Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 123

In this episode, Eric explores the transition of vintage pulp stories and heroes from magazine format to mass market paperbacks in the 1960s and 1970s. He also celebrates GarbAugust by highlighting three of the worst books he’s ever read. Stream below, download HERE, or watch on YouTube HERE.

Listen to "Episode 123: Pulps in Paperback" on Spreaker.

Solomon Kane - Castle of the Devil

In the 1968 hardcover Red Shadows (red binding), a fragmented six-page story appeared titled “The Castle of the Devil” by Robert E. Howard. The unfinished story included Howard's stalwart Puritan hero Solomon Kane. The story would circulate in a reissue of the same book in 1971 and 1978, as well as the books Solomon Kane (Centaur 1971), Solomon Kane (Haddock 1972), and the reprints of that same work in 1974 and 1976. It wasn't until Bantam's 1978 paperback Solomon Kane: Skulls in the Stars that readers and fans would find the story completed. The published requested a young British author named Ramsey Campbell to complete Howard's vision. Campbell, at the time a relatively unknown writer, added and edited an additional 12 pages to the story.

In the opening pages a man on horseback spots a “lean somber man clad in plain dark garments, he features a dark pallor.” The man, John Silent, introduces himself and is met with a greeting from Solomon Kane. He tells Silent, “I am a wanderer on the face of the Earth and have no destination.” Silent is shocked to find a Puritan in this savage desolate countryside. He invites Kane to travel with him to Genoa to board a ship for sea. Kane explains he has sailed and found little to his liking on the ocean. 

As the two travel together Silent learns that Kane recently saved a young man from hanging. The man was sentenced to the gallows by Baron Von Staler, who lives in a castle that both Silent and Kane can see through the trees. Upon insistence from Kane, the two travel to the “Castle of the Devil” to learn more about the Baron's presence in this vast forested region.

At the castle, Silent and Kane are introduced to the Baron and his one servant, a hardheaded man named Kurt. In conversation, Kane learns that a Baroness lives in the castle, but keeps to her room and never leaves. Later that night, Kane goes exploring to learn of the Baroness and if she is being kept imprisoned in the castle against her will. What he finds is a shock that involves a fight with Von Staler and the return of the man that Kane saved. 

“The Castle of the Devil” was a unique Solomon Kane story and one that still, after Campbell's contribution, still seems open-ended and incomplete. I was anticipating a larger payoff to the story's finale but was met with a bit of a disappointing end. However, I did enjoy this lackadaisical aura from Kane that I haven't experienced in Howard's presentation of the swashbuckler. Like the Biblical King Solomon, evident in Ecclesiastes, Kane comes across as despondent, lofty-minded, and often perplexed at the meaning of life. When asked about his mission, Kane responds, “I have but one mission, wherever Providence may choose to take me.” The character has always been motivated by purity and an unmatched stamina to defeat evil. But, in this story he seems more intimate and self-reflective, visually as the “thinker upon the rock” as he's seen in the opening page. It reminded me of King Solomon's wisdom literature of “Fear God and keep his commandments, for that is the duty of all of mankind.” 

“The Castle of the Devil” was adapted into comic form in the 19th issue of The Savage Sword of Conan (1977 Marvel), and Solomon Kane Vol. 1: The Castle of the Devil (2009 Dark Horse). 

Solomon Kane - The Hound of God

Jonathan Mayberry has earned five Bram Stoker awards during his long and prolific writing career. His books include series titles like Joe Ledger, Rot & Ruin, Dead of Night, and Kagan the Damned. The San Diego author joined Titan's round table of authors in 2023 to write fiction based on characters created by Robert E. Howard. Mayberry's contribution is the ebook Solomon Kane: The Hound of God. 

This 39-page short-story is set in Livonia in 1598. Puritan swashbuckling hero Kane has discovered a village literally torn apart. Pieces of bodies are seemingly everywhere as if a pack of wild animals mauled every villager. The scene is so appalling that Kane stops, with tears running down his face, to ask, “God in heaven, have hell's doors opened?”

Kane finds large animal prints mixed with at least as many as twenty bootprints. How could creature and human exist together in one party? Surely this much destruction brought to a village wouldn't bother to spare the lives of a few Cossacks. Kane learns the answer when he is faced with a werewolf and a creature known as The Benandanti.

