Season 3, Episode 13: Season Finale - Solomon Kane in Review

In the final episode of Season 3, we discuss Solomon Kane in the context of other popular fantasy and science fiction characters. Using Kane and Conan the Cimmerian as our guides, we ponder the philosophical journey of Robert E. Howard and attempt to understand the author's religious views through the lens of two of his most popular and enduring characters. We discuss our favorite Solomon Kane poems and tales, and whether or not you could just hand someone a copy of Wings in the Night before they read the other Kane stories. We do our best to give Solomon Kane the send-off the character deserves, and we thank you for all of your insight as we attempted to dissect these tales over the past several months!

You might have noticed our awesome brand new One Thing music lead-in! Listener and friend of The Cromcast, Rob Poyton, sent it our way! Rob, thank you so much for spending your time putting this together, it turned out great! Everyone should go check out Rob's music project Innsmouth Gold, Lovecraftian music to bend your mind and warp your soul! You'll dig it! Tell him The Cromcast sent you!

As you reflect on the Solomon Kane cycle of stories you might want to check out the Solomon Kane timeline over by Keith Taylor over on Two Gun Raconteur - an excellent companion to place the stories in a historical context!

One Things:
Jon recommends Marvel Comics' Weirdworld by Jason Aaron.
Josh did not have a One Thing this week, but did gripe about the overwhelmingly dark tone of DC Comics films, including the upcoming Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movies. Once you've watched these trailers, cleanse your palate with an episode of the Fleischer Superman cartoon from the 1940s.
Luke would like for everyone to check out Khemmis' album Absolution. Here it is on Bandcamp and Amazon! Sludgy riffs of doom!

We now bid good-bye to Solomon Kane and leave the Road of Vengeance behind, though it has not left us unscathed. We now stand at yet another crossroad, and must choose our path carefully. Next: Season 4 - The Lost Road! We will devote the next set of episodes to exploring tales of forgotten worlds and lost civilizations! The road map will be posted soon, we are putting the finishing touches on now! Until next time, Cromrades, safe travels!

...A wild moon rode the wild white clouds, the waves in white crests flowed,
When Solomon Kane went forth again and no man knew his road.
They glimpsed him etched against the moon, where clouds on hilltop thinned;
They heard an eery echoed call that whistled down the wind...

Season 3, Episode 12: The Poems of Solomon Kane (or, The Rhyming Scheme of Revenge!)

Greetings Cromrades! Today we will be dissecting and enjoying the poetry featuring Solomon Kane. Howard was a poet in the Byronic tradition, so each of these verses is action packed with adventure!

Poems
The One Black Stain
The Return of Sir Richard Grenville
Solomon Kane's Homecoming


Do you have a favorite Howard poem? Sound off in the comments!

Also don't forget to send us your thoughts and innermost feelings regarding Solomon Kane in the form of an email, voicemail, or MP3! If you do, we will feature your "letter" on the season 3 wrap up episode!

One things:
Jon: Twin Peaks
Luke: The Sisters Brothers
Josh: Christopher Lee's filmography

This episode was recorded on the anniversary of Howard's death. So raise a glass or observe a moment of silence out of respect for the man whose imagination has brought us all together.

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Closing theme: "The Wanderer" By Johnny Cash and U2.

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Leave us a voice mail! (859) 429-CROM! (That's 859-429-2766)

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Season 3, Episode 9 - The Footfalls Within

"And Solomon Kane shuddered, for he had looked on Life that was not Life as he knew it, and had dealt and witnessed Death that was not Death as he knew it." 

Hile, adventurers! Today's show focuses on The Footfalls Within. This story, first published in Weird Tales in September 1931, is the final complete story on our Road of Vengeance. Needless to say, this turns out to be one of our favorites!

Art by Gary Gianni

One Things for the episode include:
Jon: Justified, which just came to its grand conclusion on FX!
Josh: Sheik, a documentary of one of the greatest heel wrestlers of all time!
Luke: Room 237, a documentary about Kubrick's The Shining!

Next time... Solomon Kane goes to Hollywood!

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Since we followed a caravan across a mystic landscape in this episode, our closing song for this episode is "Planet Caravan," as covered by Mercury Rev. All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work! Check out Mercury Rev, and dig into some psychedelia!

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Leave us a voice mail! (859) 429-CROM! (That's 859-429-2766)

Follow us on Twitter! Or on Facebook!

Season 3, Episode 01 - Skulls in the Stars and Right Hand of Doom (An Introduction to Solomon Kane)

Greetings and well met, fellow travelers! We hope you are faring well as the seasons transition from fall to winter! As the cold northern winds bring the frosts and snows, let us journey with a man whose heart smolders with the flames of vengeance. Solomon Kane is a Puritan, God's avenging fist on earth, and is another interesting character created by Robert E. Howard during the heyday of pulp adventure stories. 
We spend some time introducing Solomon Kane, our impressions of the character, and the importance of his name in explaining his motivations and outlook. Then we discuss two stories: Skulls in the Stars (Project Gutenberg Australia) and Right Hand of Doom (No open source copy available - look for it in the Del Rey collection The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane!). 

From the Marvel Comics adaptation of The Right Hand of Doom. Art by Steve Gan

For next time - Red Shadows! (Read it on Project Gutenberg Australia). 

Don't forget that you can support The Cromcast by signing up for your free trial of Audible at audibletrial.com/thecromcast. We recommend trying out one of their THOUSANDS of titles! 

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ 

Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. 

Our somber closer for this episode is The Night part 2 by The Builders and The Butchers. They can throw down with the best of 'em, and produce some excellent folk-inspired music about the devil, murder, and vengeance. Seemed fitting for Solomon Kane! Check out their music! It's rad. All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Leave us a voice mail! (859) 429-CROM! (That's 859-429-2766)

Follow us on Twitter! Or on Facebook!

Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes! Don't forget Stitcher!

SEASON THREE: THE ROAD OF VENGEANCE

Greetings, travelers! We have a perilous road before us.... Season Three of The Cromcast will cover the stories of Soloman Kane! Will you join us on this journey?

Gary Gianni's Soloman Kane

We're going to be following text provided in the recent Del Ray edition of The Savage Tales of Soloman Kane. Our reading list is as follows:

Skulls in the Stars
The Right Hand of Doom
Red Shadows
Rattle of Bones
The Castle of the Devil
Death's Black Riders
The Moon of Skulls
The One Black Stain (Poem)
The Blue Flame of Vengeance
The Hills of the Dead
Hawk of Basti
The Return of Sir Richard Grenville (Poem)
Wings in the Night
The Footfalls Within
The Children of Asshur
Soloman Kane’s Homecoming (Poem)