The Dark Tower: Treachery issue 6

It's riddlin' time.

Yes, as part of the festival held by Gilead, Cort faces off against Kingson in a true battle of wits.  At first, I was disappointed that Cort didn't live up to his word, but the way it was handled here was much better.  Plus, Cort makes a funny.

Aileen and Roland talk and get a better understanding of each other.  As it turns out, Roland has no problem with Aileen, just the whole "setup" scenario they found themselves in.  He tells her of his grief in regards to Susan and she does her best to console him.   It is here that we see the seed of Roland's obsession with the tower.  At first it sounds like he wants to just use it to bring Susan back, but as he talks it's clear  he wants to erase Farson and his men from existence entirely.

Wait a minute, he wants to recreate reality in a way that he thinks is better?  Roland certainly doesn't qualify as anti-hero, but that sort of talk is frequent among villains, especially in comics.  I mean, that was Parallax's MO.  Darkseid, DC's uber-villain, has also tried to rewrite reality on multiple occasions to recreate it in his own image.  Superboy-Prime even did it...oh God, I just compared Roland to Superboy-Prime.  Roland, I cry your pardon, I got carried away.  Still, the rhetoric rang a bit too familiar.

The comic ends with a key scene from Wizard and Glass.  As it was detailed in the book, Roland goes to find the rainbow after it is discovered that it has been stolen.  Roland once again becomes engrossed in the glow of the vile sphere.  He hears Rhea's voice behind him, so he quickly turns around and fires, turns out, it was his mother. 

Given his general distaste for her (he refers to her as a bitch earlier in the comic) one would think that he could just shrug this off.  A new wound is formed, while simultaneously opening an old one and pouring salt on them both when her last words echo Susan's last words exactly.  Ouch.

The prose piece details the background of the riddle contest and talks about how they are serious business.  I can't help but laugh anytime I hear something referred to as such, it's the internet's fault, but I can't take that phrase seriously anymore.  There are also 14 riddles with which to test your skill.

There is no mention of whether or not Gabrielle got to Steven, I don't think so as the only panic was a result of Kingson's death.  There is also no resolution of the traitor in Steven's employ.  I guess he plays a part in the fall of Gilead arc.  The preview says that things get darker, so I suspect that this will be the Empire Strikes Back of The Dark Tower series.