Overall this was an enjoyable short story that possessed the imagery and feel of a Robert E. Howard Kane entry. It seems that Mayberry is a Solomon Kane fan and his admiration for the character showed in the writing. Solomon Kane stories are easy to read as “monster of the week” episodes and this one was no different. Recommended. Get it HERE.

Solomon Kane - Rattle of Bones

Robert E. Howard's story “Rattle of Bones” was first published in Weird Tales in the June 1929 issue. The story was also printed in Skull-Face and Others, Magazine of Horror #11, Red Shadows, and a host of collections by the likes of Wildside Press, Del Rey, Bantam, and Baen. The story was adapted to comic form in the Savage Sword of Conan #18. 

“Rattle of Bones” features Howard's Puritan hero Solomon Kane. In the Black Forest of Germany, both Kane and a man named Gaston L'Armon stop for the night at the Cleft Skull Inn. After the bartender's strange behavior, Kane advises Gaston that they should bar the door to their room. While searching for something to secure the door with L'Armon discovers the skeleton of a man. One of the legs is shackled to the floor. Something is amiss in the strange Cleft Skull Inn.

This is a very simple but effective story. Kane discovers that he knows L'Armon from somewhere else. As the two investigate the skeleton, Kane is held at gunpoint by an assailant. I can't tell you too much more due to spoilers. “Rattle of Bones” is a mere eight pages, so anything else would disrupt your enjoyment of Howard's writing. Thus far, this is my least favorite of the Solomon Kane stories I've read, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing considering how much I enjoy this series. Every installment has been entertaining. Get it HERE.

Note - Howard's first draft was published in the first issue of The Robert E. Howard Foundation Newsletter in Spring of 2007. That version apparently has a different ending.

Conan - Savage Sword of Conan #01 (Titan)

Robert E. Howard's Conan licensing is a moving target in the comics industry. Many associate the character with Marvel based on the success of the 1970s Conan the Barbarian comic and the Savage Sword of Conan magazine. However, the character was a dominant force when Dark Horse comics purchased the license, only to lose it to Marvel decades later. Recently, the entertainment studio company Heroic Signatures purchased the licensing and offers their IP to anyone with a thick wallet – like British publisher Titan Comics.

Titan began publishing their series, Conan the Barbarian, in August of 2023 through a licensing agreement with Heroic Signatures. In February, 2024, the inevitable The Savage Sword of Conan black and white magazine was published. Like any respectable Conan fan, I bought two copies of the first issue in hopes that I can wallpaper my future grandchildren's home in thousand-dollar bills. I hope to review more modern Conan publications so I thought I would begin here with the first issue of The Savage Sword of Conan by Titan Comics. 

My issue features the cover created by Joe Jusko, an astounding artist that painted Conan the Barbarian trading cards in the 1990s. In other Conan-related works, he provided interior illustrations for the Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed RPG and Dynamite's Red Sonja. The other Jusko cover associated with this issue is the FOC cover which is the full panel with no fonts or title. The cover is also featured in black and white in the inside to accompany a Conan short-story titled "Sacrifice in the Sand" by Jim Zub, which was inspired by Jusko's art. 

Roberto De La Torre is an important artist in modern Conan. De La Torre was an active contributor on the Conan the Barbarian (2019-2021), King Conan (2021-2022), and Conan: Exodus and Other Tales (2021) titles that were all published by Marvel. I really enjoy his artwork and his amazing Conan pin-up is on page three. Additionally, Rebeca Puebla (007: King and Country, Bettie Page) provides a pin-up of Belit on page six. Fans of the 1970s Conan the Barbarian comic will enjoy artist Howard Chaykin's pin-up of Solomon Kane on page 77.

As you open the magazine, the first thing that really stands out is a personal introduction by Conan royalty, Roy Thomas. He provides a brief history of Conan in the comics and the pains and triumphs of the character in print. Thomas also adds that he was invited by Titan to write more Conan stories for this magazine – an offer he is apparently taking them up on.

