Reactions: Just finished the comics.

Okay. So I bought most of the Indy novels but haven't read them yet. My buddy torrented the complete Indy comics for me and I've been reading those intermittently on my laptop. Soooo, having just finished those, I'd like to share my thought about them. I didn't really see any thread related to all the comics and I didn't take the time to search (sorry!) so move this if it doesn't belong.

I've come to the realization that I only count the movies as true canon, but that these are fun stories neverthless. Also of note is that I love the new movie, and if anything I say seems hypocritical to that, then I don't really have an answer. I'll put little scores at the end. 10-1 scale, highest-lowest respectively. OK!

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - Started these, but couldn't read them. I'm not sure how I feel about the YIJC and was too impatient to start the other stuff so I skipped ahead. N/A

Shrine of the Sea Devil - I liked it. It was very short, and thus very fast-paced. While the hostility of the octopus is just a bit ridiculous, I liked the Easter Island heads at the bottom of the sea. It was a very eerie shrine. 8/10

Temple of Doom - This is my favorite Jones movie. The comic fleshed some things out more (like a SEXY Willie river scene ) but was also lacking some of the frills the finished movie had, understandably because they filmed them off-the-cuff. Still good though, and was a Marvel adaptation, so the brilliantly hokey thought-bubbles were a gas! 10/10

Raiders of the Lost Ark - Great adaptation to a great movie. Again, more exposition for the Chachapoyan Temple but a lot of the action scenes missing. Hilarious solution to the sub going down too. He lashes himself to the periscope with his whip and rides the whole time like that! 10/10

The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones - Did not read these. They looked too much like Spidey backissues and I didn't think that was a good sign for what I wanted to read. I'll get to them eventually. N/A

Arms of Gold - Did not like this one too much. The art, for one, was sorely lacking. 5-tone color pallette it seemed and the story just never really came together with all the Ancient Incan natives and the lackluster ending. 5/10

Last Crusade - Just like the other movie adaptations. 10/10

Thunder in the Orient - Promising beginning, what with talk of Buddha's original teachings. My interest was piqued instantly. Unfortunately, the story gets mired in some Middle Eastern conflict and stays there far too long, glossing over Chanriha and completely losing the Buddha storyline, squeezing that into the final pages. Disappointing, but the art was decent and I liked both Sophia and Khamal. 7/10

Fate of Atlantis - Obviously the classic. Everyone loves the game so I expected to like this, but it had everything. I felt Indy's characterization was comic-y but just so, capturing his personality well. Sophia was a *ahem* fox in this and the all the clues and psychic stuff and fittingly tense and grotesque ending had me pleased. This could have been a movie for sure. 10/10

Sargasso Pirates - Started out SO, SO well. I loved the characterization of Indy and the whole Vikings angle of the beginning. I was instantly hooked. It wasn't until the story took a "Thunder"-ish turn and stayed for too long in the Sargasso that I thought it lacked quality. The Sea Witch and Bill Lawton were annoying characters after a while, although I thought New Jersey jones was genius. Cairo was intriguing and in a good way. I think her sexuality was handled in quite the right way. It's too bad the story never rounded off that Viking angle though. I would have been much happier. 8/10

Golden Fleece - Awesome! The beginning with Indy among the soldiers had me thinking of the beginning of the new movie and all of the clues and characters and art were great. The cult angle was perfect and Indy and Omphale bickering was just great. I just think of Hecate (liked the snake) as the comic strip's license to show SOMETHING as opposed to raw power and I love this one immensely. Felt like a movie as well. 10/10

Spear of Destiny - Liked the beginning using the final moments of Crusade to push it in motion. Disliked much of the rest. Indy spent too much time in dreamland with that weird girl, getting clues in prophetic ways instead of finding them. I feel that Henry Sr's characterization was off as well. The way the story connected the spear to two different legends might have been a cool idea but was spliced together badly. And the ending was nothing to write home about. 6/10

Iron Phoenix - Again, the art in this one isn't so hot. I like the Philosopher's Stone idea (although I don't know about it's possible clashing with the novel) and the Russians. The druid portion was a bizarre story angle, but it was gruesome and I liked it. Every place the Stones were at was cool, I even liked the zombie part, but I felt something was lacking, some vital exposition somewhere or something. And, that final panel of a train going into a tunnel... 7/10

