So Marvel's putting out this book called Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born. It's based on, and expands upon, Stephen King's Dark Tower series of novels. Maybe you've heard of them, yes?
Well, to celebrate the launch of the book, stores throughout the country held midnight opening events. Stores opened up for fans to pick up copies of the book early, and in some cases, meet the talent behind the first issue. I was lucky enough to get in on the action at Midtown Comics, location of the big New York City midnight launch where artist Jae Lee and co-writer Peter David were signing.
I got to the store at about 11:15 and there were easily 50 people on line in the store. Add to that number another 30 or so folks from Marvel, Midtown employees, reporters and camera crews from various media outlets and customers browsing before getting on line, and the store was busy!
There was genuine excitement and energy in the air. It was nearing midnight and though some fans had been waiting for over an hour, everyone was pumped. By the time Jae and Peter sat down to sign, the line was easily 100 deep with more coming in every few minutes. All in all, it was a great night and seems to have been a success throughout. Check out Dark Tower editor Nicole Boose's report here (with a bunch more photos!) and here's what Peter David had to say about the event in NYC.
Oh, did I mention it's all on tape? I brought along a camera, linked up with editor Nick Lowe (Uncanny X-Men, Runaways, Astonishing X-Men and more) and mixed it up with the crowd. Check out some stills from the event and keep your eyes peeled for video of the event on Marvel.com.