With Conan the Cimmerian, Robert E. Howard created more than the greatest action hero of the twentieth century—he also launched a genre that came to be known as sword and sorcery. But Conan wasn’t the first archetypal adventurer to spring from Howard’s fertile imagination. “He was . . . a strange blending of Puritan and Cavalier, with a touch of the ancient philosopher, and more than a touch of the pagan. . . . A hunger in his soul drove him on and on, an urge to right all wrongs, protect all weaker things. . . . Wayward and restless as the wind, he was consistent in only one respect—he was true to his ideals of justice and right. Such was Solomon Kane.” Collected in this volume, lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Gary Gianni, are all of the stories and poems that make up the thrilling saga of the dour and deadly Puritan, Solomon Kane. Together they constitute a sprawling epic of weird fantasy adventure that stretches from sixteenth-century England to remote African jungles where no white man has set foot. Here are shudder-inducing tales of vengeful ghosts and bloodthirsty demons, of dark sorceries wielded by evil men and women, all opposed by a grim avenger armed with a fanatic’s faith and a warrior’s savage heart. This edition also features exclusive story fragments, a biography of Howard by scholar Rusty Burke, and “In Memoriam,” H. P. Lovecraft’s moving tribute to his friend and fellow literary genius.

From Robert E. Howard’s fertile imagination sprang some of fiction’s greatest heroes, including Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull, and Solomon Kane. But of all Howard’s characters, none embodied his creator’s brooding temperament more than Bran Mak Morn, the last king of a doomed race. In ages past, the Picts ruled all of Europe. But the descendants of those proud conquerors have sunk into barbarism . . . all save one, Bran Mak Morn, whose bloodline remains unbroken. Threatened by the Celts and the Romans, the Pictish tribes rally under his banner to fight for their very survival, while Bran fights to restore the glory of his race. Lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Gary Gianni, this collection gathers together all of Howard’s published stories and poems featuring Bran Mak Morn–including the eerie masterpiece “Worms of the Earth” and “Kings of the Night,” in which sorcery summons Kull the conqueror from out of the depths of time to stand with Bran against the Roman invaders. Also included are previously unpublished stories and fragments, reproductions of manuscripts bearing Howard’s handwritten revisions, and much, much more. Special Bonus: a newly discovered adventure by Howard, presented here for the very first time.

This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1929 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Skulls in the Stars' is a story that follows the adventures of the puritan explorer Solomon Kane. Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas in 1906. During his youth, his family moved between a variety of Texan boomtowns, and Howard – a bookish and somewhat introverted child – was steeped in the violent myths and legends of the Old South. At fifteen Howard began to read the pulp magazines of the day, and to write more seriously. The December 1922 issue of his high school newspaper featured two of his stories, 'Golden Hope Christmas' and 'West is West'. In 1924 he sold his first piece – a short caveman tale titled 'Spear and Fang' – for $16 to the not-yet-famous Weird Tales magazine. Howard's most famous character, Conan the Cimmerian, was a barbarian-turned-King during the Hyborian Age, a mythical period of some 12,000 years ago. Conan featured in seventeen Weird Tales stories between 1933 and 1936 which is why Howard is now regarded as having spawned the 'sword and sorcery' genre. The Conan stories have since been adapted many times, most famously in the series of films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In Africa again, Kane comes across an entire village wiped out, and all of the roofs have been ripped off, as if by something attempting to get inside from above.

"From his pulp-fiction origins in Weird Tales to his latest Dark Horse incarnation, Robert E. Howard's Puritan adventurer has captured imaginations for decades. ... Now all of his short stories and pinups from decades of the Savage Sword family of titles are collected for the first time. ... Follow Kane's restless travels in this fantastic companion to the omnibus-sized The Savage Sword of Conan collections, including the original articles from Howard scholars Glenn Lord and Fred Blosser."--Cover.

Taking place after the events in Solomon Kane: The Castle of the Devil—but written to stand on its own—this new tale delves deep into the horrors scattered throughout Germany's Black Forest and adapts two of Robert E. Howard's most beloved Solomon Kane pieces. When Kane comes across gypsies being terrorized by roving bandits, he's not sure what's worse—the bandits who wish to rob and rape innocent travelers or the evils that spew forth from the forest, intent on killing every man and woman around! This book also features the "All the Damned Souls at Sea" Kane comic by Scott Allie, Guy Davis, and Dave Stewart; creature designs by Eisner Award-winning artist Guy Davis; and a new cover by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. • "Solomon Kane is a welcome addition to the other excellent Howard properties produced by Dark Horse."—ComicsBulletin.com

Soloman Kane is back in Africa, N’longa has asked for his help and gave him a special staff for protection in his quest.