The Stand Volume 6: The Night Has Come

I bought this one here in Shanghai, probably at Boocup, but I didn't make a note when I got it.

Title: The Stand
Issue: Volume 6: The Night Has Come
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: 2013
Writer: Stephen King, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artist: Mike Perkins
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Editor: Nicole Boose
Cover: Tom Coker, Laura Martin

The sixth volume of the trade paperback collections of Marvel's adaptation of The Stand is the final volume, covering the final confrontation between Randal Flagg and the forces of the Free Zone, plus all of the aftermath of that climactic scene.

This was a very strong adaptation that stuck closely to the source. I thought the look of the characters was great, the selection of dialogue worked, and the pacing was excellent. It felt familiar in a good way, an excellent revisit to a favorite story of mine.

I didn't read the previous volumes of the adaptation, but would definitely give them a look on the basis of this one.

Rating: 8/10

Dark Tower Sketchbook

Title: Dark Tower Sketchbook
Date: 2006
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Artists: Jae Lee, Richard Isanove

Serving as a preview freebie for Marvel's The Gunslinger Born series based on Stephen King's fantasy novel series, The Dark Tower, this book introduces the artists and provides some sketch work and some insights into their techniques. Jae Lee's raw pencil and ink line art is perfect for the stark feel of King's writing, and it particularly shines on the character concept sketches that appear here. The best feature in this book, though, is Richard Isanove's walk-through of his work on a single panel, starting from a photograph, and taking the reader all the way through the addition of background colors, line art, and finally the digital painting process for the foreground elements. This is not meant to be a detailed "how-to", but it's definitely worth a look to anyone who's interested in the digital painting or digital coloring process.

Rating: 8/10