Dark Tower novels - which set should I get?

[Elemental]

I'm having a bit of a nerd-dilemma. I'm having trouble deciding which set of the novels to get as I fancy myself a bit of a collector.

It bugs me that the 7 books came out through 2 different publishers and so there is a lot of inconsistency in the cover format of the books. However, then I came upon a new UK edition available through Amazon with some pretty nice covers and they even have all the spines line up to show a picture:

There is even an edition of the upcoming 8th book that will fit this format. However, my biggest disappointment is that I do not believe they include the original illustrations present in all the hardcover and trade paperback formats.

Here are two of the forms of the inconsistent North American versions from two different publishers:

So, I could either get the inconsistent North American trades or hardcovers in order to have the illustrations, or get the new UK editions which I don't believe have the illustrations.

I'm not even a big fan of the illustrations but I feel like I would be missing out on a part of the "original experience" of the novels by not having them.

So which would you/should I go with?

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my entertainment mediums. I like consistency, which is one thing that really grinds my gears about my Dark Tower hardbacks. The first four I purchased when they re-edited The Gunslinger, and the other three thru Wizard and Glass have the uniform, thicker dust jacket. Needless to say, I was pretty pissed when I got Wolves of the Calla with the thin jacket and Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower didn't match that style either.

That having been said, I may have to look up the pricing for the UK editions. They look pretty sweet. And, if the upcoming eighth book follows the same format, that's just icing on the cake

(The illustrations in the first five books and the Dark Tower VII are pretty badass. Not too sure what they were going for in Song of Susannah. But, it made me think of a question. Are misprints in books worth money? I think this was something I remember Eddie and Jake discussing with the book store owner in one of the books. I only ask because in my copy of the reedited Gunslinger, the illustration where Roland is visiting the Oracle is upside down. Anybody know if this could be worth anything?)

 

[Namikaze]

Seeing as how the set with the spine art doesn't include the 8th book, I would go with whatever other edition you like best. Pictures are awesome, but given the length of the books, the weight of the hardcovers might not be ideal.

 

[Mr Light]

Uh, since when is there an eighth book?!

 

[Elemental]

The new upcoming 8th book will fit the same format in the UK. It's different for NA. Only drawback is, that that UK set I showed is only in paperback and I don't think it includes the illustrations.

So, it really comes down to whether I'd rather have a consistent cover/spine design, or the illustrations.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

Uh, since when is there an eighth book?!

It's actually an interquel: The Dark Tower 4.5: The Wind Through the Keyhole, coming April 24th, 2012.