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - I bought these. The art isn't so great, and it all feels rushed, but again some of the cut scenes and extra exposition are pretty cool. Kinda miss the thought bubbles though. Makes me wish Marvel did this adaptation as well. 8/10

Well, on the whole I liked them, a lot. There were some directions I felt were never taken advantage of, and some moments that were just silly. But, I'm still excited as ever for Tomb of the Gods in a week and really think they can pull off an Atlantis or Golden Fleece. Feel free to open up your own thoughts and feelings about these comics and let me know what you think!

I'm reading them as well (well, just the Omnibus versions so far) and I agree with your assessment.

Indy seems to be a tricky beast for tone and just how much fantastical stuff to throw in. I think they were TECHNICALLY limited in the first few films, while in the fourth they could do anything and did. The comics obviously can get as wild as they want and tend to go a bit overboard, IMHO.

I guess it is an inevitable trap. Indy has to go after "power" artifacts and therefore we must see the power. Yet at what point does Indy realize gods walk the earth and become a monk? Otherwise he has to have "Scully blinders" on and convienently ignore the spiritual/supernatural elements.

Walk to far in one direction and you have Hellboy/BRPB, in the other direction and Indy reverts to being a grave robber squabbling over money, or the archeology is secondary, like in Dirk Pitt novels.

"Raiders" walked the line perfectly for me. Indy and Marion closed their eyes and didn't actually witness the event, so I could see how they could not be irrevokably altered by it (convince themselves the Nazis left, went crazy due to ancient nerve gas, were attacked by disgruntled Islanders, etc). But if they did that all the time, it would seem ridiculous. ToD was good as well, they never got a good look at the beating heart ceremony and the mond-control drug could have a natural explanation. As for the stones catching on fire, well, who knows???

Well you missed the entire Marvel series which is fantastically cheesy.

Also I suggest trying the Young Indy comics; they're quite good, I think.


And I have to strongly disagree on Fate of Atlantis; an absolute butchery of the game's story. Horrid illustrations and a rushed narrative. Total meh. I'd also be less generous on some of the ones you rated moderately. Though I do agree that Golden Fleece is likely the best of the Dark Horse issues.

RA, having never played the game, I'm only grading the story as I read it. I'm sure you're right, I'm sure it mangles everything the game accomplishes but until I know how I'm gonna say I loved it. I probably could have graded the stuff I disliked more harshly but I'm just too generous, and overall I had fun reading them all.

I want to throw in my two cents, but reading the comics have been slow-going. I'll be back later with more reviews.

I just got the two Omnibus collections. I read Fate of Atlantis and was very disappointed. It seemed to move around too much with no real reason. "Ok, now we're in Iceland. Ok, nothing's happening for two panels and now we're on a plane in Nepal! Hey look, it's Marcus! Ok, now we're on a boat and we're finding Atlantis."

I don't know. It seems to be a well-liked story, so maybe I'm crazy. It just seemed like there was no build-up and no intrigue. No interesting ways of finding or solving clues. They just go one place, and then with one quick line of exposition they are off to another place, fight a bad guy with no real consequence and then repeat.

The fight scenes also seemed poorly thought out. I always try to visualize the action sequences as if they were shot in live action...but it just doesn't work in this comic.

Right now I am reading Thunder In Orient. I'm about half-way through, and the story and characterization seem WAY better than Atlantis. My only complaint is that the action sequencse are poorly thought out. There's one scene in particular where I had to look at it over and over again--and I still can't figure out what the heck the artist is trying to convey.

Pages 169 and 170, for those of you at home who have Omnibus 1 and want to follow along. Seriously, can anybody logically follow this fight?

So the big japanese fellow drops down from a rope, punches Indy's friend...and then somehow swings in again from a completely different angle. Next panel, Indy shoots the guy's foot? The guy turns around and slaps the gun away, and then Indy pulls a rope which is now tied around the Japanese guy's foot. Japanese guy slices the rope with a sword and then Indy falls to his doom.

Doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe there's something wrong with me.

Still, overall I'm digging Thunder In Orient.

