Indiana Jones month is rolling to a close like a giant boulder chasing you out of a temple with the Marvel Comics series that gave us more Indy action between the first two movies and just a little beyond.
The series was published between 1982 and 1985 and lasted for 34 issues. The fact that it lasted as long as it did before Temple of Doom came out I think is a testament to just how much people love Indy! Each story usually lasted 2 issues and there was an ongoing continuity where allies and enemies would return.
In order to talk a bit about the series, I went back over the past month and read them all. I wasn't sure I was going to make it in time for this post because halfway through the month I realized the new MCU show was coming out and I wanted to read that source material before the show. I'm still reading Secret Invasion but I got all the way through Indy, just for you guys!
Even though it's a movie adaptation, I had to start with Raiders. Mainly to see if there were any major differences between it and the film. There were two that jumped out at me. First, Indy's brawl with the swol German airplane mechanic is a lot shorter thanks to Marion bonking him from behind with a wrench.
Second, after the Nazis take the ark from the Bantu Wind, there's a page showing Indy lashing himself to the submarine's periscope with his whip. A satisfying scene if you've ever wondered how he managed to hang on to the sub!
The Further Adventures take place mostly in 1936, a year after Raiders, with the final four issues being in 1937. There were two more issues planned that didn't get to see the light of day. Thankfully, the final issue wrapd up the current adventure and didn't leave you with the ultimate cliffhanger. The staff on the book would change quicker than the stalls in a Cairo marketplace but some notable folks that crossed paths with Dr. Jones were John Byrne, Terry Austin, Steve Ditko, Archie Goodwin, and Howard Chaykin.
Somewhat similar to their ongoing Star Wars comic, the characters didn't often look like their actors but you usually knew who they were. As you can see above, Marcus and Marion can look very different depending on the artist. Over the course of the series, other familiar faces popped up including Captain Katanga and even Short Round! Sallah also returned to help Indy chase down that Chachapoyan idol he lost in the Raiders opening sequence while they're hunted down by Toht's sister. Plot twist!
As you'd expect, there's no lack of action in this series! One extreme instance in issue 7 finds Indy and Marion rafting down a river and getting upended by angry hippos. As they swim to shore, they're faced with hungry crocodiles. Marion grabs Indy as he whips a nearby tree to get them out of the water only to find a huge boa constrictor. Marion grabs Indy's gun, shoots the snake, and the branch, and they fall into quicksand! Whew! Indy definitely gets his money's worth out of his whip over the series.
Current prices for the books aren't too bad. The first issue ranges from $10-$30 depending on condition and the rest can be found for under $9 each. When Dark Horse had the rights for new comics, they reprinted the Marvel series in omnibus format but those are a little pricier. If you know where to look, you might be able to unearth these relic and a few more!. However, you'll need to install a special tool to decipher them or just unzip them and view the images.
Visit the Indy Wiki to see a cover gallery.
Wow. I remember having the first few, but didn't recall it going for so many issues. May have to hunt these down. I do remember the part where Indy lashes himself to the periscope. Makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how many I have in my collection but it was cool to read them all over a couple weeks.
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