Kran (16th century African man; Solomon Kane ally)

kran-16thafrica-kane-full KRAN

Real Name: Kran

Identity/Class: Human;
citizen of unidentified African tribe;
16^th to 17^th century

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: Unidentified tribe (Zunna)

Affiliations: Solomon Kane, N'Longa, Zunna (lover)

Enemies: Vampire creatures of "Engazi"

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unidentified village of her tribe, in Africa's "Slave Coast," an unspecified distance south of the "Silent City of Stone"/"Engazi";
her spirit briefly dwelled in "shadowland"

First Appearance: "The Hills of the Dead," Weird Tales (August, 1930);
(Marvel) Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 (September, 1975) kran-16thafrica-kane-upper-nlonga

Powers/Abilities: Kran was experienced living in the jungles of Africa, although she did not demonstrate any particular skills.

He may or may not have developed some magical affinity after being briefly possessed by N'Longa.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'10"; he didn't seem that much shorter than Kane, who we've approximated at 6')
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 190 lbs.; he was pretty lean, but well-musculature)
Eyes: Unrevealed (likely brown)
Hair: Black (bald, presumably shaved in Kull and the Barbarians#3/3)

History:

(The Hills of the Dead (fb) - BTS/Kull and the Barbarians#2/2 (fb) - BTS/(Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 (fb) - BTS) - The undead creatures dwelled in the hills around "Engazi" and preyed on the tribe that included Kran and Zunna.

(The Hills of the Dead (fb) - BTS / Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 (fb) - BTS / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 (fb) - BTS) - Kran became the lover of Zunna.

(The Hills of the Dead (fb) - BTS / Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 (fb) - BTS / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 (fb) - BTS) <Sometime after 1591 AD> - After Zunna had encountered Solomon Kane and the undead creatures of "Engazi," Kane's ju-ju man ally, N'Longa (contacted by Kane via meeting on an astral plane), advised Kane to instruct Zunna to bring her lover to the cave and to make him lie down as if to slumber holding N'Longa's voodoo stave.

(The Hills of the Dead / Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5) - Awakening at daylight, Kane instructed Zunna to go her village alone at once and to return with her lover. She asked if he meant Kran, but Kane, knowing not the name, merely told her to hurry. Noting the way to be long, Zunna nonetheless vowed to return before the sun set and the dead men walked again.

((Sword of) Solomon Kane#5) - Kane accompanied Zunna to the edge of the jungle before leaving her to return to her village.

(The Hills of the Dead - BTS / Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 - BTS / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 - BTS) - Zunna traveled to her village, retrieved Kran, and returned to the cavern in which Kane waited. En route, she told Kran of Kane's seemingly godly nature.

((Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 (fb) - BTS) - Kran didn't believe Zunna about Kane's nature until seeing him.

(The Hills of the Dead / Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5) - Zunna announced their arrival to Kane, and when Kran reverently called him master, Kane noted that Zunna hadn't minimized her new god's glory in the telling. nlonga-sosk5-kran-face

Kane had Kran lay down and hold N'Longa's voodoo stave on his chest, and when Kran gasped and stiffened, Zunna wailed that Kane had killed him. However, just as Kran sat up -- having been possessed by N'Longa -- Zunna seemingly fainted.

(Kull and the Barbarians#3/4 - BTS/ (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 - BTS) - Both Kran and Zunna's spirits were sent to the "Shadowland" temporarily.

(Kull and the Barbarians#3/4 / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5) - As Kane called to Kran to care for Zunna, N'Longa (in Kran's form) greeted Kane, noting his identity and clarified that his body slept in his Juju hut while his ghost had traveled out and displaced Kran's ghost. kran-16thafrica-kane-ssk5-face

N'Longa further revealed that Kran was not dead and that he had sent his ghost to Shadowland, and Zunna's ghost kept him company, but both would come back "by and by."

(The Hills of the Dead - BTS / Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 - BTS / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 - BTS) - Kane and N'Longa destroyed the undead creatures en masse, driving them back into their city and then burning them.

((Sword of) Solomon Kane#5) - Zunna continued to lie lifelessly as Kane and N'Longa/Kran returned to the cave. Bidding Kane farewell, N'Longa/Kran lied down next to Zunna.

(The Hills of the Dead / Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5) - After N'Longa relinquished Kran's form back in the cave, both Zunna and Kran's spirits returned to their bodies and they awakened.

(The Hills of the Dead / Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 / (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5) - Kran apologized to Kane, noting that they must have slumbered (see comments).

((Sword of) Solomon Kane#5) - Kane told Kran and Zunna that the "vampires" were all slain and their city destroyed, and that their people may walk freely now.

Comments: Created by Robert E. Howard.
Adapted to the Marvel Universe by Roy Thomas, Alan Weiss, and Pablo Marcos.

Only the main, full body image, is Kran not-possessed by N'Longa. The close-up images are all him possessed by N'Longa. His facial features wouldn't change, but the expressions may be more typical of N'Longa.

    The precise location of the city of the vampires is not given, but "Hills of the Dead" places it "many weeks" travel by foot inland from the Slave Coast of Africa.
    The map made by Keith Curtis from The Savage World of Solomon Kane placed it in east Africa near the Great Rift Valley, but the map made by Tim Kirk from the anthologies Solomon Kane: Skulls in the Stars (1978) and Solomon Kane:
    The Hills of the Dead (1979) placed it in western Africa immediately to the east of the Slave Coast.

I was reluctant to even mention this, but after Zunna described Kane to Kran as a god-like figure, Kran called him "master" right off the bat in Kull and the Barbarians#3/3

KULL AND THE BARBARIANS vs (SWORD OF) SOLOMON KANE version

In Kull and the Barbarians#3, Kran greeted Kane by telling him, "We shall do what you say, master."
In (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5, as they arrived, Zunna noted that Kran hadn't believed Zunna about Kane's nature until seeing him. Dumbstruck, Kran asked, "Are you--, are you--?"
Zunna told again Kran that Kane was a god, although Kane again told Zunna that he was just a man.
In Kull and the Barbarians#3, Zunna collapsed just as Kran/N'Longa was starting to sit up.
In (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5, Zunna didn't collapse until Kran/N'Longa had already spoken, noting his identity as N'Longa, and was fully standing.
In Kull and the Barbarians#3, Kran awakened, noting "Master..forgive us, master...we must have slumbered...!"
In (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5, Kran awakened, noting "H-have we slept? Did I dream my spirit rose from my body and passed to places I have never seen?"

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Kran should be distinguished from:

other Kran characters

images: (without ads)
Kull and the Barbarians#3/3, story pg. 5 (full);
pg. 6, panel 2 (thighs and up, possessed by N'Longa);
(Sword of) Solomon Kane#5, pg. 12, panel 7 (N'Longa reviving in Kran's form; red eyes);
last page, panel 3 (face, still possessed by N'Longa)

Appearances:
"The Hills of the Dead," Weird Tales (August, 1930) - Robert E. Howard (writer)
Kull and the Barbarians#3/3 (September, 1975) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Roy Thomas (adaptation), Alan Weiss (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks)
(Sword of) (Sword of) Solomon Kane#5 (May, 1986) - Robert E. Howard (original story), Ralph Macchio (adaptation), Jon Bogdanove (pencils), Al Williamson (inks)

First posted: 09/01/2021
Last updated: 09/01/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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