What do you think?
Rate this book
Solomon Kane
The Saga Of Solomon Kane
From his pulp-fiction origins in Weird Tales to his latest Dark Horse incarnation, Robert E. Howard's sixteenth-century Puritan adventurer has captured the imaginations of readers for decades. Now all of the Savage Sword of Conan short stories from the 1970s are collected for the first time: equal parts comics adaptations of Howard's formative tales and inspired new chapters from venerable scribes Roy Thomas (Conan the Barbarian) and Don Glut (Kull the Destroyer) Follow along Kane's restless travels with pistol and rapier as he is compelled to be a weapon of God, ridding the world of evil wherever it may be found - from the jungles of Africa to the high seas, and whether cannibal, demon, vampire, or pirate
416 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 2009
12 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Roy Thomas
4,479 books270 followersRoy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 4, 2023
Wow what fantastic adaptations of Robert E. Howard's Character. Great art and very true to the original tales. Very recommended
December 17, 2014
These are some of my favorite comics of all time (and considering Ive read thousands its high praise!) These are very eerie, dark, supernatural type stories, even more so than the Conan stories, and to me I actually enjoyed these better than most of the Conan stories. (not that Conan isn't awesome!)
These are probably the best of the Solomon Kane comics, the black and white stories from Savage Sword of Conan mostly, which were aimed at a more mature audience that allowed these stories to go a little darker than regular color comics. If you are a Solomon Kane fan, even if not a comic fan, I think you'd enjoy these as they are not typical comic book fare. If you are a horror comic fan, even if not a fan of Robert E. Howard, I still think you will enjoy this one as it's just some really cool stuff. Highest possible recommendation!
These are probably the best of the Solomon Kane comics, the black and white stories from Savage Sword of Conan mostly, which were aimed at a more mature audience that allowed these stories to go a little darker than regular color comics. If you are a Solomon Kane fan, even if not a comic fan, I think you'd enjoy these as they are not typical comic book fare. If you are a horror comic fan, even if not a fan of Robert E. Howard, I still think you will enjoy this one as it's just some really cool stuff. Highest possible recommendation!
October 15, 2009
My roommate got this for me as an early birthday present. I was very excited to read it. I just wish I could say I'd enjoyed it more.
The artwork shows more variety than I would have expected. While it's all black-and-white linework, most of it from digest-style comics of the Creepy/Eerie or Savage Sword of Conan variety (several of the stories actually are from the pages of Savage Sword of Conan), the actual styles vary surprisingly. Even the segments that are by the same artist (like a long stretch near the middle by David Wenzel) are varied by the inkers employed.
There are certainly a few high points. An adaptation of one of my favorite Solomon Kane stories "Rattle of Bones" with art by Howard Chaykin is probably my favorite part, and the second adaptation of "Solomon Kane's Homecoming," by Steve Carr (doing his best Berni Wrightson) is pretty great. Finally, the last story in the book is a surprisingly decent Solomon Kane/Conan crossover, with art by Colin MacNeil that's a perfect fit for Conan (if perhaps somewhat less so for Solomon Kane).
Unfortunately, like so many things adapted from Robert E. Howard's writing, The Saga of Solomon Kane loses something in its translations. It's an interesting and exhaustive volume, and one I'm glad to have read, but it's also a bit of a disappointment, at least for me.
The artwork shows more variety than I would have expected. While it's all black-and-white linework, most of it from digest-style comics of the Creepy/Eerie or Savage Sword of Conan variety (several of the stories actually are from the pages of Savage Sword of Conan), the actual styles vary surprisingly. Even the segments that are by the same artist (like a long stretch near the middle by David Wenzel) are varied by the inkers employed.
There are certainly a few high points. An adaptation of one of my favorite Solomon Kane stories "Rattle of Bones" with art by Howard Chaykin is probably my favorite part, and the second adaptation of "Solomon Kane's Homecoming," by Steve Carr (doing his best Berni Wrightson) is pretty great. Finally, the last story in the book is a surprisingly decent Solomon Kane/Conan crossover, with art by Colin MacNeil that's a perfect fit for Conan (if perhaps somewhat less so for Solomon Kane).
