Indiana Jones (comics)

The Indiana Jones franchise has appeared in many comic books. Marvel Comics initially held the comic book licensing rights before they were acquired by Dark Horse Comics in 1990.[1] Marvel published adaptations of the films Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, while Dark Horse adapted the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis video game, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Marvel also published The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones from 1983 to 1986, which were the first original adventures featuring the character in comic book form. From 1992 to 1996, following the Fate of Atlantis adaptation, Dark Horse published seven limited series. With the franchise's revival in 2008 due to the release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Dark Horse published further series, including one aimed at children.

Marvel Comics

1980s

In 1981, Marvel Comics

Dark Horse Comics

1990s

Dark Horse Comics published a bimonthly four-issue adaptation of the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis computer game by William Messner-Loebs and Dan Barry from March to September 1991. From 1992 the following original series were published:

A series based on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series, written by Dan Barry, began in February 1992 and lasted a year. The twelve issues retold the 'Curse of the Jackal' pilot followed by six of the show's first season episodes. Barry drew the first three and the last four issues of that series, while Gray Morrow drew issues three to six, and Gordon Purcell drew the seventh and eighth issues.

Sales of the later series were poor, which resulted in the cancellation of Pete Ford and Hugh Fleming's Indiana Jones and the Lost Horizon. It would have explored Indiana's friendship with Abner Ravenwood in 1926.[5] In February 2008, Fate of Atlantis, Thunder in the Orient and Arms of Gold were collected into an omnibus.[6] The rest was collected together in June.[7]

Indiana Jones and the Shrine of the Sea Devil (written and penciled by Gary Gianni, published in issues three to six of the Dark Horse Comics anthology series from October 1992 to January 1993, and reprinted as a one-shot in September 1994).
Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient (six issues written and penciled by Dan Barry (though the sixth was drawn by Dan Spiegle), published from September to December 1993, and then March and April 1994).
Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold (four issues written by Lee Marrs and penciled by Leo Durañona, published from February to May 1994).
Indiana Jones and the Golden Fleece (two issues written by Pat McGreal and Dave Rawson, and penciled by Ken Hooper, published in June and July 1994).
Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix (four issues written by Lee Marrs and penciled by Leo Durañona, published from December 1994 to March 1995).
Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny (four issues written by Elaine Lee and penciled by Dan Spiegle, published from April to July 1995).
Indiana Jones and the Sargasso Pirates (four issues written and drawn by Karl Kesel (with Paul Guinan and Eduardo Barreto co-penciling the first and fourth issues respectively), published from December 1995 to March 1996).

2000s

An adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, written by John Jackson Miller and penciled in by Luke Ross, came out in May 2008.[8] The following month, an ongoing children's series entitled Indiana Jones Adventures began, which is modeled after Clone Wars Adventures. The first volume, set in 1930, involves Norse mythology while Indiana travels to Sweden and Marrakesh.[9] It was followed by a Free Comic Book Day six-page story and a second volume of Indiana Jones Adventures, both published in 2009. The four-issue Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods (written by Rob Williams and penciled by Steve Scott were published between June 2008 and March 2009.

Indiana Jones and Short Round cameo in the Star Wars story "Into the Great Unknown" in Star Wars Tales #19 (2004), where they find the wreck of the Millennium Falcon and the body of Han Solo while searching for the Sasquatch, who is in fact Chewbacca.

Reception

Kevin Powers of Comics Bulletin gave Fate of Atlantis, Thunder in the Orient and Arms of Gold positive reviews. He found Fate of Atlantis a "darker, more fast-paced" adaptation of the game, but that it still captured Indiana and Sophia Hapgood's relationship. He also argued, "the parallel between the downfall of Atlantis and the downfall of the Nazi searchers is really well done". There was "hell of a lot going on in" Thunder in the Orient, "but it's fairly easy to follow and the political connotations are very well documented". He compared it and Arms of Gold to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom because of its focus on action over characterization, although he deemed the latter "perfect for someone looking for a well-crafted adventure story". He praised its romantic elements, but found the villain an afterthought.[10]

Powers found Dan Barry's art for the first two Dark Horse series "cartoonish, [but] it definitely suits the feeling of Indiana Jones. Barry did an excellent job capturing the action and adventure aspects of Indy as well as the supernatural. The representations of Atlantis were extremely well done and remain consistent throughout the book". He preferred Dan Spiegle's artwork in the last issue of Thunder in the Orient as "it's edgier, rugged and has a more 'realistic' and old-school type artwork that is very well suited to Indiana Jones". He felt Leo Durañona's art for Arms of Gold was "decent, but a bit inconsistent. He goes for the 'rugged' Indiana Jones look, but the inconsistencies in the art from page to page are a bit noticeable".[10]

character	y
character name	Indiana Jones
debut	Raiders of the Lost Ark #1
debutmo	September
ongoing	y
limited	Y
1shot	Y
publisher	Marvel Comics Dark Horse Comics
startyr	1981
endyr	2010
tpb	Omnibus Vol. 1
isbn	1-59307-887-0
tpb1	Further Adventures Omnibus Vol. 1
isbn1	1595822461
subcat	Marvel Comics
altcat	Indiana Jones comic books
alttop	y
sort	Indiana Jones
charsort	Jones, Indiana
addpubcat1	Dark Horse Comics titles
addcharcat1	Dark Horse Comics characters