The Saga of Solomon Kane, Published by Dark Horse Comics

Writers: Roy Thomas, Don Glut, Doug Moench & friends; Artists: David Wenzel, Steve Gan, Alan Weiss, Steve Carr, Al Williamson, Colin MacNeil & friends; Cover: Dorian Vallejo

Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Solomon Kane, the grim Puritan adventurer, was the creation of pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard, and first debuted in the pages of Weird Tales in August 1928. Regarding his creation, Robert E. Howard wrote in 1935, "He was probably the result of an admiration for a certain type of cold, steely-nerved duelist that existed in the sixteenth century." Howard is nowadays much better known as the originator of Conan the Barbarian.

Despite the widespread popularity of Conan, I have always preferred the character of Solomon Kane. I like the swashbuckling, pseudo-historical setting of the Kane stories, an Earth exactly like our own, aside from the obvious presence of the supernatural. Kane's appearance is also striking: tall, gaunt, blooding and intense, clad all in black (you could say he was goth decades before it was fashionable). And then there is Kane's character, consumed by an overwhelming wanderlust and sense of adventure. Yet, due to his orthodox Puritan upbringing, on a conscious level Kane justifies his actions, both to himself and others, by regarding himself as an instrument of God's will, on a holy mission to fight injustice across the globe. It's a fascinating psychological portrait of a man equal parts selfless hero and religious fanatic.

Dark Horse Comics is currently producing new material featuring Solomon Kane. In addition, they have the reprint rights for the stories originally published by Marvel Comics. The Saga of Solomon Kane collects the black & white stories that appeared between 1973 and 1994 in the pages of The Savage Sword of Conan and elsewhere. The contents of the TPB are a mixture of adaptations of Robert E. Howard's original Solomon Kane stories, and brand new adventures featuring the character.

The lion's share of the writing, both on the adaptations and the new material, is divided between Roy Thomas and Don Glut. A variety of artists illustrated these stories. David Wenzel drew a significant number of them. I am not familiar with Wenzel, but his art on the Kane stories is very impressive, especially when he inks his own work.

As most of these stories were originally back-up strips in Savage Sword, there is a definite conciseness to the writing. This is especially apparent in many of the adaptations. If these were to be done today, they would probably be much given greater space to breathe. An unfortunate example is Glut's adaptation of REH's epic story "Moon of Skulls." Despite some gorgeous art from Wenzel, the story seems rushed & cramped. I do not fault Glut for this, though, as he was obviously working under space constraints.

Later on, given a greater page length, Glut and Wenzel produce an atmospheric, nerve-wracking interpretation of the REH tale "Wings in the Night." Wenzel is given ample room to illustrate one of the story's most harrowing passages. Witnessing the slaughter of an African tribe by a horde of winged mutant fiends, unable to halt the carnage, the normally grim, stoic Kane flies into a mad berserker rage. Wenzel's depiction of the blood-splattered Kane, his eyes wide with insanity, screaming out in rage & madness to the heavens, is a nightmarish image.

One obvious, and fortunate, alteration to the source material by Thomas and Glut is the toning down, or outright removal, of the more politically incorrect elements. Robert E. Howard's writings were a product of their time, and unfortunately there are elements in his Solomon Kane stories that are racist by today's standards. And while I would never advocate censoring REH's original works, I do not have any problem with modern writers excising those offensive traits from their adaptations.

The original stories contained in the TPB runs the gamut of quality. Among the stronger entries is the Roy Thomas-penned encounter between Kane and the vampire lord of the undead, Dracula himself. Don Glut writes the eerie "Castle of the Devil," which is based on an incomplete REH story fragment. The unusual pairing of Alan Kupperberg on pencils and Sonny Trinidad on inks results in some striking artwork for that tale. Glut also contributes the erotic horror tale "The Cold Hands of Death" illustrated by Steve Gan & Dino Castrillo, as well as "Retribution in Blood," an intense rematch with Dracula. Doug Moench tells of Kane's battle with a werewolf, featuring some early art by Mike Zeck.

And then there is "Death's Dark Riders," originally published in 1994. A full-length, two-part adventure written by Thomas, it features absolutely breathtaking artwork by Colin MacNeil. "Death's Dark Riders" is a sequel to the REH story "Moon of Skulls." It is also, quite notably, a team-up between Kane and Conan. I do not know if this was the first-ever official meeting between Howard's two famous creations, but it's certainly the only one I am aware of. Never mind that a whopping 12,000 years (give or take the odd century) separates the eras of the two characters. Thomas makes the team-up work via some convenient magical time-hopping. I read "Death's Dark Riders" when it first appeared in the pages of Savage Sword #s 219 and 220, and greatly enjoyed it. If anything, the years have only increased my appreciation for Thomas & MacNeil's swashbuckling time travel tale.

There is also an assortment of pin-up pieces by a diverse selection of artists, among them Rudy Nebres, Bernie Wrightson, John Buscema, and Neal Adams.

Clocking in at over 200 pages, The Saga of Solomon Kane is a definite bargain, assembling a wealth of previously hard-to-find material. While not every single story is a winner, the majority of the writing is quite strong, and the artwork is top-notch.