Off The Shelf: The Stand

Beginning in January of 2010 Marvel Comics started the process of releasing Stephen King's classic 1985 horror masterpiece, The Stand, as a limited edition mini-series. This series features all of the characters that made the original book a classic with breathtaking, detailed artwork, work that's on a whole other level for comics - mixing photorealism with the abstract, reflecting the source material perfectly.

The Stand is being released 16 years after a doomed attempt by ABC in the mid-nineties to bring the series to life on the small screen. This attempt left fans reeling with disappointment due to wildly unbalanced casting, including an aging "surfer dude" Jamey Sheridan as the central character. Sheridan fumbled his way through the part of Randall "The Dark Man" Flagg enough upset a lot of people - Sheridan's next dramatic turn would be in a made for tv movie My Breast starring Meredith Baxter Birney, go figure. The series also starred Gary Sinese as Stu Redman and Rob Lowe as Nick Andros. However, 16 years later, The Stand is now coming to an electrifying life as a mini-series from Marvel as artists Mike Perkins and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa apply an amazing amount of detail to King's vision of the American Apocalypse.

References:

• Gargantuan Media, Full Variant Cover
• Amazon, The Stand: The Graphic Novel