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Product Description
Product Description
Robert E. Howard's vengeance-obsessed adventurer begins his supernatural adventures in the haunted Black Forest of Germany in this adaptation of Howard's "The Castle of the Devil." When Solomon Kane stumbles upon the body of a boy hanged from a rickety gallows, he goes after the man responsible - a baron feared by the peasants from miles around. Something far worse than the devilish baron or the terrible, intelligent wolf that prowls the woods lies hidden in the ruined monastery beneath the baron's castle, where a devil-worshiping priest died in chains centuries ago.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was into Howard's universe since childhood, but did not know a lot about this hero.
This graphic novel is very nice, the scenario and the script great, but the review is about the quality of the product which is perfect as well.
Apart from the story and the combination of the six issues, there is enough bonus material such as sketches and the first story.
More of this pleeease.
This graphic novel is very nice, the scenario and the script great, but the review is about the quality of the product which is perfect as well.
Apart from the story and the combination of the six issues, there is enough bonus material such as sketches and the first story.
More of this pleeease.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This graphic novel is based on a story fragment by Robert E. Howard, and has previously been (rather better IMHO) completed by Ramsey Campbell.
This version here suffers from being far too long, a lack of pace, and average art. The story spread over five chapters could easilly have been told in three. Kane is suppposed to wear plain garb, yet here he is as fancy as any of the other Characters, and often reminded me more of Elric of Melniboné in the way he is drawn.
This version here suffers from being far too long, a lack of pace, and average art. The story spread over five chapters could easilly have been told in three. Kane is suppposed to wear plain garb, yet here he is as fancy as any of the other Characters, and often reminded me more of Elric of Melniboné in the way he is drawn.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
14 reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Feels Like A Robert E. Howard Novel
21 July 2009
Format:Paperback
When I think of hard-to-like heroes that I still root for, the first one that comes to my mind is Robert E. Howard's adventuring Puritan, Solomon Kane. The man dresses in black and can be an absolute downer with his puritanical ways, but when it comes to fighting men and the supernatural, few stand taller, swing a sword with more authority, or shoot straighter than Solomon Kane.
Because he died at such a young age, Howard didn't get to leave as sizeable a legacy of Solomon Kane stories as fans might have wanted. In the last nearly 80 years since his debut, other authors have penned more Solomon Kane tales than Howard. Nearly all of them have been in comic form.
That venue continues in the latest graphic novel release from Dark Horse Comics: Solomon Kane: The Castle of the Devil. Hellboy-creator Mike Mignola drew the awesome cover which immediately drew my eye, and interior artist Mario Guevara kept up the tone throughout the story written by Scott Allie.
The graphic novel collects the first five issues of the new Dark Horse comics series, and I'm glad I read them in the collected edition. I couldn't imagine having to get and read this story piecemeal month by month. In fact, the book would be better read late at night when the house is quiet, or on a camping trip after everyone else has gone to bed. The atmosphere then would be a perfect reading experience.
The book opens with an excellent action sequence that shows off Solomon Kane's deadly skills to their fullest, as well as the supernatural that flavors most of the stories. Guevara's art is fantastic, and Allie shows good sense in staying off the page and letting his artist carry the weight at this point. Then Allie comes back with brilliant dialogue that transports readers back hundreds of years. You just can't lose with a narrative hook that involves two wanderers on the trail to danger and adventure.
At the castle, the mystery really deepens, and this is when the author's storytelling skill really shines. As I turned the pages, I could see the movie take shape in my head, guided by the gentle nudge of the panels showing the action and the characters. By that time, I knew I was hooked, and that if I'd been having to wait those months in between I would have been greatly frustrated.
This graphic novel reads like a novel as the characters and events progress. Truths and dangers emerge, constantly twisting and changing. It's really good and I don't think many will sit down without reading it all in one go. But the story and characters are dense enough that you need to allow some time for the experience. As I stated, this reads like a novel, not a flipbook to adventure.
The action and adventure really hits its stride in the final pages of the book. By midway I knew I wasn't going to put it down, but then when all the pieces fell into place and I knew who and what Solomon Kane was battling, I was hooked.
Solomon Kane: The Castle of the Devil is a wonderful reading experience for those fantasy lovers who want a trip on the dark side, and for those comics readers that want more meat and potatoes with their stories. Solomon Kane is a great hero that you'll probably always hold at arms length, but he's wonderful to watch in action.
Because he died at such a young age, Howard didn't get to leave as sizeable a legacy of Solomon Kane stories as fans might have wanted. In the last nearly 80 years since his debut, other authors have penned more Solomon Kane tales than Howard. Nearly all of them have been in comic form.
That venue continues in the latest graphic novel release from Dark Horse Comics: Solomon Kane: The Castle of the Devil. Hellboy-creator Mike Mignola drew the awesome cover which immediately drew my eye, and interior artist Mario Guevara kept up the tone throughout the story written by Scott Allie.
