In 1984, I was in eighth grade. During the week of standarized tests, I rushed through them to finish early, in order to spend as much time as possible reading a paperback of Stephen King’s THE STAND. In the quarter century that has passed, I’ve never re-read the novel, but it’s amazing how much of its characters and events have stuck with me all this time. (And, no, I’ve never seen the miniseries.)
They came flooding back as I read the Marvel Comics adapation of King’s masterwork, currently collected in two hardcovers, both written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and pencilled by Mike Perkins: THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS and THE STAND: AMERICAN NIGHTMARES, containing five issues apiece, and now no longer confined to comic-book stores only.
The epic story begins with CAPTAIN TRIPS, suddenly and with no explanation, as a “superflu” breaks out in a military lab. One man escapes the base and flees town with his wife and child, but not without taking the infection with them, thus setting off a chain of events that will prove not only catastrophic, but apocalyptic.
As death cuts a wide swath across the United States population, we see how the lives of a handful of survivors are affected, including Frannie Goldsmith, a newly pregnant young woman; Harold Lauder, the 16-year-old nerd who has a crush on her; Stu Redman, a Texan who seems immune to the disease; Larry Underwood, a self-absorbed, hard-living, pop-music star; Rita Blakemoor, a sad, middle-aged woman he hooks up with after meeting in the park; Nick Andros, a mute man who becomes deputized during dire times; Don Elbert, the crazed arsonist known as “Trashcan Man”; and good ol’ Randall Flagg, who’s actually anything but.
With Marvel’s STAND due to last 30 issues in total, the story’s really just beginning to take shape when AMERICAN NIGHTMARES makes its curtain call, yet already, this is harrowing stuff that pays off early and often. Although there are many, many characters yet to be introduced, Aguirre-Sacasa has a deft touch in translating King’s 1,000-plus-page novel into the graphic format, sectioning storylines into episodic chunks without sacrificing cohesion or forward drive.
Perkins’ art — colored by Laura Martin — is damn near perfect, drawing you into a small-town calm before slamming you with in-your-faces scenes of terror. While King’s book certainly did the same, you could tone down your imagination; here, you have no such buffer — you’re forced to look. And with our world confronted with such recent scares as anthrax, avian flu and H1N1, one could make the argument — and win — that King’s story grows more relevant by the day. It’s no longer the stuff of fantasy.
Marvel’s STAND shines because it holds real ambition. This is not some rushed tie-in seeking only to capitalize on King’s brand name, but a well-told story executed with care and class. As the publisher has shown with its DARK TOWER series, it knows how to do King right. —Rod Lott
Related posts:
- Q&A with WORST NIGHTMARES’ Shane Briant
- Worst Nightmares
- Walk Proud, Stand Tall
- Captain Future: Summer 1942
- Dead of Night Featuring the Man-Thing
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh man. I’m still not that well read with graphic novels, but the covers alone make me wish I had these books. To think of it now, “The Stand” does seem like the kind of epic backdrop that works well towards a graphic novel. This is going on my wish list.
I was curious to hear your take on these as I was reading THE STAND probably around the same time as you and rather enjoyed the TV miniseries, which I think I’ve watched a couple times now. I’ll definitely add these to my must-read list.