Solomon Kane is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

featured in several

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

between 1973 and 1994. He was originally created by the

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material * ...

-era writer

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906June 11, 1936) was an American writer. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subge ...

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

began publishing a new series of Kane stories in 2008, and also published collections of the 1970s Marvel stories in 2009.

Marvel Comics

published several comic books featuring Solomon Kane. He was the lead character in the six-issue

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

''Sword of Solomon Kane'', published 1985-6. He also appeared numerous times in the company's black and white, non-

Code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

approved magazine format comics, most frequently in ''Savage Sword of Conan'', starring Howard's most popular pulp character. The complete list of Marvel's Solomon Kane story appearances are: * '' Monsters Unleashed'' #1 (August 1973), an adaptation of Howard's ''Skulls in the Stars'' by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

, art by

Ralph Reese Ralph Reese (born May 19, 1949) is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic books and comic strips, including a year drawing the '' Flash Gordon'' strip for King Features. Prolific from the 1960s to the 1 ...

. * ''

Dracula Lives ''Dracula Lives!'' was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 13 issues and one '' Super Annual'' from 1973 to 1975, and starred the Marvel version o ...

'' #3 (October 1973), Kane meets Dracula by Thomas, art by Alan Weiss. * '' The Conan Saga'' #50 (May 1991) by Alan Rowlands, art by Steve Carr and

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

(although this magazine was a reprint title, the Kane story in this issue had not been previously published). * '' Kull and the Barbarians'' #2–3 (July and September 1975), an adaptation of ''The Hills of the Dead'' by Thomas, art by Weiss,

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

and

Pablo Marcos Pablo Marcos Ortega, known professionally as Pablo Marcos
at the

Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...

'' #33–34 (December 1976 and February 1977). Like the Kane mini-series, this was a Code-approved four-color comic, an adaptation of ''Red Shadows'' by Thomas, art by

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

. * ''

Marvel Preview ''Marvel Preview'' is a black-and-white comics magazine published by Magazine Management for fourteen issues and the affiliated Marvel Comics Group for ten issues. The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group. Publica ...

'' #19 (Summer 1979), an adaptation of "The Footfalls Within" by

Don Glut Donald F. Glut (; born February 19, 1944) is an American writer, motion picture film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the novelization of the second '' Star Wars'' film, ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Filmmaker Amateur c ...

, art by

Will Meugniot Will Meugniot is an American writer, storyboard and comics artist, film producer and director. He is known for his work on animated shows in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Partial list of works * ''The Adventures of Corduroy'' (storyboard artist ...

and

Steve Gan Steve Gan (born May 22, 1945) is a Chinese-born Filipino comics artist. He is best known for co-creating Panday with Carlo J. Caparas and Marvel Comics' Star-Lord and Skull the Slayer. Biography Steve Gan was born as Santos S. Gan but changed h ...

. * ''

Savage Sword of Conan ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of American company Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. ''Savage Sword of Conan'' starred ...

'' #13–14, 18–20, 22, 25, 26, 33, 34, 37, 39, 41, 53, 54, 62, 83, 162, 171, 219 and 220 (July 1976–April 1994) by Thomas, Glut,

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, ''Electric Warrior'' and ''Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critically ...

Jo Duffy Mary Jo Duffy (born February 9, 1954) is an American comic book editor and writer, known for her work for Marvel Comics in the 1980s and DC Comics and Image Comics in the 1990s. Biography A native of the New York City area, Duffy attended Welles ...

and

John Arcudi John Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on '' The Mask'' and '' B.P.R.D.'', and his series '' Major Bummer''. Early life Arcudi grew up in Buffalo, New York. He attended Columbia University as an English major and ...

, art by Gan, Chaykin, Weiss, and many others, including a sequel to the Kane vs. Dracula story, two adaptations of the Howard poem ''Solomon Kane's Homecoming'', and in the last two issues, a meeting of Kane and Conan for which Thomas, with artist

Colin MacNeil Colin MacNeil is a People of the United Kingdom, British comics artist, best known for his work on ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' and in particular on ''Judge Dredd'' and other stories within his world like ''Inspector Shimura, Shimura'' and ' ...

, used Howard's brief Kane fragment, "Death's Black Riders," as a springboard. * ''The Sword of Solomon Kane'' #1–6 (September 1985–July 1986). Of the six issues, four adapted Howard stories (all previously adapted by Marvel), and two (#2 and #4) contained original stories by

Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three ''Karate Kid'' films and in ''Cobra Kai'', a sequel television series. He also played Johnny Cade in '' The Outsiders' ...