Yeah, I found Atlantis very dissapointing too, not just in comparison to the excellent game, but the characterisation I felt was very off, Indy with his own plane? Barking in English like some bad tourist? Gunning down everyone left right and centre? Dunno, did'nt feel like Indy to me, that and the plot was sorta confusing too. So many things, like the lost Dialogues of plato were really comfused and not handled in any sensible way, and all that flying about in an amazingly confusing fashion, yeah, very dissapointed.

However I enjoyed Thunder in the Orient, oh with the fight, I think what happened on those pages is, sumo wrestler guy, swings down in one direction, judo chopping as he goes, swings back once reaching the apex, put musjudges it and snaps his ankle when he hits the side of the statue, he lands on top, Indy starts to climb up from his platform, he knocks indys gun away, preps his sword, but indy punches his already injured ankle, so he cuts the rope holding up indys platform, indy falls. Dunno, kinda like this fight, definetly prefer this artist to the one that did the last few issues, but overall I loved thunder in the orient, mainly cos it was so darn epic, the whole continent of Asia, and unlike Atlantis, they linger in each place. Only the ending was a bit annoying, with indy seemingly destroying the scrolls due to a moments stupidity.

As for the others, arms of Gold I enjoyed, yes the art was pretty crap faces wise, but I loved the stuff on campus, and the action scenes were really well put together, they just made sense, especially that bit on the boat, loved that, really felt the drama of catching the anchor.

Loved the art of Shrine of the sea Devil, real homage to 1920s adventure comics, loved that, Sargasso was probably my favourite, characterisation wise, did just feel like a sorta wild yarn, the iron phoneix was only okay, very long, bit okay, as for the spear of destiny, well, I;m Irish and that Irish guy really really annoyed me, every one of his lines were just simply annoying, and I found it wierd that Indy wandered around England Ireland and Wales in his classic Indy gear, like he was spiderman or something, plus the ending was a bit confusing, which seems to be a big problem in Indy stories, alls well til the hard to understand craziness of the ending.

Golden fleece seemed good in some bits, like the start, and the notion that the golden fleece had been made into a painting, but it veered into craziness at the end, plus at times the artwork seemed only half finished, like certain frames weren't done to the same extent as the others.

What have I left out? Well, yeah, I like the comics, a lot, though I felt with a lot of them the pacing was sorta bad, too much happening, not enough exposition, as Indy was rushed from one action sequence to another, but other then that, generally good with some stars.

I hated, hated Fate of Atlantis' and Thunder in the Orient's art. Blech. Indy didn't look anything like Harrrison Ford, the women didn't have noses, and expressions were way overdone. The colors sucked, too.

Thunder in the Orient
This was a bit strange since it was highly recommended, but I felt it was struggling to make some incoherent political point about the middle east TODAY (or, more, the year it was written) rather than a period piece. Definately suffered from not being tightened down.

Fate of Atlantis
A bit of a sacred cow, but I was feeling a little flat after it. Too much 'real' in the exposition for Atlantis, I guess, though I did like that they got a lot of the research for Odysseus RIGHT. Unfortunately, having the 'visitor's look like WoW Orcs didn't do much for me...

Sargasso Pirates
Something happend in the story that made it fall apart, probably the moment they decided that Lawton was interesting. He wasn't, and certainly not more so than the mystery of the Sargasso, the viking Axe, and everything else. I did like Cairo and New Jersey, oddly enough. Cairo was drawn exceptionally well, which is rare for a comic to get the femme fetale right these days.

Golden Fleece
Wish we had more with the cult, as I felt the villains were the part that were entirely stripped. But I definately think this was the strongest of the stories in Omnibus 2. I really liked Omphale's character, too.

Spear of Destiny
There was some good stuff here, but I felt like some initial concepts from the first part were dropped and forgotten. The story REALLY needed more 'fleshing out' with the characters, particularly the 'Nazi would-be Paladin' and the Druid woman. Agreed that the ending was incredibly weak.. though the epilogue was pretty good.