The issue's main story is "Conan & The Dragon Horde". It was written by John Arcudi, a veteran comic storyteller that wrote in Savage Sword of Conan issues #150-152, 158, 165, 182 and also penned stories for Savage Tales. Arcudi is a dynamic, all-around author that has contributed to hundreds of comic titles since 1986. The story's art was created by Max Von Fafner. He created the cover for Conan the Barbarian #3 (2023), Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 (2024), and a variant cover for this Savage Sword of Conan issue. 

In the story, Conan is serving as a general in a Hyrkanian cavalry division headed to a large fortress in the Hyrkania desert. Conan is leading a band of soldiers, bandits, and mercenaries that are assisting an ousted prince in returning to the fortress to seize a lucrative treasure hold. There are twin soldiers serving the prince (who totes around two lions) that immediately piss Conan off when they insult a Turanian woman, Ineah, serving as a weapons engineer. 

Soon, Conan beds down Ineah and Von Fafner leaves nothing to the imagination. She is gorgeous. But, she proves to be a capable fighter and a brilliant mastermind in terms of weapon placement and use. The bizarre part of the story is when a dinosaur – yes a dinosaur – breaks from the fortress and attacks Conan's men. Thankfully, Ineah saves the day with her ballista. 

When Conan and company make camp outside of the fortress, they are surprised that no one from within the compound has bothered to attack them. As the days continue with no activity, Conan uses his thief background to climb into the city to determine what is actually happening there. 

I felt that the story was just okay. The artwork leads the way, as usual, and Conan's mannerisms and leadership is par for the course. There's nothing to dislike about Arcudi's writing, but it didn't wow me like a traditional first issue's lead story should. 

The aforementioned “Sacrifice in the Sand” short story by Jim Zub followed. Honestly, I just skipped it to jump into the Solomon Kane story, “Master of the Hunt”. This is the first of a promised trilogy of stories that places Kane on the hunt for a monster terrorizing a village. The story and art is by Patrick Zircher, a veteran that has worked on numerous Marvel and DC titles like Action Comics, Detective Comics, Superman, Captain America, Avengers, and Iron Man just to name a few. I love Solomon Kane so I was anxious to see what he could do with the character.

The story is set in Glamorgan, Wales on All Hallow's Eve. A blind man drinking ale in a bar explains that this night is when the gateways between worlds is very thin. Outside the tavern, readers are treated to small panels showing some sort of monster attacking and killing sheep. The next day Kane arrives and sees the monster's tracks. He chances upon a woman and her son living in a small farmhouse. The woman explains that her husband has embarked on the “great hunt” with other villagers in search of the monster.

I can't give too much away here due to spoilers, but this was a well-written, fast-paced narrative that excellently “got” REH's Kane character. There are scenes of Kane praying as well as dialogue emphasizing Kane's commitment to God to rid the world of evil. Although the twist ending could be seen a mile away, it didn't detract me from the story and art. The promised sequel should take the characters and monster in a new direction and I'm looking forward to that. 

More Solomon Kane is included at the end with an excellent essay penned by Jeffrey Shanks explaining the character's publication history and failure to equal the popularity of Kull and Conan. 

Overall, The Savage Sword of Conan #1 was pretty good. There's nothing to complain about, but at this point there is just so many Conan comics, books, collections, ebooks, and stories being published that the market is completely saturated. You could read nothing but Conan your entire life and never get through it all. With that being said, my failure to be overly stimulated by this new version of Savage Sword can partly be blamed on too much too fast. I have the same issue with Batman. It's an embarrassment of riches available to anyone anytime.

Get this issue plus the following two issues HERE.

The Last Celt: A Bio-Bibliography of Robert E. Howard

Glenn Lord (1931-2011) became a literary agent for the Robert E. Howard estate in 1965, a role he served in for over 25 years. Lord was instrumental in the resurgence of Howard's work in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lord was able to amass hundreds of unpublished stories and poems and provided the source material for the author's contents to appear in media from 1965-1997. In 1976, Lord edited and compiled a 400-page reference book titled The Last Celt: A Bio-Bibliography of Robert E. Howard. Reviewing non-fiction and reference materials isn't really our style, so the below "review" is a loose description of the book's contents and why you should track it down.

