The Dark Man is a poem written in 1969 by Stephen King that was first published in the college literary journal, Ubris.
The poem was the basis of Randall Flagg, a menacing character that has appeared in a handful of King’s books such as The Stand, Eyes of The Dragon and The Dark Tower series.
In an interview with Waldenbooks in July 2003 the author had this to say:
“Actually, Flagg came to me when I wrote a poem called “The Dark Man” when I was a junior or senior in college. It came to me out of nowhere, this guy in cowboy boots who moved around on the roads, mostly hitchhiking at night, always wore jeans and a denim jacket. I wrote this poem, and it was basically a page long. I was in the college restaurant .. I wrote the poem on the back of a placemat. It was published, as a matter of fact, but that guy never left my mind.”
The poem was later published in 1970 in another literary journal, Moth and then again in 2004 in The Devil’s Wine, a hardcover collection of poetry published by Cemetery Dance.
Today Cemetery Dance announced The Dark Man: An Illustrated Poem limited edition hardcover book.
This Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover is a true marriage of words and art, with Glenn Chadbourne pulling the images from King’s imagination and illustrating them in magnificent detail. You’ll discover hidden layers and mysterious secrets for years to come as you return to these stunning pages.
Published in four states:
– World’s First Edition, First Printing Trade Hardcover ($25)
– World’s First Edition, First Printing slipcased trade hardcover featuring a different dust jacket and shrink-wrapped with a deluxe custom-made slipcase and a collectible Glenn Chadbourne bookmark featuring a Dark Man drawing that doesn’t appear in the book ($49.95)
– Traycased Signed Limited Edition of only 500 copies printed in two colors and bound in leather with two-color hot foil stamping, a different dust jacket, a color frontispiece, satin ribbon page marker, and embossed endpapers, signed by Stephen King and Glenn Chadbourne ($350) SOLD OUT
– Signed Lettered Edition of only 52 copies printed in two colors and bound in two different fine materials with gilded page edges, a different dust jacket, a different color frontispiece, a satin ribbon page marker, imported endpapers, a hand-drawn Dark Man illustration by Glenn Chadbourne in every copy, all protected in a custom deluxe traycase, signed by Stephen King and Glenn Chadbourne ($1750) SOLD OUT
Click HERE to get more info and order the books. The publication date is set for July 30, 2013.
Here are just a few samples of the 70+ full-page interior illustrations:
