The comic mixes direct adaptations of Howard's tales with entirely new stories - and is largely episodic, with single-issue stories and few references back to previous issues. As with Howard's original stories, Kane comes into conflict with supernatural foes as well as wicked men.
Marvel had the comic rights to Solomon Kane for over a decade before publishing the series, and had previously published Solomon Kane tales in anthology comics and Marvel Premiere, including some direct adaptations later retold as new versions in the 1985 series. One story also linked Kane to the shared Marvel Universe (via an encounter with its version of Dracula), but the 1985 series makes no such references and stands alone.
The first issue, adapting Howard's Red Shadows, was released June 11, 1985.
Solomon Kane contains the following tropes:
- Adaptation Name Change: In the comics, Songa's tribe revere the Gorilla God, not the shapeless Black God of the original stories.
- Almost Dead Guy:
- Red Shadows begins with Kane in France, discovering a dying woman in the woods. She lives just long enough to name the bandit Le Loup as her killer.
- Gaston, one of Le Loup's bandits, is the Sole Survivor of a disastrous raid on the hermit's hut. Shot by Kane, he lives long enough to flee back to Le Loup's cave with the news, then dies of his wounds. His survival is also a Trick-and-Follow Ploy so that Kane can find the cave.
- Bad Boss:
- After Kane kills most of Le Loup's bandits, Le Loup and Raton plot to kill the only other survivor, La Mon, so that they only have to split the loot two ways. Then Le Loup stabs Raton In the Back so that he doesn't have to share it at all.
- After Gulka loses a Staredown Faceoff with Kane, he expresses his frustration by hurling a nearby tribesman onto the Gorilla God's altar, then impaling him with a spear.
- Big "NO!": After the destruction of the last village of Bogonda by the Akaana, Kane finds Goru the priest's head on a spike outside his hut. He raises his arms, rages against the sky, and shouts a huge "NOOOOOOOOOOO!".
- Burn the Witch!: Songa and Le Loup attempt to kill Kane and N'Longa by burning them at the stake, as an offering to the Gorilla God. N'Longa is a genuine Witch Doctor, though, so it doesn't go as planned.
- Cain and Abel: Marta used her skills to heal the sick, whereas her brother (who is never named in the story) became an evil warlock who swore vengeance on her - and, later, a murderous werewolf who refused to be cured.
- Comic-Book Adaptation: The Sword of Solomon Kane series is an adaptation of Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane stories. Four of the six issues are direct adaptations, with the other two containing new stories.
- The Determinator: If Solomon Kane believes that someone must be punished, he will not stop until he's found them. Exemplified in his clash with Le Loup, who kills a woman in France. After killing his band of brigands, Kane pursues him by ship to the coast of Africa, then follows him into the unmapped interior and finally kills him in a duel. Then he walks back to the coast and his ship. Kane never even knew the dead woman's name.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: It's only a minor change, but in the original story, Songa is killed by a Death Touch from the body N’Longa animates. In the comic, the zombie delivers a more mundane Neck Snap.
- Downer Ending: And faith, undying... ends with Nathan Cabel's wife Marta, and at least three other people, killed by his son Justin, who's become a werewolf. Attempts to cure Justin fail and Nathan is forced to kill his own son to save Kane. The only tiny glimmer of light is that Nathan's now rekindled his faith, believing God gave him the strength to make such a hard decision.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
- Gulka gets impaled as part of his Karmic Death. When first introduced he has a gorilla’s corpse pinned to a post, as a trophy. The gorilla's mate later delivers a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown and then throws Gulka at a tree, where he's skewered on a broken branch. The branch protrudes a few feet from his chest.
- When Justin becomes a werewolf and nearly kills Kane, his father Nathan is forced to kill him, stabbing him In the Back with enough force that the blade juts from his chest.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Cannibalism is implied, but not directly stated, when Le Loup comments that Songa's tribe won't get their usual feast after N'Longa and Kane are offered to the Gorilla God as burnt sacrifices. Dialogue in the original story is blunter and leaves no ambiguity.
- In the Back:
- Le Loup kills his henchman Raton to avoid splitting their loot, stabbing him in the back. It's hard to feel sorry for Raton when he and Le Loup were planning to kill the only other surviving bandit for the same reason.
- Gulka tries to kill a badly wounded Kane by stabbing him in the back, but Kane's sitting by a stream and a Revealing Reflection in the water warns him at the last moment.
- When Justin becomes a werewolf, he's eventually stabbed in the back and Impaled with Extreme Prejudice by his father, Nathan.
- Jungle Drums: Sound effects and captions show drums as constant background noise when Kane cuts his way through the African jungle in pursuit of Le Loup. They're even more of a presence once he's ambushed, captured and taken to Songa's village.Thdoom thdoom thdoom, comes the ceaseless monotone of the drums. War and death they say; blood and lust; human sacrifice and feast. The soul of Africa say the drums; the spirit of the jungle...
