Comic Book Review – Solomon Kane #4 – Dark Horse Comics

I have been a fan of the Solomon Kane stories by Robert E. Howard for several years. I have all of his published works on the character, plus his fragments. “The Castle Of The Devil” is one of the fragments that Howard either decided not to finish or set aside to finish at a later date. The fragment itself has just enough in it to set a tone for the story so that it could go in any direction, be it a human enemy or something supernatural. Dark Horse Comics and Scott Allie decided to take the supernatural approach for this mini-series, which takes the fragment of “The Castle Of The Devil” and fleshes it out to create a complete story.

I would definitely suggest reading the series from start to finish as the majority of the writing doesn’t lend itself to jumping in mid-story, in case you’ve read the original fragment and just want to find out what happens after that. Allie seems to bounce around with the dialog, which caused me to back track several times to make sure I was where I thought I was in the story.

Mario Guevara and Dave Stewart’s combined talents give the series a bleak, sketchy feeling that reminds me of an overcast day that just won’t clear up. Some of the pages gave me the impression that some of the coloring was added as an afterthought. The blood effects, for example, don’t really feel like a natural part of the page in some of the panels. It almost seems like the pages were headed for the printer and someone decided to splash a little red here and there at the last minute.

Dark Horse’s Solomon Kane is a series that you’re either going to love or not. I will read the final issue, but I won’t be adding it to my list of books to re-read. I’ll stick with Howard’s originals.

Solomon Kane #4 of 5 – Dark Horse Comics
Writer – Scott Allie
Artist – Mario Guevara
Colorist – Dave Stewart
Letterer – Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Cover Artist – John Cassaday
Cover Colorist – Dave Stewart
$2.99 – 32 pages

Dark Horse Comics Brings ‘Creepy’ Back From The Dead

Newsarama has a great article on Dark Horse coming out with a new Creepy series, reminicent of the orginal title from all those years ago…

Its horror pedigree is substantial. The list of contributors is a who’s who of legendary comic book creators. Monsters and ghouls were never more disgusting, more devastatingly horrifying or more terrifyingly lethal than beneath its covers. Suffice to say, the original Creepy magazine casts a considerable shadow over every horror comic that has followed it. Read more

Dark Horse Comics Dominates At 2008 Eisner Awards

Dark Horse Comics proudly dominated the twenty-first annual Eisner Awards in San Diego, bringing home eight prestigious awards. Having been nominated for sixteen different projects (four of which were shared), accounting for nearly half of the total awards, Dark Horse often found itself with two nominations in the same category fighting for the top spot. Read more

Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1 Preview – Art By Richard Corben

Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1 will arrive in stores on July 2 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by Mike Mignola, with art and cover by Richard Corben.

Here’s how Dark Horse describes the issue:

“In 1956, somewhere in the mountains of West Virginia, Hellboy encounters Tom, a man who in his youth sold his soul to a backwoods demon known as the Crooked Man. Together they travel back into the dark heart of the Appalachian mountains to confront that demon and see if Tom’s soul can’t be saved.”

Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

Source

New Items In Stock This Week

Just arrived at the TC Games Store:

Booster Gold #0 – DC Comics

Evil Dead #2 of 4 – Dark Horse Comics

Green Lantern Corps #21

Indiana Jones Omnibus TP Vol 1 – Dark Horse Comics

King Of Cards Volume 3 – Makoto Tateno – CMX Manga

Marvel Comics Presents #6 – 2008

Star Trek Year Four #2 Cover B – IDW Publishing

The Walking Dead #46 – Kirkman – Image Comics

Ultimate Iron Man II #3 Of 4 – Orson Scott Card