Iron Phoenix
This was fun, though I think a few of the characters were wasted at points. Seemed like there was another book that should have been tying things together a bit more.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Man, these days you would think that the art would be better. I don't mind that Indy wouldn't be QUITE Indiana Jones, but - man, the art is really bad in places. Spalko herself looks like an alien in her first panel! To say nothing of Indy getting older by decades as the book moves on...

On the other hand, the narrative is a lot better than the filmed movie script, and the more rediculous sequences are either severely trimmed ("Fridge Nuke!") or just gone altogether ("Tarzan").

Indiana Jones Adventures
Really mixed. I can't help but wonder if this is a test for an animated series, as it certain has the the 'trendy somewhat Bruce Timm' look to it. Unfortunately it also has the 'everything in a comic is a still image' issue with the art, which hurts a lot of pages. The story was surprisingly good, though.

bennihana123 said:

I hated, hated Fate of Atlantis' and Thunder in the Orient's art. Blech. Indy didn't look anything like Harrrison Ford, the women didn't have noses, and expressions were way overdone. The colors sucked, too.

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Most of the comics weren't allowed to use Harrison Ford's likeness for Indiana Jones. So, each adopted an 'almost' Harrison model to draw from... which is why he looks off. Doesn't, however, forgive the outright BAD art that appears in some of these compilations.

Ah well, the next Omibus will be Raiders, Doom, and the first bulk of the Marvel run, apparently... looking forward to it.

Vance said:

Ah well, the next Omibus will be Raiders, Doom, and the first bulk of the Marvel run, apparently... looking forward to it.

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Really? Where did you hear that?

OhioJones said:

Really? Where did you hear that?

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Dark Horse's scuttlebut, but not actual confirmation. They only announced that they did get the rights to do the Marvel comics for the Omnibus editions. And, if you're going to do the Marvel comics, that would largely be the order they came out in. (Though you likely COULD put Raiders in the middle of the run instead.)

Vance said:

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Man, these days you would think that the art would be better. I don't mind that Indy wouldn't be QUITE Indiana Jones, but - man, the art is really bad in places. Spalko herself looks like an alien in her first panel! To say nothing of Indy getting older by decades as the book moves on...

On the other hand, the narrative is a lot better than the filmed movie script, and the more rediculous sequences are either severely trimmed ("Fridge Nuke!") or just gone altogether ("Tarzan").

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I really hated this adaption. The artwork...man...I don't know what kind of timeline the artists are under, but it just looks like ass in so many ways.

Perhaps they know suckers like me will buy it anyway.....

Vance said:

Most of the comics weren't allowed to use Harrison Ford's likeness for Indiana Jones. So, each adopted an 'almost' Harrison model to draw from... which is why he looks off. Doesn't, however, forgive the outright BAD art that appears in some of these compilations.

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That explains it!

I actually like the artwork by Leo Duranona in "The Arms of Gold" and "Iron Phoenix." His artwork is simple, rustic, yet also clean. Visually it's easy on the eyes. I think his artwork perfectly captures the style of comics during the 1930s and 40s, which makes it a great look for Indy.

The artwork in "Sargasso Pirates" was also quite good. Especially the bottom panels on page 306. I also though it was interesting that Indy battles a giant octopus in "Shrine of the Sea Devil" and "Sargasso Pirates" and that both stories would end up in the same omnibus. Surely someone at Dark Horse should have told the writers they had just done a giant octopus already a few storylines before.

Agent Z said:

I really hated this adaption. The artwork...man...I don't know what kind of timeline the artists are under, but it just looks like ass in so many ways.

Perhaps they know suckers like me will buy it anyway.....

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I only gave the comic adaptation a quick look at the supermarket and once I saw how badly it was drawn and how it hurried through the story (some scenes seemed like they would be incomprehensible if you had not seen the movie), I left it behind.

Indiana Jones Adventures Volume 1 was outstanding! Great depiction of a wet-behind-the-ears Indy with Marcus in tow, fantastic archaeological find that was not too supernatural, lending credence to when Indy says he doesn't believe in magic in Raiders. Art was cartoony but highly enjoyable. 10/10

I finally downloaded all (or at least most) of the comics, although so far I've only read the three movie adaptations and Fate of Atlantis. They're a mixed bag. Especially Fate of Atlantis. It's got great art and a decent story....up until the ending where it becomes mired in a few issues I feel I have to point out.