Unfortunately, like so many things adapted from Robert E. Howard's writing, The Saga of Solomon Kane loses something in its translations. It's an interesting and exhaustive volume, and one I'm glad to have read, but it's also a bit of a disappointment, at least for me.
November 2, 2020
An enjoyable book allaround, especially the stories directly adapted from the tales of R.H.Howard which are the best of the bunch. Several naked women with nipples, tits and ass in full show make this an eye-candy treat, so if that is not up your alley just stay away from this because you will hardly like it. The only thing I don't get of this book is why Dark Horse needed to repeat at nauseam the biography of Solomon Kane by Fred Blosser. Just put it down once and that's it. Recommended to the completitionists of comic adaptations of R.E.Howard's work.
April 13, 2024
I like Solomon Kane better than Conan, but unfortunately the wandering puritan has never really caught on. Robert Howard himself wrote only a handful of Kane tales, and this volume adapts most or all of them.
The best Kane stories are in England, Germany and France, but most are set in Africa. The African stories are all ridiculous and terrible H. Ridder Haggard knockoffs. Whereas the European stories have a wonderfully macabre, gothic atmosphere.
There are a few Elizabethan seafaring tales thrown in for good measure, also terrible.
The best story in this volume is the first one and it has the best art, by Ralph Reese. About an English swamp demon who is drawn like a giant gargoyle.
The second story is also pretty good and has the second best art by Alan Weiss. In this tale Kane meets up with Dracula. I also liked the mike Zeck-drawn werewolf tale and a story about a succubus imprisoned in a statue.
Much of the rest of the art is generic and forgettable. With the low-point being Howard Chaykin’s rugby shirted Kane.
The Kane/Conan team-up was a potentially fun idea, but nothing about it was well-executed and the story is mostly a rehash of one of Kane’s African exploits.
These stories are very simple. Kane stumbles upon some innocent in need of aid or is attacked by demonic forces. Which he then sets out to exorcise. One quirk of Robert Howard is that often his heroes will fail to save the innocents. It gives Conan and especially Kane a melancholy cast at times. Roy Thomas’ concluding tale gets a little more complicated, with a political subplot of the sort he routinely includes in his Conan stories, but it only wastes the reader’s time.
The writing by Thomas, Glut, and others is excessively verbose. With unneeded narration and flowery description. I did notice that this fault lessened somewhat over time, with the 90s stories less congested than those of the 70s.
The more modern Dark Horse Solomon Kane books are in many ways better. The first two volumes (avoid the wretched third volume) greatly expand on a pair of Howard stories, one in France and one in Germany. They have the kind of atmospheric horror that exemplifies Kane at his best.
Kane has a lot of potential which he fails here to reach. It’s unfortunate.
The best Kane stories are in England, Germany and France, but most are set in Africa. The African stories are all ridiculous and terrible H. Ridder Haggard knockoffs. Whereas the European stories have a wonderfully macabre, gothic atmosphere.
There are a few Elizabethan seafaring tales thrown in for good measure, also terrible.
The best story in this volume is the first one and it has the best art, by Ralph Reese. About an English swamp demon who is drawn like a giant gargoyle.
The second story is also pretty good and has the second best art by Alan Weiss. In this tale Kane meets up with Dracula. I also liked the mike Zeck-drawn werewolf tale and a story about a succubus imprisoned in a statue.
Much of the rest of the art is generic and forgettable. With the low-point being Howard Chaykin’s rugby shirted Kane.
The Kane/Conan team-up was a potentially fun idea, but nothing about it was well-executed and the story is mostly a rehash of one of Kane’s African exploits.
These stories are very simple. Kane stumbles upon some innocent in need of aid or is attacked by demonic forces. Which he then sets out to exorcise. One quirk of Robert Howard is that often his heroes will fail to save the innocents. It gives Conan and especially Kane a melancholy cast at times. Roy Thomas’ concluding tale gets a little more complicated, with a political subplot of the sort he routinely includes in his Conan stories, but it only wastes the reader’s time.
