SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING #1, by Titan Comics on 3/26/25, begins a tale of epic, swashbuckling adventure when Solomon Kane is tasked with delivering an ancient artifact with an evil origin.
Credits:
- Writer: Patrick Zircher
- Artist: Patrick Zircher
- Colorist: Patrick Zircher
- Letterer: Richard Starkings, Tyler Smith
- Cover Artist: J. H. Williams III (cover A)
- Publisher: Titan Comics
- Release Date: March 26, 2025
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 36
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING #1:
Plot Analysis:
Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring #1 begins in Ndongo, Africa. An explorer named Paolo Laurenti has proof of an ancient Serpent cult, and he races to deliver this proof to his brother and friend in Venice, Abram Bensaid. During the voyage, Bensaid’s ship, the Gaviota, runs afoul of privateers in service to the Queen of England aboard the Reprisal. Legendary privateer Solomon Kane fights by the Queens’s command aboard the Reprisal, but he boards the Portuguese ship in the hopes of a peaceful resolution. Sadly, Kane is too late to save the captain. However, he encounters a dying passenger, Laurenti, who begs Kane to take the serpent artifact to Venice.
Days later, Kane disembarks from the Reprisal on a small boat to make landfall on Venice’s shores. Word has reached several individuals in the port that the Gaviota was scuttled. A young privateer named Nico delivers the bad news to the Gaviota’s patron, Don Zarza. They discuss the possibility that the recently spotted Reprisal may have been responsible, so they plan to intercept a man seen leaving the Reprisal earlier that day.
After acquiring a horse, Solomon Kane takes quiet side roads to avoid crowds and curiosity-seekers, but his travels are interrupted by a trio of highway robbers who seem to know who he is and what ship he came from. Kane quickly dispatches the robbers, but not before sustaining a gunshot wound to the leg.
The issue ends with a pair of hunters in Ndongo finding a disturbingly shaped skeleton in the high grass and a Venetian librarian and his lovely daughter receiving an unexpected visit from a wounded man dressed all in black.
First Impressions:
Hmm. Hmm. Hmmmmmm. I like Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring #1, but I don’t love it. Patrick Zircher poured blood, sweat, and tears into building the most authentic and detailed adventure for the Puritan privateer to span continents. In every way, this tale looks and feels like an authentic Robert E. Howard story. So, what’s the barrier between good and great? Read on.
Artwork and Presentation:
Starting with the art, Patrick Zircher (pulling double duty as artist and writer) delivers a lush, richly rendered version of the 16th century to pull the reader into the past. Everything from the costumes to the ships to the architecture looks impossibly real as the setting for Solomon Kane’s adventure.
Art Samples:
Story Positives & Negatives:
The Positives:
Everything you could possibly want in a Solomon Kane story is right here in Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring #1, served up on a silver platter. You get ship battles on the high seas, supernatural mysteries, monsters, highway robbers, and more. As a bonus, kudos to Patrick Zircher for infusing as much air of historical authenticity and detail as possible into a single issue. For readers who like a lot of meat in their stories, this issue is a feast.
The Negatives:
And then there’s the rub. Solomon Kane: The Serpent Ring #1 is incredibly dense, almost to the point of becoming inaccessible. There are so many names, dates, places, cultural references, historical references, and more to keep a researcher busy for days, which takes a considerable focus off Solomon Kane as the star of the story.
To be clear, Solomon Kane is in the comic, and his journey is central to the plot, but he frequently gets lost in the shuffle. This first issue would have benefited from a little less narration and world-building, particularly with side characters such as Nico, to keep the energy up and the focus narrow.
Final Thoughts:
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SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING #1 s a richly constructed, gorgeously rendered start to Solomon Kane’s latest adventure when he comes into possession of a dangerous artifact. Patrick Zircher goes the distance (and a few miles extra) to create a tale brimming with detail and authenticity. That said, readers may find this issue a little too dense to enjoy without multiple read-throughs.
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