, with the art credits varying. The finale also contained yet another rendering of the poem "Solomon Kane's Homecoming," illustrated by

Sandy Plunkett Charles "Sandy" Plunkett (born October 18, 1955) is an American artist and comics writer. He worked on several different series for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Plunkett grew up in New York City and began to ...

and Williamson. In 2019, Solomon Kane returned to Marvel as part of the crossover limited series ''Conan: Serpent War''; teaming up with Conan,

Dark Agnes Dark Agnes de Chastillon (also known as Agnes de Chastillon, Dark Agnes, Agnes de la Fere and The Sword Woman) is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard and the protagonist of three stories set in 16th Century France, which were not pr ...

and

Moon Knight Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabb ...

Dark Horse Comics

It was announced at the 2006 Comic Con that

Paradox Entertainment Cabinet Entertainment, previously known as Paradox Entertainment, is a company dealing in intellectual properties and making motion pictures thereof. All business is conducted from the main office in Los Angeles, United States. The company was foun ...

has completed a publishing deal with

for a ''Solomon Kane'' comic series, to be written by

Scott Allie Scott Allie is an American comics writer and editor, best known as an editor and executive at Dark Horse Comics from 1994 to 2017. Early life Allie grew up in Massachusetts. Career Allie joined Dark Horse Comics as an editor in September 1994. ...

.Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane Returns at Dark Horse

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, August 18, 2007 The first two arcs featured completed versions of two Howard fragments — "The Castle of the Devil" and "Death's Black Riders." The first issue picks Kane up traveling through the Black Forest after ending his military career. It was a five-issue

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

, based on "Castle of the Devil", and featured art by Mario Guevara (pencils), Dave Stewart (colors) and

John Cassaday John Cassaday (; born 1971) is an American comic book artist, writer, and television director. He is best known for his work on the critically acclaimed '' Planetary'' with writer Warren Ellis, ''Astonishing X-Men'' with Joss Whedon, '' Captain ...

(covers). An eight-page sample was posted on the

Dark Horse Presents ''Dark Horse Presents'' was a comic book published by American company Dark Horse Comics from 1986. Their first published series, it was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, r ...

MySpace page in June 2008 and the first issue was published in September 2008. The second arc, "Death's Black Riders", was a four-issue mini-series published from January 2010 to June 2010. The third arc, "Red Shadows," had its first issue published in April 2011. "Red Shadows", based on a Robert E. Howard story and previously interpreted by Marvel in ''Marvel Premiere'' #33–34 (1976), follows Solomon Kane as he tracks le Loup, an expert French swordsman and womanizer with a habit of killing his conquests, through Europe, across the Mediterranean, and down the West Coast of Africa.

Collected editions

''Solomon Kane Volume 1: The Castle of the Devil'', a

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

collection of the Dark Horse five-issue mini-series, was published in July 2009 (). In February 2009, Dark Horse announced a new collection entitled ''The Saga of Solomon Kane - Soft Cover'' () which collected the 1970s Marvel stories. This 400+ page collection includes various stories from ''Savage Sword of Conan'', ''Conan Saga'', ''Kull and the Barbarians'', ''Marvel Preview'', ''Monsters Unleashed'' and ''Dracula Lives''. In December 2009, Dark Horse announced a collection entitled ''Robert E. Howard Chronicles Slipcase - HC Box Set'' (). ''Solomon Kane Volume 2: Death's Black Riders'', a

collection of the Dark Horse four-issue mini-series, was published in October July 2010 (). ''Solomon Kane Volume 3: Red Shadows'', a

collection of the Dark Horse four-issue mini-series, was published in October December 2011 (). In August 2021, Marvel reprints the Dark Horse edition of ''The Saga of Solomon Kane - Soft Cover'' () named Solomon Kane Original Marvel Years Omnibus a HC edition (). This Marvel reprinted HC book comes in 2 different dust jacket cover, the Direct Market (DM) CV and the Standard (ST) CV.

Notes

References

Solomon Kane
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

External links

Solomon Kane in Marvel Comics

Official Solomon Kane
at Dark Horse Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Solomon 1973 comics debuts Comics based on works by Robert E. Howard Robert E. Howard characters Characters in pulp fiction Fictional vampire hunters