As it's finally #bandcampfriday once again, i'd like to ask you to support the production of our upcoming full-length album Night Pieces by buying and downloading our current single Chapelwaite, based on Stephen King's short shocker Jerusalem's Lot.
From the inside of a rundown shack, a yellow stretch of desert is visible through weathered boards. Framed by a polygonal space between boards, the last gunslinger Roland Deschain and his companion Jake Chambers can be seen walking away.
Bathed in twilight, Roland Deschain stands in a field of red roses that surround a tower of massive girth. With arms crossed, he holds up a big revolver. Fingers wrap the sandalwood grips with noticeable tension on the trigger. Loosely knotted cloth spills from his other wrist, exposing the back of his hand, but not the fingers on his right hand. The cloth is bloody where it wraps over pinky and ring finger as he clutches the stem of a rose. Behind him, a narrow stone path leads through the field, past the faces of fallen statues that stare blankly up to the sky. Steps lead up to a wedge of light marking the tower entrance rendered as if the door is ajar. It's unclear whether the light comes from the chamber within or the flaring sun is shining through from the other side of the tower.
THE GUNSLINGER: THE SLOW MUTANTS (1981)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 20” x 15”
I took up the challenge of illustrating this scene illuminated solely by the flash of a gunshot. In so many ways, it was the shot that set the stage for Roland’s epic journey to the Dark Tower. 1/3
In a scene lit only by muzzle flash, a disfigured green humanoid grabs the leg of a boy threatening to pull him off a platform. As the boy Jake turns back, his face is etched in horror. Roland, the last Gunslinger, grabs his arm while simultaneously firing his big revolver. Roland's weight is shifted back so the lines of his arms and legs all parallel drawn out on diagonals to add to the sense of motion. From the set of his square jaw and snarl on his lips to his brow pinched in concentration, Roland's expression is pure grit and determination. His eyes are drawn to murderous beads taking aim at the slack jawed, drooling Slow Mutant.
EXECUTIVE: this ones not about
murder is it.
STEPHEN KING: it's about cute little animals.
EXECUTIVE: aaww.
STEPHEN KING: they do die though.
EXECUTIVE: oh no.
STEPHEN KING: but they come back to life.
EXECUTIVE: well that's good.
STEPHEN KING: then they murder.
EXECUTIVE: dammit Stephen
Viewed from behind, Mordred is caught in transformation between spider and boy. Browning vegetation forms lines in the snow that extend around a single tree with thinning leaves. His clothes are in tatters, exposing his bare legs to the elements as he crosses tundra. A blaze of orange holds his attention, signifying a campfire at the edge of the tree line in the distance. Seven hairy spider limbs extend from his torso with his left arm forming a stub as it becomes the eighth.
Father Callahan, a white haired man with a cross-shaped scar on his forehead, stands atop a table surrounded by vampires and low men. He thrusts his hands upward with a small turtle figurine glowing intensely bright. He is dressed all in black with a pistol tucked in his belt. Bathed in light, his face is etched with determination as his eyes draw to beads. The hideous creatures immediately surrounding him draw back in pain, grasping at their heads in agony with his shouted command. The room behind is lit yellow and orange where a curtain is drawn back and more creatures pile. Above, the light of the turtle radiates in defined white lines that shift the background purple.
The one and only Kurt Barlow from the two-part vampire miniseries based on the 1975 horror novel ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. This illustration is made from one of my hand-painted woods.
THE GUNSLINGER ON THE BEACH (1982)
Acrylic on Board - 28" x 18"
The winter months of 1980-81 were tough. My wife and I became parents with the arrival of our daughter in November, and I needn't tell anyone who has children what that means in terms of lifestyle changes...like lack of sleep. 1/3
Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, stares contemplatively across the sea as waves gently lap the shore. Footprints can be seen in the damp sand leading to where he sits, pistol unstrapped at his hip and bedroll at his side. The sun hangs low but intense, blazing a line of orange across the horizon. Over a low stretch of wispy clouds, the silhouette of an asymmetrical tower rises dream-like in the sky. Odd projections mark the sides while spires of varying height sit atop the peak like chaotic crenelations.
Unless it's a series (and I don't read a lot of those), I try to avoid reading the same author more than once a year. Spread the wealth, I guess? I'm making an exception for Stephen King, since he has two films coming out based on awesome books. I just finished The Long Walk and going straight into the audio for The Running Man, which I think I last read in high school. Earlier this year I did a re-read of Eyes of the Dragon. #AmReading#FridayReads#Books#Bookstodon#StephenKingbookstodon group
Audiobook of The Running Man by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman) on cloudLibrary app. Playback is paused at 00:12:01. Audiobook cover shows a silhouette of a man caught in red cross hairs against a sky blue background.