The book's introduction is an informative and touching essay by E. Hoffmann Price, one of the only Howard contemporaries to have met the man. In this 16-page article, Price commends Howard as a natural storyteller and cites the author as one of his early influences. He also recalls meeting the author at his home in Cross Plains, TX. Following this introduction is a four-page Foreword from Lord outlining some of his references while explaining that The Last Celt is the outgrowth of 15 years of collecting "Howardiana".

"The Wandering Years" is a short autobiography that Howard began writing not long before his death. In this piece, Howard documents his family's history back to 1724. He documents his ancestors in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. He writes about his grandparents and parents. This is very minor stuff in the grand scheme of things. This is followed by the short half-page "An Autobiography", which Howard wrote while attending high school. 

In 1930, Howard chronicled a few events in history in a piece named "A Touch of Trivia". In it Howard writes about WWI, Jack Dempsey, the American Revolutionary War, and the great Potato Famine of 1842. 

Next is a letter written circa 1931 to Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright. The letter was never published and gathers more autobiographical contents from Howard. In it he recalls selling Wright his first story, "Spear and Fang", when he was just 18 years of age. The next section, titled "On Reading - And Writing" is another historical piece in which Howard applauds and criticizes literary works. The moral to the story is that Howard admits he would rather read Zane Grey the rest of his life than to read the popular American writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Jean Nathan, Mike Gold, and Floyd Dell. He also doesn't care much for French works. The final portion of this section is a collection of various letters written to a variety of correspondents. 

Alvin Earl Perry, a legendary fantasy fan and fellow Texan, offers up "A Biographical Sketch of Robert E. Howard". There are some arguments on whether Perry and Howard communicated, but this is a great two-pager describing the author, various payments he received, and that Howard loved Jack London's work. 

H.P. Lovecraft's "Robert Ervin Howard: A Memoriam" has been popularized and reprinted numerous times and it is included here. Lovecraft and Howard communicated through numerous letters, some now lost in the annals of time. This is a moving eulogy that describes Howard's stories and writing style. There is clearly a real admiration on display and Lovecraft captures that beautifully. 

The highlight of the book is Glenn Lord's "Lone Star Fictioneer", a detailed history and account of Howard's literary work and life beginning in 1906 through his tragic suicide in 1936. Howard's education, family life, work history, and early influences are all meticulously analyzed. The insight on his industry sales and receipts of payment was really compelling. I love the peek behind the typewriter to see what his stories sold for. 

"A Memory of R.E. Howard" is another piece written by E. Hoffmann Price, this one documenting his own writing history and correspondence with Howard through the years. The famed meeting between Price and Howard is described in detail and remains as fascinating today as it did then. It's as if Stephen King paid a visit to Clive Barker's house (which maybe he has and I just didn't know it). I love the reference to Howard's characters as a sort of rebuilding of his boyhood. Price speculates that some of the bravado and overcorrection on certain characters may have been a result of the men of Cross Plains belittling him for not having a "real" job. 

Harold Preece's "The Last Celt" is a written connection between Howard's writing and his interest in Celtica. He describes various conversations he had with Howard, both oral and written, as intellectual, passionate conversations about Celtica. 

The rest of the book serves as a massive bibliography detailing stories both published and unpublished as well as listings of poetry. There is also an index by character and the collections that existed upon the time of this book's publication. Whether this bibliography is still useful for Howard fans 50 years later is in the eye of the beholder. I still find some interesting tidbits gathered here and the story listings is really helpful. The bibliography finishes out with unfinished Howard books and stories, Conan pastiches, comics, and any other Howard related piece of literature. 

The last section of the book are photos of various letters, manuscripts, and a lot of the pulp magazine covers that published Howard stories. 

So, the question is do you really need this hardcover book? Yeah, I think so. It is a handy reference book that still connects in so many ways to the spirit, talent, and personality of one of the greatest pulp writers of all-time. There is enough information here to warrant a spot on your bookshelf. Recommended. Get it HERE

Red Shadows

Robert E. Howard's “Red Shadows” story featured Puritan hero Solomon Kane. Howard had initially pitched the story to Argosy but was met with a rejection. Weird Tales paid the author $80 for the story and published it in the August, 1928 issue of Weird Tales (Vol. 12 No. 2, interior art by Hugh Rankin). At this link HERE you can read letters that Howard wrote about the submission and rejection from Argosy and how he originally wrote the subject matter for the Weird Tales audience. It is an interesting read.

