The Saga of Solomon Kane

Dark Horse

Written by Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas and Don Glut; Art by David Wenzel, Howard Chaykin, Steve Carr and others

Aug 09, 2009 Web Exclusive By Kyle Lemmon

The Saga of Solomon Kane follows in the footsteps of the omnibus series, The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane. Within the black-and-white volume are over twenty fantastical, surprisingly violent adaptations of Robert E. Howard's original pulp stories from various Savage Sword of Conan and Conan Saga issues, Kull and the Barbarians #2 and #3, Marvel Preview #19, Monsters Unleashed and Dracula Lives. For those unfamiliar with the God-fearing hero, here's a quick summary of Howard's other high fantasy character: Kane is a late 16th century wandering avenger from the English Cross Plains. He dresses as a Puritan, with a slouch hat and refrains from strong drink, dancing or gambling.

He certainly doesn't fool around with women but some of his most dramatic stories revolve around mistresses of the night trying to make him sin. Kane's often taciturn but when he speaks it is in a grave and florid tone, with phrases seemingly plucked straight out of the KJV Bible.For those interested, here's Matthew Baugh's meticulous chronology of the character, as adapted by Richard Toogood. These adaptations smartly keep the dark poeticism of Howard's originals but lack somewhat in the art department. The best artistic examples in this new collection come from the Alan Weiss and Neal Adams art duo (The Hills of the Dead: Part One) or Steve Carr (Shattered Innocence, Satan's Sanctuary). On the flip side of that, David Wenzel's pencil work may be immensely detailed but a muddied grayscale printing often dulls its impact. Wenzel may have been aiming for a drafting board style but alongside clearer reprints it looks like an oxidized comic book.

Despite some artistic pratfalls, the authors' reimaginings evoke much of Howard's breathless lyrical style. Writer, film director/screenwriter, amateur paleontologist, musician and actor Donald Glut adapts some of the most action-packed yarns here. His four-part Moon of Skulls reworking is especially noteworthy. It packs many of the Puritan adventurer's tropes into one engaging epic. Trips to the jungles of Africa and the high seas are aplenty and dangerous encounters with cannibals (Wings in the Night), succubi (The Cold Hands of Death), werewolves (The Silver Beast Beyond Torkertown), vampires (Castle of the Undead), pirates (Blades of the Brotherhood), and even Conan the Barbarian himself (Death's Dark Riders) keeps things interesting. Kane's endless travels with his God, his pistol, rapier and a couple of flintlock pistols at his side (not necessarily in that order) are endlessly fun.

The thematic breadth and presentation in this 410-page volume is duly impressive, even for such a budget-quality, slightly washed-out printing. Of course, Kane's African adventures have always been an interesting history lesson in racism. The adaptations temper some of Howard's original words but the original intent sometimes shines through. It would be stupid to pass over any of the Howard collections solely on this point. Part of unearthing these archived narratives is blowing off the dust and breathing in the history. A few coughs along the way, isn't too bad.

Side note: There's a Solomon Kane movie in the works. Despite being made outside Hollywood's supervision it may turn it into another Van Helsing. English Horror/fantasy director Michael J. Bassett (Deathwatch, Wilderness) seems well-meaning enough but the leaked Comic-Con trailer doesn't bode well. Comic fans will still have the musty originals though. (www.darkhorse.com)

Author rating: 6/10

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Average reader rating: 7/10