Current Events
In May 2014, Marvel announced that Eddie Dean will star in his own series, The Drawing of the Three: The Prisoner. The series, which launched in early September 2014, details the events of Eddie’s life in the years leading up to his meeting with Roland Deschain.
Origin
Eddie grew up with his mother and older brother Henry in New York. While often teased and even manipulated by his brother, Eddie idolised him – a key factor in his later addiction and spiral into crime and self-destruction.
In the Dark Tower comics, as well as the novels, Eddie first appears to Roland in the form of a Tarot reading by the Man in Black. He tells Roland that he will draw three others to him, one of which is represented by the card “The Prisoner”, which depicts a young man being whipped by a baboon perched on his shoulder. The card is a metaphor for the character’s drug addiction.
Creation
Eddie was created by Stephen King and first appeared in the Dark Tower novel The Drawing of the Three.
Major Story Arcs
The Drawing of the Three: The Prisoner
In The Prisoner, the events of Eddie’s early life differ somewhat from the version given in the Dark Tower novels. While his earliest memory is still that of his sister Gloria dying in front of him when he was two years old, the circumstances surrounding this event are quite different. Instead of being killed by a drunk driver, his sister is knocked down by a car in a failed attempt by Enrico Balazar’s men to kill Eddie himself, and prevent Roland Deschain from forming the ka-tet who will enable him to reach the Dark Tower.
In the comic series, as in the books, his sister’s death has a profound effect on Eddie’s entire family, causing his mother to become overly protective of her two remaining sons.