The writing by Thomas, Glut, and others is excessively verbose. With unneeded narration and flowery description. I did notice that this fault lessened somewhat over time, with the 90s stories less congested than those of the 70s.
The more modern Dark Horse Solomon Kane books are in many ways better. The first two volumes (avoid the wretched third volume) greatly expand on a pair of Howard stories, one in France and one in Germany. They have the kind of atmospheric horror that exemplifies Kane at his best.
Kane has a lot of potential which he fails here to reach. It’s unfortunate.
August 27, 2023
“His eyes were mystical deep pools that drowned unearthly things,
And Solomon lifted his head and spoke of his wanderings,
“Mine eyes have looked on sorcery in the dark and naked lands,
Horror born of the jungle gloom and death on the painless sands.
And I have known a deathless Queen in a city old as Death,
Where towering pyramids of skulls her glory witnesseth.
Her kiss was like an adder’s fang, with the sweetness Lilith had,
And her vassals howled for blood in that City of the Mad”
God’s Red Right Hand gets a pretty decent collection of comic adaptions, essays, pinups, and 70s Marvel apocrypha!
So a lot of these I had never read before, but having been so familiar with the prose stuff, not a lot of them really blew me away.
BUUUUTTT. As a Kane person, it’s pretty neat to sit with these. And also see just how long he was a part of the Marvel Conan canon. AND see just how many amazing creatives were a part of his stories! Al Williamson, Roy Thomas, Chaykin, James Fletcher. Just solid stuff throughout.
(I’m not sure I would give these to someone over the prose stories though).
And Solomon lifted his head and spoke of his wanderings,
“Mine eyes have looked on sorcery in the dark and naked lands,
Horror born of the jungle gloom and death on the painless sands.
And I have known a deathless Queen in a city old as Death,
Where towering pyramids of skulls her glory witnesseth.
Her kiss was like an adder’s fang, with the sweetness Lilith had,
And her vassals howled for blood in that City of the Mad”
God’s Red Right Hand gets a pretty decent collection of comic adaptions, essays, pinups, and 70s Marvel apocrypha!
So a lot of these I had never read before, but having been so familiar with the prose stuff, not a lot of them really blew me away.
BUUUUTTT. As a Kane person, it’s pretty neat to sit with these. And also see just how long he was a part of the Marvel Conan canon. AND see just how many amazing creatives were a part of his stories! Al Williamson, Roy Thomas, Chaykin, James Fletcher. Just solid stuff throughout.
(I’m not sure I would give these to someone over the prose stories though).
July 16, 2019
This is a nice collection of Solomon Kane comics that were originally featured at the back of the Conan comic book. The stories are about 6 pages long per story with a few extended multi-part stories. It’s in black and white but the art is very detailed and the lack of color adds to the moody feel of the hero. If you’re a fan of the books and short stories you’ll enjoy this collection.
December 12, 2017
Not sure how much of this stuff was directly adapted by an actual story and which was an original story by Roy Thomas. The first two thirds has some nice classic Marvel b&w art, the last third does not fair so well. I think I would enjoy this much more in novel form.
July 19, 2023
It's difficult to rate. The art is marvelous and really good with a constant quality all the time although the difference of artists but the script, the mild sensuality and the lack of depth of a character that could be so interesting make the globally rating of three stars
July 4, 2024
Robert E. Howard's other, non-barbarian creation, Solomon Kane is a puritan adventurer on a mission from God. What that essentially means is that he fights supernatural enemies like vampires, zombies, etc. Good stuff.
July 12, 2017
The stories in this collection aren't as strong as the Conan one's I found but this is a must have for any fan of Conan! The last story in this is a Conan one and it's one of the best too.
December 16, 2020
While the Van Helsing movie clearly stole the look from these comics, it's funny to see where artists don't want to draw the hat. Uneven adaptations based on Howard's terrific pulp stories.