For starters, the God Machine. Why do Ubermann and Kerner die after mutating? The flashback says that people who used the Machine turned into monsters, but they survived, so why do these two people in particular melt away into puddles of glop? Also, why does the Machine blow up after Ubermann uses it?

Indy says something about "Nur-Ab-Sal's revenge," but it's way too paper-thin. In the case of the melting Ubermann and Kerner I get the feeling they were trying to recapture the ending of Raiders, and didn't think about why these guys would melt into nothing unlike the others who just mutated. And the Machine exploding, well, they just wanted an excuse for Atlantis to be destroyed - a lost world adventure trope I'm honestly sick and tired of (the National Treasure films are the only such films that come to mind where the discovered lost civilizations/treasures are actually not destroyed).

And secondly, the fate of the nameless German grunts. Yeah, I know, bad guys and all, but with Ubermann and Kerner dead, they have no leader. Them trying to kill Indy and what's-her-face while Atlantis is falling down all around them is just lame and unbelievable, and Indy basically leaving them all to die really left me feeling cold. And of course the Nazi sub has no crew; Indy just knows how to pilot it somehow.

My preferred ending would be the remaining minor Nazis just saying, "Screw this, let's get out of here!" and running away with Jones and his lady friend, y'know, because that's what real people would do. They'd forget things like grudges and just concentrate on survival. And even if the soldiers didn't cooperate with Indy, I'd at least have the sub have a crew for Indy to make drive them out of there, just so some of the minor baddies could survive.

Last Crusade is, to my knowledge, the only Indy story wherein the minor bad guys manage to get out of the collapsing temple/city/cavern; the minor Nazis actually manage to jump safely across the crack and (to all appearances) escape (and ahead of Indy and pals no less), and the Hatayan soldiers had already run out long before that.

I said it before and I'll say it again. I just reread Golden Fleece and it is fantastic. Very in-the-thick-of-the-war before it coasts easily into the cult plot. Great renderings of the characters, an interesting, substantial MacGuffin, and an absolutely magical/powerful ending. That's what I want from my Indiana Jones stories. I give this two-volume serial a hearty round of applause (and bite my nails in anticipation of TotG ish 3)!!!

YouNeverKnow said:

I said it before and I'll say it again. I just reread Golden Fleece and it is fantastic. Very in-the-thick-of-the-war before it coasts easily into the cult plot. Great renderings of the characters, an interesting, substantial MacGuffin, and an absolutely magical/powerful ending. That's what I want from my Indiana Jones stories. I give this two-volume serial a hearty round of applause (and bite my nails in anticipation of TotG ish 3)!!!

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I definitely recommend you try to pick up or download the two newer Indy comics:

Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods is amazing! The story is easily the best Indy comic tale EVER, and the artwork is beautiful. Definitely give this one a try, I promise you that you'll love it. It actually feels like an unfilmed Indy movie. Only the first two issues are out now (its a four issue mini), but they should all be out by November or December.

Indiana Jones Adventures, Vol. 1 is almost as good. Another fun, intriguing, and quickly paced Indy adventure. Dialogue and characterization is spot-on, and the simplistic art style works amazingly (and unexpectedly) well.

Can't recommend these enough. If you like Indy, you'll like these comics.

DIrishB said:

I definitely recommend you try to pick up or download the two newer Indy comics:

Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods is amazing! The story is easily the best Indy comic tale EVER, and the artwork is beautiful. Definitely give this one a try, I promise you that you'll love it. It actually feels like an unfilmed Indy movie. Only the first two issues are out now (its a four issue mini), but they should all be out by November or December.

Indiana Jones Adventures, Vol. 1 is almost as good. Another fun, intriguing, and quickly paced Indy adventure. Dialogue and characterization is spot-on, and the simplistic art style works amazingly (and unexpectedly) well.

Can't recommend these enough. If you like Indy, you'll like these comics.

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I have them sir. I have read and reread IJ Adventures numerous times, and have done the same to the first two Tomb of the Gods (That TotG in my parentheses means I can't wait for issue 3). So yeah I'm up on things, that's why I'm getting fidgety and decided to read Golden Fleece once again.