THE DEAD TOWN

Cover illustration for The Gunslinger (3rd Edition) by Stephen King

May 19, 2025

On a dusty, tilted horizon, the Gunslinger stands with pistols gripped and angled down toward the ground. Bodies pile at his feet. Dozens more extend in a line that snakes into the foreground. Various weapons—scythes and machetes, bricks and boards—lay discarded in the dirt beside the twisted, bloody corpses. The scene is absolute carnage served up for the viewer who has the point of view of next in line. — THE DEAD TOWN (1982), Acrylic on Illustration Board - 20" x 14"

Throughout most of my career as an illustrator, I took the unusual approach of rarely using models. This is especially noteworthy in the case of a painting like this one. So many figures in so many different poses—all out of my imagination!

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Additional images from THE DEAD TOWN

LEFT: Detail from DEAD TOWN featuring Roland standing with guns at his side and a trail of bodies snaking to the foreground. The horizon is tilted to provide a disoriented POV as if the viewer is shaky after having witnessed a massacre, knowing they’re next in line. RIGHT: Detail from DEAD TOWN featuring the trail of twisted corpses. Each has fallen with their weapon nearby. There are rough lengths of board, a heavy brick, a scythe and a crow bar. The nearest “victim” is a bearded man with black hair wearing a green vest. He holds his hand to his chest where his shirt is soaked through with blood. His head is propped awkwardly on the thigh of a woman whose face is obscured by her chunky arm while her silky blue skirt exposes the curve of her thigh. A dark haired woman face down wearing blue jeans and boots stretches across her midsection. The next two corpses folded over each other have silvered hair as the path of carnage continues, men and women, young and old, all killed by a single Gunslinger. — Details from THE DEAD TOWN

Cover illustration for the third edition of THE GUNSLINGER by Stephen King, published by Donald M Grant. — *The Gunslinger*, 3rd Edition, by Stephen King (Donald M. Grant)

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Limited edition print of THE GUNSLINGER: THE DEAD TOWN, conservation framed with acid-free mats (suede on top), archival plexiglass, and wood moulding. — Available as a limited edition print of 99 in our shop

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