August 18, 2009
Marvel produced several Solomon Kane stories for their black and white magazines. Beginning with the Roy Thomas/Ralph Reese adaptation of "Skulls in the Stars" in Monsters Unleashed #1 (August, 1973) and culminating with "Death's Dark Riders, Part Two" (The Savage Sword of Conan #220, April 1994), written by Thomas (inspired by a REH story fragment) and drawn by Colin MacNeill, Marvel published 26 stories plus two prose Solomon Kane biographies by Fred Blosser (Kull and the Barbarians #3, September 1975 and The Savage Sword of Conan #219) and a publishing history by Glenn Lord (The Savage Sword of Conan #220, April 1994). The overall quality of the stories varies greatly and the art for the most part is of inferior quality. Adaptation highlights include the Thomas and artist Howard Chaykin version of Howard's story "Rattle of Bones," the two-part "The Hills of the Dead" by Thomas and Alan Weiss, and Doug Moench, and Steve Gan's "The Right Hand of Doom." Several writers attempted new tales, mostly unmemorable except for the Thomas-Weiss chronicle of the first meeting between Kane and Dracula. "Castle of the Undead" (Dracula Lives! #3, October 1973), which surprisingly captures the essence of both iconic characters in an entertaining story. Dark Horse recently collected all of the Marvel magazine Solomon Kane appearances, the fascinating text pieces, and pin-ups from the likes of Berni Wrightson, Don Maitz, Gene Day, and Neal Adams in The Saga of Solomon Kane.
November 23, 2013
While most people know Howard more for Conan the Barbarian, I have always had more of an interest in Solomon Kane, his Puritan, overly focused adventurer who both rallies against and sometimes uses instruments of dark magic to do what he feels is just and proper. Though the book is not without flaw, it is a sizable and welcome introduction to the character in his comic book form. The art is nice, featuring work from the ever amazing Bernie Wrightson among others.
While one is, of course, better served by going to Howard's original stories and works to get the full impact of Solomon Kane, if you are more graphic novel minded, this is not the worst place to pick up his adventures. It also is economic as many of the tales are reprinted from earlier, now more expensive comics of the 1970s and 80s if you purchased the originals.
The stories themselves do a pretty good job of showing Kane at his core - an uncompromising figure obsessed with addressing wrongs and will do so if it means crossing the world multiple times over to do so. Most are adaptions of Howard's work, though original influences and other influences in the adaptions are common enough in the work to merit those who have read them to give them a serious look as well.
Probably more for fans, this work is still of sufficient merit to perhaps add more fans to Solomon Kane's camp and while he probably will not replace the barbarian that is his creator's greatest claim to fame, he still stands well enough on his own in these collected works.
While one is, of course, better served by going to Howard's original stories and works to get the full impact of Solomon Kane, if you are more graphic novel minded, this is not the worst place to pick up his adventures. It also is economic as many of the tales are reprinted from earlier, now more expensive comics of the 1970s and 80s if you purchased the originals.
The stories themselves do a pretty good job of showing Kane at his core - an uncompromising figure obsessed with addressing wrongs and will do so if it means crossing the world multiple times over to do so. Most are adaptions of Howard's work, though original influences and other influences in the adaptions are common enough in the work to merit those who have read them to give them a serious look as well.
Probably more for fans, this work is still of sufficient merit to perhaps add more fans to Solomon Kane's camp and while he probably will not replace the barbarian that is his creator's greatest claim to fame, he still stands well enough on his own in these collected works.
December 31, 2009
Reprints Monsters Unleashed #1, Dracula Lives! #3, Kull and the Barbarians #2-3, Marvel Preview #19, Conan Saga #50, Savage Sword of Conan #13-14, 18-20, 22, 25-26, 33-34, 37, 39, 41, 53-54, 62, 83, 162, 171, and 219-220. Solomon Kane fights evil in England and abroad. Dark Horse collects the Marvel adaptation of Solomon Kane like the Savage Sword of Conan collections and does a nice job outlining the stories. It is interesting to see a few different versions of stories like "Solomon Kane's Homecoming" to see how a poem was adapted and the style changed over the years. Solomon Kane is a bizarre character and the attempt to have him cross over with Howard's other creation Conan is interesting.
November 21, 2014
OK collection, but the original stories remain far superior.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews