlin an altogether different character. At least that's how I remember it, can't say for sure. Maybe Bob Gray knows?

Anyhoo, gimme King's version of DT over *choke!* Peter David's ANY old day.
Oh, no, Maerlin is absolutely a different person. I haven't read the comics, but I read Walter's page on the Wiki, which counts the comics, and it doesn't include Maerlin as one of his aliases. It does include "The Ageless Stranger".
 
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Takoren

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I'm sure they're enjoyable, I just wondered if there was some canonical information one gets from reading them that you don't get from the novels.
 
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muskrat

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...I'll wave the minority flag here...I have thoroughly enjoyed the works from Marvel....true to Canon?...not always, but they have been entertaining-that's what I'm paying for....

Oh, I like the Marvel stuff, don't get me wrong--well, hit and miss--just saying I like the way Stevie does it better.

If old Big John Buscema wasn't dead, it'd sure be cool to see him and Roy Thomas team-up again for a few Roland stories. They were the long running creative team behind Conan, and they did alright by Howard, IMO. And DT woulda been something Buscema woulda really sank his teeth into--he didn't care much for super-heroes. But, yeah, dead.
 

muskrat

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castles14.jpg


John Buscema's SOLOMON KANE. Tell me he wouldn't do a good Roland.
 
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GNTLGNT

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Oh, I like the Marvel stuff, don't get me wrong--well, hit and miss--just saying I like the way Stevie does it better.

If old Big John Buscema wasn't dead, it'd sure be cool to see him and Roy Thomas team-up again for a few Roland stories. They were the long running creative team behind Conan, and they did alright by Howard, IMO. And DT woulda been something Buscema woulda really sank his teeth into--he didn't care much for super-heroes. But, yeah, dead.
....oh hell yeah, I agree on the "hit/miss"...but that would have been one hell of a tag-team......
Roy-Thomas-John-Buscema-Alfredo-Alcal%C3%A1-The-Savage-Sword-of-Conan-7-19752.jpg
 
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