Howard's story begins in the mountains of France and ends in an African jungle. Unlike some of the earlier Kane stories I've read, “Red Shadows” is a bit longer and has an extensive feel. It isn't confined to a lone road through a foggy moor or crammed into a stuffy beer-swilling inn. As previously mentioned, the narrative begins with Kane in a French forest discovering a village in ruin. A dying girl explains to Kane that a man named Le Loup (meaning The Wolf) led marauders into the village and they “robbed, slew, and burned” everyone. In her dying breath she describes Le Loup as the Wolf that stabbed her. As she lay dying in Kane's arms he swears he will kill them all. 

Later, the scene shifts to Le Loup discussing the dwindling numbers in his ranks due to Kane systematically killing each member. The men describe Kane as looking like Satan. When Le Loup's remaining party enter a cave to steal treasure, Kane is there waiting in the darkness. He kills nearly everyone, but is foiled by Le Loup when the villainous leader escapes into a nearby tunnel. Kane can hear Le Loup laughing as he makes his escape. His freedom will be short-lived. 

The story changes scenery from France to African jungles when Kane, who has tracked Le Loup, leaves a ship on the shore and embarks into the dense foliage. He meets an African shaman named N'Longa in a violent way and is later captured by a stealthy Le Loup. He ties both Kane and N'Longa to a stake and prepares to have them burned. Yet, N'Longa has a magical ability to leave his body and take over the bodies of both the dead and the living. This ability plays a huge part in the story's epic finale involving a savage avenging ape, a fight to the death with Le Loup, and a reanimated corpse. 

Needless to say there is a lot to unpack here. The story borders on horror with the jungle terrors and the astral projection (?) of N'Longa's spirit. It also had a "Wolves Beyond the Border” vibe, an unfinished story that Howard penned featuring Conan and bizarre rituals along the Pictish border. The ape frenzy conjures Kipling and Burroughs, but that's not to say “Red Shadows” lacks identity. This is a fantastic story with a touch of vigilante justice and a solid reinforcement that Solomon Kane is a noble fighting-man (if anyone ever doubted). I like the injection of human compassion, which is consistently a trait Kane possesses in Howard's pages. 

What's really interesting about Howard's story is that the heroism remains intact with the star, but the performance is shifted to N'Longa to save the day. This is the first appearance of N'Longa and he will return again in “Hills of the Dead”, a 1930 story that was published in Weird Tales. N'Longa provides Kane a magical juju staff in that story, something that becomes iconic in visual imagery of Kane holding the wooden Staff of Solomon.

“Red Shadows” was reprinted in the collection Red Shadows by Donald M. Grant in 1928 (red binding) and 1971 (gray binding). It was also featured in numerous collections including the Solomon Kane paperback (Baen 1995) and the Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (Del Rey 2004). The comic adaptation appears in Marvel Premier #33-34 (1976/1977), a six-issue Marvel series called The Sword of Solomon Kane (1985), and a four-issue series from Dark Horse (2011) simply called Solomon Kane Red Shadows. 

Solomon Kane - The Right Hand of Doom

Robert E. Howard's 16th century Puritan hero Solomon Kane made his first appearance in the August, 1928 issue of Weird Tales. The stories that feature the character are a good mix of sword-and-sorcery and horror, and I really enjoyed my first experience with the character in “Skulls in the Stars". I went back to the foggy moors and terrifying towns for another Solomon Kane story, “The Right Hand of Doom”. The story was never published in Howard's lifetime having been rejected by Weird Tales. The first publication was in the book Red Shadows (Grant 1968). It has appeared numerous times over the years. My version is in the Baen collection titled Solomon Kane from 1995. It has a Ken Kelly cover and an introduction by horror author Ramsey Campbell. 

This story seems to take place before “Skulls in the Stars”, although chronology doesn't matter in any of these. In that story, Kane is deciding which road to take to Torkertown and then proceeds to a haunted path. In “The Right Hand of Doom”, Kane is staying overnight in an English inn at least a day's ride from Torkertown. It's in this inn's bar that Kane has an interaction with a loud-mouthed traitor.

