Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant #2 Review
Writer, Artist & Colorist: Patrick Zircher
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith
Editor: Chris Butera
Publisher: Titan Comics
Price: $4.99 US
Release Date: August 19, 2026
Ramih Khan is the Regent of Sidhi. Asaf Khan is the Regent of Karra. Neither holds power by right of ancestry. So, to solidify their status, their forces attack Gondwana. Durgavati, the province’s ruler, is still young and beautiful. More importantly, she has the wealth and status they seek. As a widow raising a young prince, both men view the Maharani of Gondwana as a prize.
Diwan Beohar Kayastha, Durgavati’s steward, has traveled to Agra, Hindustan. When the Emperor of the Mughal Empire granted him an audience, Beohar requested protection from Gondwana’s aggressors. Yet in secret, Emperor Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar smiles on his Khans’ actions. For Gondwana to know peace, Maharani Durgavati must surrender her lands and choose Ramid or Asaf as her next husband. But what will happen to Durgavati and Prince Vir if she accepts a marriage proposal? And what sorcery or magic links a Puritan warrior with a deceased holy man? Let’s grab our swords, leap into Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant #2, and see!
Story
It is a dark and stormy night when Chandra Shah arrives at Fortress Chauragarh. Maharani Durgavati invites her brother-in-law to join them. But the Master of Scouts isn’t interested in eating dinner. He reports that Ramih Khan's army is marching west. To Chandra’s surprise, Diwan Beohar Kayastha realizes that Ramih Khan’s forces are uniting with Asaf Khan’s army to attack them. Worse, his late brother’s widow refuses to retreat deeper into Gondwana and let her Chieftains defend her.
In Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant #2, Patrick Zircher interlaces his Puritan hero’s tale with views inside Fortress Chauragarh and Asaf Khan's manor house. His slow-paced story reveals Durgavati's determination to rule. It also shows how people respond to her leadership and contrasts this with how Asaf Khan and Ramih Khan treat the people in their care. Yet as the two factions mobilize for war, Solomon Kane walks an uncertain path. Shunned by civilization, the Puritan wanders through the wilderness, led by a lion that shares its food with him.
Yet, as Solomon Kane insists on moving forward, even if he doesn't know where he is going, the lion eventually leads him back to civilization. Unlike Asaf Khan and Ramih Khan, the Puritan meets someone content with the power he wields. And as he receives a warm welcome, Solomon Kane regales his listeners with tales from his travels. In this land torn by the avarice of the two Khans, Solomon most fears that Fate has taken over his life. So, even if it goes against everything he's been taught to believe, the Puritan seeks counsel on how to regain control of his life in Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant #2.
Art
Rain streaks down amid the lightning as a rider drives his horse along a narrow dirt road. He enters a fortress filled with arched doorways and interior supports. As his Rani rises to greet him, her court remains seated cross-legged on the stone floor. Despite the flowers adorning her ears, her eyes bespeak determination, and a white dot on her forehead shines like the sun.
Like the Puritan’s black hat, cloak, and clothes, a lion sports a black mane as he strides ahead. Along with the scratches on Durgavati’s arm, the head of the Puritan’s staff links with the King of Beasts. Yet when a streak of light prompts a miniature dust storm, the lion bolts as men wearing turbans carry muskets, and Solomon Kane draws his flintlock pistol.
Patrick Zircher adorns his detailed art with a rich palette in Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant #2. Yet he retreats to a single color when portraying earlier moments from the characters’ lives. Asaf Khan’s attire links him to the characters’ lavender and brown-colored memories as he bows to Ramih Khan’s guidance. Yet a green realm links Solomon to Durgavati’s private, blue-green domain.
Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith fill white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with black uppercase letters. The letters shrink for lowered voices, enlarge for raised voices, and grow bold with intonation. Lowercase letters in black boxes introduce characters and settings, while Solomon Kane shares his thoughts and memories in beige boxes. As gunshots echo across the rocky plateau, an uninvited guest’s feasting disturbs two men filling the Mughal Empire with fear. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
While Conan the Barbarian made Robert E Howard famous, one of the writer's great loves was historical epics. Patrick Zircher draws on the Puritans' original adventures to set Solomon Kane amid historical events in Africa. Then, Zircher spices his grand-scale storytelling with the supernatural à la H Rider Haggard in Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant #2.
Rating 8.6/10
For more, see Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant #2 Cover Preview.

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