Man, I like that film way more than I should. Probably something to do with James Purefoy being crucified in a sopping wet black shirt, but we take our pleasures where we can get them.
Always good to see another fan of the Puritan Swordsman, my favourite REH character after Conan.
I suppose the most charitable spin on the African stuff is that he was trying to treat it the same way his other fantasies did Europe, but lacking the historical knowledge or sense of personal identification he had only (often bigoted) popular stereotypes to work with.
(The Solomon Kane movie has very little to do with the stories, but is quite fun in a low-budget Hammer Horror/Warhammer-esque swashbuckling way.)
I don't think it was a lack of historical knowledge so much as selective willingness to seek/apply more progressive info or break with tropes. He's actually quite diligent with research in "Wings in the Night" -- he takes us down several neutral/positive discussions about pastoralist daily life on the savannah. At the same time, "Black Canaan" was also the result of some extensive research into a "conjure-man" he'd heard about from family history, and it's still very very racist.
I think in the end, Howard just (1) really really liked certain bigoted tropes for their perceived dramatic value and agreement with his own philosophy, and (2) got into a place where he was churning out so much for the pulps (5k words/day) that certain tropes were recycled and recycled on autopilot and he had no wish to change the model. It feels like he'd just combine tropes -- "lost temple" with "friendly witch doctor" with "white hero, clothes torn by vines, pursued through jungle by spear guys" -- and be like "yeah this'll work for my eight-billionth Weird Tales story "'
Thanks for posting this. I've never read Howard's Solomon Kane stories but it sounds like I should give them a try. The Kane comics in the current Savage Sword of Conan are pretty good.
Interesting character! Enjoyed reading your post and learning about Mr. Kane.
Man, I like that film way more than I should. Probably something to do with James Purefoy being crucified in a sopping wet black shirt, but we take our pleasures where we can get them.
This is a really helpful round up, thanks.
Always good to see another fan of the Puritan Swordsman, my favourite REH character after Conan.
I suppose the most charitable spin on the African stuff is that he was trying to treat it the same way his other fantasies did Europe, but lacking the historical knowledge or sense of personal identification he had only (often bigoted) popular stereotypes to work with.
(The Solomon Kane movie has very little to do with the stories, but is quite fun in a low-budget Hammer Horror/Warhammer-esque swashbuckling way.)
I don't think it was a lack of historical knowledge so much as selective willingness to seek/apply more progressive info or break with tropes. He's actually quite diligent with research in "Wings in the Night" -- he takes us down several neutral/positive discussions about pastoralist daily life on the savannah. At the same time, "Black Canaan" was also the result of some extensive research into a "conjure-man" he'd heard about from family history, and it's still very very racist.
I think in the end, Howard just (1) really really liked certain bigoted tropes for their perceived dramatic value and agreement with his own philosophy, and (2) got into a place where he was churning out so much for the pulps (5k words/day) that certain tropes were recycled and recycled on autopilot and he had no wish to change the model. It feels like he'd just combine tropes -- "lost temple" with "friendly witch doctor" with "white hero, clothes torn by vines, pursued through jungle by spear guys" -- and be like "yeah this'll work for my eight-billionth Weird Tales story "'
Thanks for posting this. I've never read Howard's Solomon Kane stories but it sounds like I should give them a try. The Kane comics in the current Savage Sword of Conan are pretty good.