A man named John Redly prances into the inn and declares that a necromancer will be executed by hanging. Kane already knows about the relationship between the necromancer and Redly. After Redly boasts about the necromancer's capture, and hints that he was paid for helping with the capture, Kane is quick to scold the man. He tells Redly that the necromancer surely was worthy of death, but that the necromancer trusted Redly as a friend and that friendship was broken for a few filthy coins. He goes on to say he thinks Redly and the necromancer will meet in Hell some day. Strong words.

Kane goes to bed, but his sleep is disturbed when he hears a scampering outside as if something is crawling up the wall. He grabs his rapier (sword) and goes into the next room where Redly is sleeping. Kane is shocked to see a large spider making its way to Redly's throat, eventually crushing the man's neck in one fatal squeeze. On further inspection, he discovers it is a human hand! Kane thrusts his rapier through the hand and proceeds to toss it into the fire off-page. 

The next morning Kane interviews a young man to determine what the necromancer's experiences were in jail and if anything peculiar happened. The man says that the necromancer's last wish was to have his hand cut off. I won't ruin the surprise for you, but you get where this is going. 

This story reminded me of another Robert E. Howard work called “Mistress of Death”, which was later adapted into a Conan comic called “Curse of the Undead-Man” in Savage Sword of Conan #1. In that story, a sorcerer is publicly executed but his severed finger becomes reanimated and finds its way back to the dead sorcerer. Both the finger in that story and the hand in this one feature a magic ring. It also reminds me of the 1981 Michael Caine film The Hand. 

While Solomon Kane isn't prominent in this short horror story, I still found “The Right Hand of Doom” enjoyable. The dialogue between Kane and Redly at the beginning of the story is well worth the price of admission. Kane's cool and perceptive eyes just ooze off the page and resonate like a veteran gunslinger staring down a boastful cardsharp. The condemnation he heaps on Redly is cold-blooded brilliance. I absolutely love these Kane stories and I'm finding this character to be one of my favorites of the Howard bibliography. 

Get a copy of a Solomon Kane omnibus HERE.

Solomon Kane - The Skull in the Stars

One of Robert E. Howard's most iconic characters, along with Bran Mak Morn, Conan, and Kull, is Solomon Kane. The character's first published appearance was in a short story called “Red Shadows”, which was published in the August, 1928 issue of Weird Tales. Mixing sword-and-sorcery and horror, Howard's Solomon Kane stories feature a late 16th century Puritan who adventures around the world fighting evil. 

My introduction to the character is the January, 1929 issue of Weird Tales which features a Solomon Kane short called “Skulls in the Stars”. In the story, Kane is departing a small town in England and is faced with two separate roads to reach his next destination, a village called Torkertown. In the opening paragraph, Howard offers one road as a shorter, more direct route for Kane across a barren upland moor and the second option as a longer tortuous route through a dreadful swamp. Debating the decision, a boy passing by warns – downright prohibits – Kane from taking the moor road. He urges that Kane avoid the moor road because it is haunted by some sort of foul horror that claims men for his victims. Naturally, the adventuring Kane decides to travel the moor road.

Providing any additional insight into this story may spoil your enjoyment, so I'll stray from further plot points. But, Howard's story is just an exceptional blend of supernatural horror and the traditional monomyth of a hero's journey through danger. The author's descriptions of horrifying things lying in wait along the isolated, non-traveled road is superb. I love this:

“Then the thing began to take on shape, vague and indistinct. Two hideous eyes flamed at him – eyes which held all the stark horror which has been the heritage of man since the fearful dawn ages – eyes frightful and insane, with an insanity transcending earthly insanity. The form of the thing was misty and vague, a brain-shattering travesty on the human form, like, yet horribly unlike.”

What I really like about the Kane character, which I'm introduced to in this macabre tale, is his use of two long pistols as well as a rapier sword. There is a unique dynamic approach to the hero's skill-set, which will introduce yet another weapon to his repertoire – a magical staff – in future stories. He's a Puritan, with an eye for injustice and evil and a heart dedicated to the power of all things good. 

With just one story as my trial size, I can see why this character receives so much admiration and loyalty. “Skulls in the Stars” is one of the finest stories I've read this year. Highly recommended!

Buy a copy of this book HERE.