Author: Stephen King
Illustrated: Glenn Chadbourne
Hardcover: 88 pages
Publisher: Cemetery Dance Publications
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
“The Dark Man” is not a new release for Stephen King. He wrote this poem back when he was in college and it was published in Ubris in 1969. This release is King’s poem, “The Dark Man”, re-released over 40 years with a new life than to the amazing illustrations of Glenn Chadbourne. There are over 70 beautiful full-page illustrations from Chadbourne (“The Secretary of Dreams”). Let me tell you one thing, this book is creepy as hell and if you let yourself go into its world it will linger within you and haunt your dreams. It is not the first time that I have read this poem but with the new illustrations, I felt like it was an entirely new experience. Highly recommended!
Official Premise: Stephen King first wrote about the Dark Man in college after he envisioned a faceless man in cowboy boots and jeans and a denim jacket forever walking the roads. Later this dark man would come to be known around the world as one of King’s greatest villains, Randall Flagg, but at the time King only had simple questions on his mind: Where was this man going? What had he seen and done? What terrible things…?
Cemetery Dance Publications is the publisher behind this new hardcover release. They really scored for sure, as Stephen King’s fans should go crazy over this updated release to his poem. Glenn Chadbourne images really works well with King’s words and blend together. The actual black and white illustrations are very unique and the color factor adds a lot of extra terror. Within King’s story there are twists and turns and within the illustrations there are added hidden details every page. There are many layers to this book and even though it is just 88 pages, it is jam-packed and very entertaining.
