I try not to cover what we might label "big ticket" items when I write these reviews, and, in terms of comic books, I'd like to think this includes stuff churned out by "big ticket" publishers like Marvel and DC. After all, if everybody already knows about it, why do we need one more voice on the internet discussing it?

But this month I've gone with the obvious because of the obvious. April's Swine Flu hysteria following so closely on the heels of Asia's Avian Flu hysteria demands a review of the comic book adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic novel, The Stand, as published by Marvel Comics.

Incidentally, when you watch the news on television with the sound muted, and the graphic behind the newscaster is a badly photo shopped graphic of a sinister-looking and giant-sized rooster head menacing some Chinese newborns in diapers, it's very hard to take the apocalypse seriously. I'm still hoping that television will stop sucking before we're all wiped out, but the odds on that gamble aren't looking very good.

The premise behind The Stand is a pretty straightforward one - airborne virus Captain Trips wipes out the vast majority of the world's population, and what follows is a sort of good versus evil showdown as the survivors flock to join very specific sides, compelled by the good Mother Abagail or the evil Randall Flagg - depending on where individuals fall into place, spiritually speaking.

The novel is fantastic, but it is also huge and complex. There have been a few attempts to film it, most notably as a television series back in the 1990s. And while many consider this adaptation to be a mild success, I think it fails for the simple reason of casting antagonist Randall Flagg, who, in terms of scenery chewing and general characterization, is one of the major reasons The Stand as a novel is so successful. As a stand-in for Satan, he's not exactly human, and so any attempt to "act" him is going to be remarkably difficult for anyone.

As an aside, I'd like to point out that Viggo Mortensen's very brief portrayal of Satan in THE PROPHECY is probably the best I've ever seen in the role. But it's short, and Flagg is so integral to The Stand that you can't get away with short given the material on hand.

But there's another reason for the book's success that might topple any attempt to adapt it to other mediums. It's heavily steeped in what I suppose I can call, um, Stephen King lore - being tied into his Dark Tower series and the vast majority of his other books. As we know, while book readers may watch television and read comic books, television watchers and comic book readers don't necessarily read books. And while some retrofitting has occurred since The Stand was written, it's still one of the massive charms of the novel - identifying where things fit into King's world building, which I believe is one of the most often overlooked strengths of the author in question.

So when I heard that this book was going to be adapted to comic book format, I suspected it might have greater artistic success than a film adaptation, mainly because it can work closer to the source material and not be hampered by annoying things like actors.

So what do we have? Well, it's a remarkably accurate and faithful adaptation of the novel with pictures. It has solid art and solid writing and isn't really trying to be anything but a faithful adaptation of the novel with pictures. So, no criticism can really be leveled at it there.

If I have one complaint, it's that I'm so familiar with the source material that the reading experience here is, well, similar to reading the book... with pictures. I'm not even sure if that's a valid complaint either, because that's all it seems to be trying to do. In fairness, I think that The Stand often gets overlooked as King's masterpiece by the public at large because of its immense length and the fact it was published fairly early in his career. While it's not Carrie, it was published initially prior to the 1980s - the unabridged came later, but did the length of the book no favors.

Additionally, the lack of a high visibility film seems to cement it as a fairly low book in the King canon (unlike other, perhaps lesser works, like The Shining, Carrie, Christine, and even, yeah, the oft-maligned Cujo.) Because let's face it, TV movies, in the eyes of the general public, just don't have the same level of respect or reach that movies filmed by critically acclaimed directors do.

But I don't think I'm the target audience here, so this is a good thing. As much as I'd like to see something like The Stand drawn by someone like Ben Templesmith or someone whose art is of equal abstract influence, I suspect that would only alienate audiences and distract from the actual story.

So here's to hoping that the construct works. A 1300-page book may not appeal to wide audience, but a long comic book series later collected in graphic novel format might. Of course, there's definitely collector appeal here too.

If you don't have the patience or time for the novel, this is highly recommended. If you're already familiar with the book, I'd recommend that you wait for the bargain bin unless you're a big fan already.