The graphic novel collects the first five issues of the new Dark Horse comics series, and I'm glad I read them in the collected edition. I couldn't imagine having to get and read this story piecemeal month by month. In fact, the book would be better read late at night when the house is quiet, or on a camping trip after everyone else has gone to bed. The atmosphere then would be a perfect reading experience.
The book opens with an excellent action sequence that shows off Solomon Kane's deadly skills to their fullest, as well as the supernatural that flavors most of the stories. Guevara's art is fantastic, and Allie shows good sense in staying off the page and letting his artist carry the weight at this point. Then Allie comes back with brilliant dialogue that transports readers back hundreds of years. You just can't lose with a narrative hook that involves two wanderers on the trail to danger and adventure.
At the castle, the mystery really deepens, and this is when the author's storytelling skill really shines. As I turned the pages, I could see the movie take shape in my head, guided by the gentle nudge of the panels showing the action and the characters. By that time, I knew I was hooked, and that if I'd been having to wait those months in between I would have been greatly frustrated.
This graphic novel reads like a novel as the characters and events progress. Truths and dangers emerge, constantly twisting and changing. It's really good and I don't think many will sit down without reading it all in one go. But the story and characters are dense enough that you need to allow some time for the experience. As I stated, this reads like a novel, not a flipbook to adventure.
The action and adventure really hits its stride in the final pages of the book. By midway I knew I wasn't going to put it down, but then when all the pieces fell into place and I knew who and what Solomon Kane was battling, I was hooked.
Solomon Kane: The Castle of the Devil is a wonderful reading experience for those fantasy lovers who want a trip on the dark side, and for those comics readers that want more meat and potatoes with their stories. Solomon Kane is a great hero that you'll probably always hold at arms length, but he's wonderful to watch in action.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Freaking Aweeesome!
18 Aug 2009
Format:Paperback
This is a collection of 5 issues (hopefully with more on the way) of the Solomon Kane series from Dark Horse.
The adaptation is from a small fragment by ol' Two Gun Bob, but the author's take on the remainder is pretty awesome, including the sorcery to become a werewolf by donning a wolf's skin. The art and coloring is lushly colored and has a semi-gothic feel. Solomon looks like many artists' renderings of the character (IE, Pilgrim-ish), and he maintains that puritan frown and dour look, right down to his pointy chin. The art, in color, is beautiful and fairly gore-ful, as our righteous avenger impales and causes grievous bodily injury (at one point even swiping a face off with his blade).
The story has some pretty sweet vampire-demons, and the only thing I can really frown upon is the way they use those translation brackets <like this>* [*translated from German], and sometimes translating and sometimes having the german speech there, but I assume this is because of whispered secrets between the Count and his wife, and to add a slight authentic feel. Still, without the translations, it's a fun romp in the world of Kane, and I think it's pretty cool to see a hero who gets offered the lady, and him slap her away as a harlot (I mean, he is a God fearing man and all). Kane gets offended at swearing by God and in the devil's names quite a few times in this story, which kind of made me grin since characters aren't that shockingly Christian these days.
I didn't have any problem with the pacing of the story, but it could have perhaps been condensed into 4 issues instead of 5 with some minor eliminations, but I enjoyed it more than other stories I was reading at the time.
The adaptation is from a small fragment by ol' Two Gun Bob, but the author's take on the remainder is pretty awesome, including the sorcery to become a werewolf by donning a wolf's skin. The art and coloring is lushly colored and has a semi-gothic feel. Solomon looks like many artists' renderings of the character (IE, Pilgrim-ish), and he maintains that puritan frown and dour look, right down to his pointy chin. The art, in color, is beautiful and fairly gore-ful, as our righteous avenger impales and causes grievous bodily injury (at one point even swiping a face off with his blade).
The story has some pretty sweet vampire-demons, and the only thing I can really frown upon is the way they use those translation brackets <like this>* [*translated from German], and sometimes translating and sometimes having the german speech there, but I assume this is because of whispered secrets between the Count and his wife, and to add a slight authentic feel. Still, without the translations, it's a fun romp in the world of Kane, and I think it's pretty cool to see a hero who gets offered the lady, and him slap her away as a harlot (I mean, he is a God fearing man and all). Kane gets offended at swearing by God and in the devil's names quite a few times in this story, which kind of made me grin since characters aren't that shockingly Christian these days.
I didn't have any problem with the pacing of the story, but it could have perhaps been condensed into 4 issues instead of 5 with some minor eliminations, but I enjoyed it more than other stories I was reading at the time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Very Good
16 Mar 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I didn't expect much reading some of the other reviews here but was very pleasantly surprised. The art is terrific and the writing solid, some of the best art you will see in comics is in this book. I read it 6 times straight over a few days.
This hopefully will be a long running series.
This hopefully will be a long running series.
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