There are few people who know the world of Dark Tower as intimately as writer Robin Furth. With Marvel continuing what many consider Stephen King’s seminal work, ComicBook.com had the chance to sit and chat with Furth about her latest project that she is co-writing with Peter David, The Dark Tower: Drawing Of The Three - The Prisoner.

From what we've heard so far, the new series starts in the 60s. Does that mean Eddie had some previous encounters with the Crimson King before meeting Roland in (presumably) the 80s? Will the timeline work at all for an early appearance from the Misses Odetta Holmes or Detta Walker?

Ah, you will have to wait to learn more about Eddie's history with the Crimson King! But rest assured, the Red King has had his eye on Eddie for a very long time, and so have his minions. In fact, they'd really like to thwart ka (destiny) and prevent Eddie from meeting our gunslinger. However, ka is not thwarted so easily. And as for Detta/Odetta, if all goes well, at some point in the future you'll get to hear her story too. (And from her own lips . . .)

The book's being described as a crime story as opposed to a Western. Would you agree with that assessment? What sets the tone apart other than the setting?

What really sets this book apart from our earlier Dark Tower tales is that we're telling Eddie's story from Eddie's perspective. Hence, we learn about his childhood and young adulthood in Brooklyn where he encounters the mob. Eddie's older brother, Henry, is a punk destined for trouble. Because of this, Eddie has run-ins with the law. Eventually, Eddie enters Mid-World, but before then his trials take place in our world. (And the followers of the Crimson King are out to get him . . .)

Looking at the previews, making Eddie a real part of his sister's death is a nice touch that wasn't in the novel. Can we expect you to go more in depth with the source material in other places?

Oh yes! I've always found Eddie's backstory fascinating. It's also really fun to play with that source material. Stephen King includes a tremendous amount of it in the books, so we're sewing it all together in our tale. We want to be as authentic as possible.



For me, The Drawing of the Three was the book that really got me hooked on the Dark Tower series. Do you think The Prisoner will draw in readers that you might have missed with the past series?

I really hope so. I've met so many people who got hooked on the series with Drawing Of The Three, so I hope the appeal translates into the comics. It's such a fast-paced action tale; working with it is a tremendous amount of fun. I also love the visuals--they're so dynamic!