- Karmic Death:
- Raton eagerly agrees with Le Loup that if they betray and kill La Mon, their only surviving ally, they won't have to split the loot three ways. Then Le Loup stabs him In the Back so that he won't have to split the loot at all.
- Gulka, the gorilla slayer, is one of Le Loup's African allies. When he's introduced, one of his trophies is shown - a gorilla's corpse, pinned to a post in the village. After Kane's badly wounded by his duel with Le Loup, Gulka hopes to finish the job... only for the mate of the gorilla he killed to appear, crush him with a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown and throw his mangled form at a tree, where he's Impaled with Extreme Prejudice by a broken branch.
- Killer Gorilla: A violent gorilla appears at the end of Red Shadows and initially appears to be a fearsome threat, brutally beating Gulka to death. Kane, already seriously wounded, prepares to face his doom. But it's then subverted, as the gorilla was just avenging his mate and has no grudge against Kane, leaving him in peace.
- Mundanger: Unlike the other stories, there are no supernatural elements in Blades of the Brotherhood. It's initially set up as if Sir George has inhuman powers - he's unharmed by a pistol shot at point-blank range, and a cutlass blade shatters against his side - but Kane realises he's just wearing a mail shirt beneath his clothes, so stabs him through the eye instead.
- The Nameless: Marta's brother, the warlock and werewolf who sets the events of And faith, undying... in motion, is never named.
- Neck Snap: The corpse N'Longa animates is unfazed by chief Songa's attempt to fend it off with a spear, and snaps his neck as soon as it gets close enough to grab him.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Gulka, the gorilla slayer, displays a gorilla's corpse in the village, pinned to a post. Later, her mate ambushes him just as he's about to kill Kane, battering Gulka into a mangled mess. What's left of him is thrown at a tree and Impaled with Extreme Prejudice on a broken branch (mirroring the display of his trophy), but it's not clear if he's still alive at that point.
- Off with His Head!: Kane encounters a werewolf, attacking a rider in the Black Forest, and easily decapitates it after a short fight. It’s only later in the same story that it's revealed his sword is silver-coated.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Bandits Raton and Le Loup use aliases - the rat and the wolf - with their real names unrevealed.
- Possessing a Dead Body: After Gulka kills one of Songa's other tribesmen in a fit of frustration, Kane's ally N'Longa raises the corpse as undead, possessing it with his own spirit, and uses it to kill Songa.
- Revealing Reflection: Badly hurt after his duel, Kane uses a jungle stream to cleanse his wounds - and only realises that Gulka is about to stab him In the Back after seeing his spear's tip reflected in the water.
- Silver Has Mystic Powers: Kane uses a silver-coated sword (although this is only mentioned after he decapitates his first werewolf in And faith, undying...), has a stock of Silver Bullets and strings silver-coated wire between the trees when expecting a battle with another werewolf. The wire has the power to trap it, and the sword seems lethally effective - but we never see how a normal weapon would fare against the werewolves, so there's no direct comparison.
- Staredown Faceoff: Kane and Gulka lock eyes in Songa's village. Gulka's shown sweating and eventually has to look away. He's so rattled by it that he kills a nearby tribesman in sheer frustration. And all this happens while Kane is an unarmed and defenceless prisoner, bound to a post, with Gulka one of his captors.
- This Was His True Form: The werewolves Kane confronts in And faith, undying... revert to their human forms when killed.
- Trick-and-Follow Ploy: To trap Le Loup's bandits, Kane spreads rumors that a local hermit's hoarding gold, then ambushes the bandits who raid the hermit's hut. Gaston, the Sole Survivor, flees to Le Loup's cave and survives just long enough to share the bad news. Kane deliberately left him alive, though - and has stealthily followed him to confront Le Loup.
- Victory by First Blood: Jack Hollinster's duel with Sir George Banway is stopped by the magistrate when Hollinster draws first blood. A furious Hollinster insists that it should be To The Death instead,
- The Voiceless: Gulka never speaks. He may not have any language in common with Kane, but he doesn't speak to N’longa or any of his allies, either.
- Witch Doctor: The African magician N'Longa is described as a witch doctor in narration, and acknowledges it in dialogue. He certainly has magical powers. However, he also makes it very clear that he's a ju-ju man, and 'witch doctor' is just what Europeans tend to call him.
- You No Take Candle: N'Longa mentions that he was once a slave and learned some English before escaping. However, he sometimes has a shaky grip on the language and its grammar.N'Longa: Me, N'Longa. One time, me slave, learn English. N'longa ju-ju man — you call witch doctor.
