SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING part 3: Till death do us part
The false Jesuit minister Father Goncallo and his novice, Mbondu are guiding Zarza, Nico Cassini, Abramo Bensaid, Diamanta Bensaid and Solomon Kane deeper into the Kingdom of Ndongo.
The Aragonese, Rolando Zarza (thorny shrub in Spanish), a disgraced Knight of Malta, is still in charge of the expedition. Solomon Kane is still protecting Abramo and his daughter, Diamanta.
Mbondu mentions that Abramo's brother-in-law, Paolo Laurenti brought evil on the Ndongo and that Kane and Co are here to take this evil away.
The Ndongo attack, stuffing the sky with arrows, shouting "Father Goncallo must die!". Saurez and a helper get killed.
Nico gets an arrow in the shoulder.
Zarza shoots Mbondu's chieftain (the one who was directing the attack). The Ndongo retreat.
São Manços mission, Jesuit ministry up the Kwanza River, Kingdom of Ndongo, Africa.
Diamanta takes care of Nico's wound. Nico suggest that they should retire together, maybe find a mansion on Via Giulia street in Rome.
Paolo's map is encrypted, it uses the Theban alphabet (the Runes of Honorius aka the witches' alphabet).
Our heroes need to get to the Towering Rocks/The Stones of Pungo Andongo (a real town in Angola).
The false Father Goncallo leaves our heroes to converse with Set's emissary (a flying feathered serpent).
Abramo schools Solomon in Jewish mythology: Nahash (Hebrew for snake. The serpent in the Garden of Eden), She-demon Lilith (Adam's original wife), Archangel Samael (Hebrew for venom of God. The partner of Lilith).
Abramo thinks that Father Goncallo might be a shapeshifting Shedim (a descendant of serpents) and that the Ring of Thoth-Amon belongs to Conan's time, the Hyborian age.
The High Priestess of the Goddess Set, Sha-Kabet is conducting a black mass with her Serpent Men. Set's emissary appears again and transforms (just like the Rod of Moses in the Book of Exodus) into her staff.
Later, Sha-Kabet mentions that she must NEVER use the Ring of Thoth-Amon. That it is FORBIDDEN, that she is only a defender of the ring.
Diamanta and Kane encounter an elephant.
Our heroes arrive at The Stones of Pungo Andongo. Mbondu believes that they are trespassing on sacred ground.
Darkness comes, Abramo notices that his daughter is falling for Kane. Diamanta does not want to go back to the Republic of Venice... neither does her father.
Undisguised Serpent Men attack our heroes. Kane kills three.
Abramo utters the unfamiliar words (from Robert E. Howard's The Shadow Kingdom): "Ka nama kaa lajerama!", this melts away Father Goncallo's human disguise, exposing him as what he truly is, a Serpent Man.
Using his torch, Abramo air-writes in Hebrew "I will go".
Mbondu guns down Father Goncallo's doppelgänger!
Set's emissary pops up for a third time to sink its fangs deep into Solomon's flesh. Diamanta shoots the flying snake, it turns back into Sha-Kabet's staff.
Most of the Serpent Men get killed by our heroes, two escape with Abramo.
A dying Kane confesses to Diamanta that he did indeed kill her uncle Paolo back in issue #1.
Zarza elects to leave the contaminated Kane behind on his own.
With Diamanta's ability to read her uncle's map, our remaining heroes reach a guachimontón pyramid.
Alone, Kane decides to purge the poisonous substance out of his system with burning hatred.
À suivre.
What I did like:
Soba means the chief of a village.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa & Three Books of Occult Philosophy (De Occulta Philosophia libri III) mentioned.
Psalm 106:37 mentioned.
We get plenty of Sha-Kabet this time around, let's hope she survives next issue.
A Santánico Pandemonium (Salma Hayek) homage.
Habesha peoples mentioned.
“Mother of Mankind” aka Africa aka Alkebulan mentioned.
Leviathan the sea serpent demon mentioned.
The Holy Chalice mentioned.
Mjölnir, the hammer of the thunder god Thor mentioned.
Jason and the Golden Fleece mentioned.
The Nganga Marinda, consulters of the supernatural world mentioned.
“I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” (Psalm 23:4) quoted.
Archaeologist Jeffrey Shanks talks Devonshire, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Richard Grenville, Skulls in the Stars, Rattle of Bones, The Castle of the Devil, The Hills of the Dead, Wings in the Night, Red Shadows, The Right Hand of Doom and Solomon Kane’s Homecoming.
Sha-Kabet appears on one of the covers!
Fantastic variant covers by Alex Horley and Nick Marinkovich.
What I did not like:
The editor is not doing his job.
Words are missing.
CassAni has been mysteriously renamed CassIni.
It is Skulls in the Stars not Skull.
It is Wings "in the Night" not "of the Night".
It is Crocodilus or Crocodylus not Crocodillus.
No one is afraid of the crocodiles!
I wanted to see the ostriches.
Kane still doesn't have his own cane.
Still no Golem?
Not one panel is dedicated to The Phoenix on the Sword or The Haunter of the Ring.
No letters page!
No "From the creator of Conan the Barbarian" on the cover to attract more readers.
I give it a 9/10. Another impressively well researched instalment! Professional comic book colourist, Peter Pantazis did an outstanding job, but Patrick's art looks slightly rushed this time around. To get Zircher's A game, I would be more than willing to wait multiple months between issues. Why rush greatness!? Buy it! Support Patch, the Sword of Deliverance, Heroic Signatures & Titan Comics!
