Solomon Kane
Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late-16th-to-early-17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms. His adventures, published mostly in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, often take him from Europe to the jungles of Africa and back.
When Weird Tales published a story featuring Conan the Barbarian, the editors introduced it by writing that "Its author, Robert E. Howard, is already a favorite with the readers of this magazine for his stories of Solomon Kane, the dour English Puritan and redresser of wrongs".
Solomon Kane was portrayed by James Purefoy in the film Solomon Kane in 2009. He has also been featured in a series of comics published by Marvel from 1973 to 1994, from 2008 to 2009 at Dark Horse Comics, and beginning again in 2025 with Titan Comics.
Personality and character
In his story "Moon of Skulls", Robert E. Howard described Kane as "He was a man born out of his time — a strange blending of Puritan and Cavalier, with a touch of the ancient philosopher, and more than a touch of the pagan, though the last assertion would have shocked him unspeakably. An atavist of the days of blind chivalry he was, a knight errant in the somber clothes of the fanatic. A hunger in his soul drove him on and on, an urge to right all wrongs, protect all weaker things, avenge all crimes against right and justice."Solomon Kane is a deeply devout Puritan. He is characterized by his fanaticism, unshakable faith, and religious zeal. His forename references King Solomon, who was righteous and wise. His morality is starkly black and white, allowing for no grey areas of uncertainty. To Kane, the wicked are wicked, and the righteous are righteous, with little between. His surname, Kane, is a reference to Cain, the Bible’s first murderer, and a hint towards Kane's dangerous nature and willingness to take other men's lives. Like Conan the Barbarian, Kane shows a keen sense of chivalry and propriety, defending the innocent and the weak from their wicked oppressors.
Kane lives on an endless odyssey to destroy evil and darkness in the name of God Almighty. He also seems to have little regard for his own life and safety, giving away years of his life to pursue and track down evil doers who deserved punishment. He is the archetypical wandering hero, seeking no reward for his actions.
Appearance and equipment
Solomon Kane is a tall, sombre, and gloomy man with pale skin, gaunt face, and cold eyes. Kane is a Puritan Englishman, of the 16th century, who is often depicted with the stereotypical garb of his time and culture. He is dressed entirely in black. He wears a slouch hat, leather gloves, riding boots, a doublet, and cloak.Kane is proficient in many different types of weapons, and his arsenal is incredibly varied. His main weapon is a Spanish rapier, since Kane is a master duelist and swordsman. In his off-hand, he often wields a dirk, a thrusting dagger of Scottish origin. Kane is also equipped with a brace of flintlock pistols. He also, on one occasion, uses a musket.
The Staff of Solomon
During one of his later adventures, his friend N'Longa, an African shaman, gave him a juju staff for protection against evil and to be wielded as a weapon. In "The Footfalls Within", it is the mythical Staff of Solomon.It is an artifact that belonged to the Biblical monarch of Ancient Israel, Solomon. Before this, when the world was young, Atlantean and pre-Adamite priests in silent cities beneath the seas used the staff to fight evil, millions of years before mankind was born. The staff was older than the Earth and unimaginably powerful, more than even N'Longa knew. With the staff, Moses did wonders before the Pharaoh and carried it with him when his people fled Egypt. For centuries it was the Scepter of Israel, and Solomon used it to combat magicians or capture djinn. The staff may be Aaron's rod, Moses' rod, or the Rod of Asclepius.
It is carved from a wood that no longer exists on Earth. The staff is covered with ancient hieroglyphs and sharply pointed at one end, with the head of a cat on the other. The cat's head is a representation of Bast, and the priests of Bast used the staff in Ancient Egypt. The cat's head was carved out of an unknown pre-existing decoration and was added long after the staff was created.
Using the staff, Kane can communicate over distances with N'Longa. It has also been used to slay vampires and evil spirits. Having carried it for an extended period, it has endowed Kane with the ability to sense otherworldly beings. When Kane is taken prisoner by slavers, Yussef the Hadji recognizes it and says it is older than the world itself and holds mighty magic.
Characters
N'Longa
He is an ancient shaman of pre-colonial Africa who is driven to study magic. He has traveled the world in ancient times as a slave, secretly studying under various sorcerers and holy men of the Middle and Near East. In Judea, he acquired the Staff of Solomon, which he later gave to Solomon Kane to aid him in his wanderings. N'Longa's magical powers derive from his ability to send his spirit out of his body. He can take over the bodies of the living and dead through this method to communicate with Solomon Kane through the Staff of Solomon, and he also summons vultures by sending his spirit to parley with them.Le Loup
Meaning "The Wolf", Le Loup is a French criminal mastermind whom Kane spent several years tracking down to avenge the murder of a dying girl he found, and her whole village. Kane eventually tracks Le Loup to Africa, where he first meets N'Longa, and justice is served after Kane kills him in a duel.Jonas Hardraker
He is known on all coasts of the civilized world as a ruthless pirate. He is a tall, rangy, broad-shouldered man, with a lean hawk-like cruel face, possibly the reason why he is known as "The Fishhawk". Solomon Kane hunted him for two years after Hardraker sank a ship carrying the daughter of an old friend of Kane's, the old friend going insane after hearing of his daughter's death. Kane finally confronted and killed Hardraker in England, where Hardraker was smuggling alcohol in partnership with Sir George Banway.Works
Most of the Solomon Kane stories were first published in Weird Tales. Some stories were first published in a collection, also entitled Red Shadows, released posthumously. The order of publication, however, does not coincide with the order in which the stories were written.Adaptations
Audio
There are currently three audio-book recordings of Solomon Kane stories and poems, all currently available for purchase and download through Audible. There is one free audio drama production:- The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane, an unabridged audio-book of the collected Solomon Kane stories released by Tantor Audio and narrated by Paul Boehmer, originally available on CD.
- A 2019 unabridged recording in French released by Hardigan Audio and read by Nicolas Planchais.
- A 2013 recording of the poem "Solomon Kane's Homecoming", released by Spoken Realms Audio and read by Glenn Hascall.
Film
Comics
- Marvel Comics published several comic books featuring Solomon Kane in the 1970s and 1980s.
- It was announced at the 2006 Comic Con that Paradox Entertainment has completed a publishing deal with Dark Horse Comics for a Solomon Kane comic series, to be written by Scott Allie, drawn by Mario Guevara, and colored by Dave Stewart. As of 2012, three mini-series were published: Solomon Kane, Solomon Kane: Death's Black Riders, and Solomon Kane: Red Shadows.
- Andrew Cain, a fictional 19th century monster hunter in the Italian comic book Zagor was inspired by Kane.
- *Chronologically, Andrew Cain appears:
- **in editions of Zagor published by Slobodna Dalmacija: 50 Morska strava, 51, Witch hunter, 52 Kraken.
- **in editions of Zagor published by Ludens: 103 Cain's Return, 104 Atlantis, 105 The Hidden Fortress.
- Titan Comics published a Solomon Kane mini-series in 2025 titled Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring, written and drawn by Patrick Zircher.
Role-playing game
- The Savage World of Solomon Kane October 29, 2007.
- Travelers' Tales August 18, 2008.
- The Savage Foes of Solomon Kane May 17, 2010.
- The Path of Kane November 14, 2011.
Board game
The game is a co-op style board game where players represent the virtues that drive Solomon Kane forwards in his quest against darkness. Kane's various adventures are told in the game through one or more acts, which break down into smaller chapters of gameplay. These are scenarios with multiple possible outcomes and branching story arcs, where the players also have a chance of diverging from the original stories of Robert E. Howard and instead explore a number of "what if" scenarios written by Mythic Games.