I'm re-reading The Long Walk by Stephen King in anticipation of the movie that comes out next month. Even though this story is one of my favorites by King - maybe in my Top 5? - I don't think I've picked it up in a couple of decades. Too long.
Hollywood doesn't always treat King's work with respect (looking at YOU, Stand adaptations... BOTH of you). I think this one is going to be really, really good, though.
Cover for The Long Walk by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman)
Signet, #1 Bestseller
With an Introduction By The Author, "The Importance Of Being Bachman"
Cover image shows a blacktop highway with yellow center line stretching off into the horizon under a grey sky dotted with ominous clouds. A solitary sneaker, lying haphazardly like it was discarded, is visible in the lower left corner.
#readlist2025pl 📚
,,Nie wymiękaj" najnowsza perełka Kinga z 2025 roku, to jazda bez trzymanki z Holly Gibney w roli głównej – tej samej nieustraszonej detektyw z ,,Pana Mercedesa"i ,,Holly". Tym razem King rzuca nas w mroczny wir kryminalnej zagadki: seryjny morderca poluje na rezerwowych członków ławy przysięgłych. Serio, kto wpada na takie pomysły? To jak klasyczny King – bierze coś tak zwyczajnego jak sądowe obowiązki i zamienia w koszmar, od którego nie możesz się oderwać. Do tego wplata komentarze o współczesnej Ameryce – od politycznych podziałów po społeczne napięcia – co nadaje książce smaczku, choć czasem fabuła gubi rytm, próbując ogarnąć te wszystkie wątki. Holly, jak zawsze, kradnie show swoją upartą, ludzką siłą, choć niektórzy fani narzekają, że dostaje tu trochę mniej miejsca niż w poprzednich książkach. To taki King w formie ,,kryminał z duszą”, z nutką grozy, ale bez duchów wyskakujących z szafy.
Czy warto przeczytać?
No dobra, powiem wprost: „Nie wymiękaj" to nie jest ,,Lśnienie'' ani ,,To", ale i tak wciąga jak bagno w horrorze. Holly Gibney to postać, dla której warto wrócić – jej zadziorność i wrażliwość to jak kawa z mlekiem, idealnie wyważone. Sam pomysł na fabułę – morderca jurorów – jest tak pokręcony, że aż genialny, a King wciąż umie pisać sceny, od których ciarki chodzą po plecach. Ale, ale… czasem akcja zwalnia, jakby King chciał upchnąć za dużo przemyśleń o świecie. Jeśli kochasz jego kryminalne opowieści albo jesteś fanem Holly, to bierz książkę w ciemno – dostaniesz solidną dawkę emocji. Jeśli jednak liczysz na czysty horror, możesz poczuć się jak na randce, która obiecywała więcej. Dla mnie to smakowity kąsek, ale nie wybitny klasyk.
Ocena:
Daję 7,5/10 – za kreatywność, Holly i ten kingowski vibe, choć brakowało mi ciut więcej pazura i tempa.
Folks it is now one hour until #MONSTERDON the weekly monster movie watch party. That's a couple thousand toots comin' at you, so if you want to avoid it, now's a good time to set up a filter.
If you'd like to join in, this week we're watching MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986), Stephen King's one and only turn as a movie director and hoooo boy is there a reason for that. Should be a blast :D
This interior illustration for The Dark Tower (Book 7) by Stephen King is a scene from a chapter entitled "In the Haze of Green and Gold," which set the tone for the color scheme.
King also described the trees as being like the columns of a cathedral and I endeavored to capture this in the painting.
Close detail from THE CLEARING featuring Roland carrying the body of a boy with a small canine creature following him into the gold and green ancient forest.
#MarkHamill says #TheLifeOfChuck is “the kind of once-in-a-lifetime movie that makes you believe people might still be decent if you squint hard enough.”
He talks to me about tackling #StephenKing’s least King-ish story, mentoring a 12-year-old co-star who knits between takes, and why his greatest acting horror wasn’t the Joker — it was meeting Bill Cosby.
THE DARK TOWER: CORNERED (2003) Oil on Panel - 28" x 18"
The water and the drain in the floor, Jake's left hand, the rope, the curl of Oy's tail, and other elements intentionally form the number 9 backwards and forwards.
Interior illustration from THE DARK TOWER VII by Stephen King
Close detail of Oy with its tail curling. It looks like a badger with white and black stripes. Its mouth is open, exposing sharp teeth, and one paw is raised as if about to lunge forward. Water circles the drain in front of him in a reverse of the figure 9.