Solomon Kane

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 (from Numbers 24:17), 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.

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 also summons vultures by sending his spirit to parley with them.

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.

His real name is Jonas Hardraker and 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. Solomon Kane hunted him for two years after Hardraker sank a ship that was carrying the daughter of an old friend of Kane, the old friend having gone mad after hearing of his daughter's death. Kane finally confronted and killed Hardraker in England where Hardraker was smuggling alcohol with Sir George Banway.

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,[4] originally available on CD (ISBN 1400142288).
• A 2019 unabridged recording in French released by Hardigan Audio and read by Nicolas Planchais.[5]
• A 2013 recording of the poem "Solomon Kane's Homecoming", released by Spoken Realms Audio and read by Glenn Hascall.[6]

At the 2006 San Diego Comic Con, it was announced that Solomon Kane, a feature film based upon the eponymous character, was in development at Davis-Films, with M. J. Bassett writing and directing. The film was produced by Samuel Hadida, Paul Berrow, and Kevan Van Thompson. Shooting started in Czech Republic in January 2008, with James Purefoy (Rome's Mark Anthony) as Kane. Max von Sydow plays Kane's father, and Pete Postlethwaite, Alice Krige and Jason Flemyng are among the supporting cast. Patrick Tatopoulos, creature designer for Godzilla, Underworld, Silent Hill, I Am Legend and others, conceptualized the monsters Kane fights in his battles with the forces of evil. The film was released in France on December 23, 2009,[7] in the UK on February 19, 2010 and in the US on September 28th, 2012.

• 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.[8] As of 2012, three mini-series were published: Solomon Kane, Solomon Kane: Death's Black Riders, and Solomon Kane: Red Shadows.
• Andrew Cain,[9] a fictional 19th century monster hunter in the Italian comic book Zagor was inspired by Kane.[10]
  • 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.

Pinnacle Entertainment Group has published a role-playing game based on the character utilizing the Savage Worlds rules system, titled The Savage World of Solomon Kane. In addition to game rules, the book features a background and summaries of Howard's original stories and an original adventure campaign featuring a group of wanderers following the path of Kane and revisiting places changed by Solomon's actions. Pinnacle Entertainment Group also published several companion campaign books that expand on the Solomon Kane universe. The total roster of books include:

• The Savage World of Solomon Kane (Savage Worlds, S2P10400) October 29, 2007. (ISBN 978-0979245589)
• Travelers' Tales (Solomon Kane Adventure, S2P10401) August 18, 2008. (ISBN 978-0981528168)
• The Savage Foes of Solomon Kane (Savage Worlds, S2P10402) May 17, 2010. (ISBN 978-0982642702)
• The Path of Kane (Solomon Kane, Savage Worlds, S2P10403) November 14, 2011. (Out of Print—Limited Availability) (ISBN 978-0982817582)

Mythic Games has developed a narrative adventure board game simply titled Solomon Kane based on Robert E. Howard's original stories and characters.[11] The game was funded via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in July 2018[12] and has been in development since, with initial release slated for summer 2020.[13]

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.[14]

Fernando Ruiz Miniatures (FerMiniatures) sells a sculpted miniature of Solomon Kane that can be painted and displayed or used in a role-playing game. This miniature presents Kane in puritan attire, equipped with a rapier sword, a dagger, pistols and the mythical Staff of Solomon, given to him by the shaman N’Longa.[15]

Mezco Toyz has created a Solomon Kane action figure for its One:12 Collective product line. This 17 cm action figure is outfitted in a nobleman’s shirt and vest, duster coat, adventurer pants, and Viking boots. His utility belt and removable chest harness can hold his various weapon sheaths. It also features interchangeable hair, interchangeable facial expressions, the Staff of Solomon, multiple daggers and sheaths, a flintlock pistol, and a dirk sword.[16]

The Figures Toy Company created a toy action figure for Solomon Kane in 2014. This 8 inch figure includes a hat, sword and flintlock pistol.[17]

Randy Bowen Designs created a cold cast bronze sculpture of Solomon Kane in 1998. It is based on the image from Robert E. Howard's "The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane". The statue 1/9th scale is fully painted. The sculpture comes with interchangeable hands, either holding a sword or the Staff of Solomon stick. It comes on a black display base and is numbered from a limited edition run of 550.

Tales of the Shadowmen is an anthology series edited by Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier, where characters from French and international speculative fiction exist in the same universe. Tales of the Shadowmen, Volume 3: Danse Macabre includes a story entitled "The Heart of the Moon" by Matthew Baugh which features Solomon Kane as one of a group of adventurers visiting Féval's vampire metropolis, Selene. Tales of the Shadowmen, Volume 4: Lords of Terror includes a story entitled "The Anti-Pope of Avignon" by Micah Harris featuring Solomon Kane as the central protagonist supporting the Huguenot cause in Avignon.

In Philip José Farmer's Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, Farmer identifies Solomon Kane as being a direct ancestor of adventurer Doc Savage. This book is part of a larger literary conceit that the (real) meteorite which fell in Wold Newton, Yorkshire, England, on December 13, 1795, was radioactive and caused genetic mutations in the occupants of a passing coach. As luck would have it many of these occupants were also already of heroic stock. See the Savage Family Tree.

Paul Di Filippo's "Observable Things",[22] as narrated by a young Cotton Mather, tells of Solomon Kane coming to the aid of the colonists in New England during King Philip's War.