John Williams would have punched that scene up nicely.

Every December it's killing me, as I blog last issues for "the end," since I know I have the last issue of this series somewhere, but it would take Indy to find it! Entirely possible there's creepy-crawlies out there in my garage too, as well as the not-zero chance of something massive coming rolling out at you...Anyway, we're still in that pleasant, half-awake moment before the new Indy film comes out and hopes are still probably higher than they should be, so why not hit this issue: from 1984, the Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #18, "The Search for Abner, chapter 2: The City of Yesterday's Forever!" Written by David Michelinie, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Vince Colletta, Danny Bulanadi, and Ernie Chan.

And we open in the Himalayans, with Indy and Marion Ravenwood falling to their deaths...! They were searching for a lost city and Marion's lost dad Abner, one of Indy's old teachers. That relationship was ended when Indy and Marion hooked up, since there was a somewhat problematic age difference there. Indy manages to snag their cut rope bridge on a ledge, but Marion isn't able to hold on, and falls; leaving a devastated Indy to push on. He's shortly captured by local guards, who take him to a domed city...K'un Lun? No, but close? The local priest explains not much, but good news: they had rescued Marion, from a bad landing on a lower outcropping. Then things take a creepy turn, of course: the locals were immortal, from the mystic doodad keeping the city warm, but it was immortality with a few drawbacks, as they couldn't go far from the city without horrible pain. Long since bored with eternal life, they were forcing captured outsiders--like Indy and Marion now--to capture yeti-like creatures, who would then be allowed to kill/free an immortal. As often the case, feels like some extra steps in there.

A Nazi expedition had followed Indy and Marion there; and was now fighting the yetis and the locals; while Indy and Marion try to discover if a masked outsider was Abner: they never find out, but they do manage to dynamite the mystic power-source and get out of there. But, returning to Marshall College, new problems await: an artifact Indy recovered in a previous issue has been proclaimed by experts as a fraud, damaging Indy and the museum's reputation, to the point that Marcus Brody has been removed as curator! Well, I guess that qualifies as a cliffhanger ending...maybe not. Read more!

I'm glad to see Indy doesn't go in for that Marie Kondo business...

John Byrne and Terry Austin house ad for the Further Adventures of Indiana Jones; from 1983's Conan the Barbarian #143.

Oh, what the heck: I've been reading a bunch of Conan lately, let's have a peek at this one. "Life Among the Dead" Written by Bruce Jones, breakdowns by John Buscema, finishes by Ricardo Villamonte. A somewhat convoluted plot involving a sword stolen from a statue, a sculptor trying to run a game on Conan but changing his mind, and doubles wearing latex--er, clay--masks that wouldn't be out of place in Mission: Impossible. Then a dragon!


Man, big John Buscema was great...

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Fun, yet sad:

So, I got all four issues of Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods a couple weeks ago; out of the dollar box at the comic shop after seeing Avengers again. (Actually, before: I had free tickets, so got the 3D showing, but had to kill like three hours in the mall with the Youngest...) Story by Rob Williams, pencils by Steve Scott, inks by Nathan Massengill. Oddly, Scott would do the first three issues, then Bart Sears would do the fourth. It's good, but I don't know why the change.

It's a perfectly fine Indiana Jones story, possibly the best Indy I've seen in comics. (And it might've done better if they had gone all out and called it Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Great Old Ones.) I'd absolutely recommend it--in trade. I don't say it very often, but go trade rather than single issues. Why? Because this was published as part of a big push for Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull. In the first issue alone, there are five ads for Indy stuff, most of which is probably remembered as fondly as Crystal Skull itself. (In fairness, I thought it was OK, but only OK; and I do feel bad for those who didn't enjoy it even that much.)

By itself? Good. With the ads and baggage and such? OK.

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It belongs in a museum!

As I type this, the new season of Warehouse 13 is about to begin. I've watched it in passing before, but there's something about it that bugs me. A few somethings.

I don't trust Artie, the Warehouse's curator or keeper or whatever. Partly, because the premise of locking down all these mysterious and potentially dangerous artifacts pissed me off at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. "Hey! We've got all this cool science stuff and weird magic crap! But you can't have any. Or touch it. Or look at it. In fact, you've seen too much, let's put you in a box..."

In fact, the Warehouse's methodology reminds me of the Four from Planetary; an evil analog of Marvel's Fantastic Four that buried or stole for themselves every cool thing they could get their hands on: mysterious civilizations, alien power batteries, illegal experiments, and so on. They used what they wanted, but moreso, they kept it from helping anyone else; something the Warehouse operators seem completely on board with.

To my recollection, I don't think we've seen anyone trying to use the Warehouse artifacts for good, or if so, they have some horrible side effect or something. Still...maybe I'm just being cranky, but I don't remember asking anyone to protect me from the weird. Fah. We'll see if I'm still irritated after this episode...

By the way: how much of the stuff in the picture above do you recognize? Indy would be stuffing his pockets...

EDIT: Ooh, they almost had me with Portishead's "Nobody Loves Me" at the end, and I would love it if H.G. Wells stole the ring and locket because they belonged to H.G. Wells, not because of any scheme or Macguffin. But then they lost me again with the preview for next week's superhero episode: "You're tampering with forces you can't understand!" Couldn't fit a tampering in God's domain bit? For me, Warehouse 13 is a show that is on that I'll maybe watch, if I'm not doing something. Like laundry. Beats the hell out of SyFy's ghosty-psychicy-crappy programming blocks, though.
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Much like the Playboy Mansion, you're never getting past the door at Wayne Manor:

Took a few minutes last night to try a few pictures with that Wayne Manor I picked up last weekend, and the DC Infinite Heroes Batman. I don't think he looks too bad with that, and I've been playing around with different things for the smaller scale: I keep meaning to try the Doomsday figure (from the pre-DCSH Superman line) that was a little small compared to the Superman in the same wave; with a DCIH Supes that he'll tower over. Doomsie will also be way more poseable, but still, worth a try.

I am also still really monkeying around with the lighting, especially with the smaller figures. It might be down to trial-and-error, but it's still fun.

I don't know how Indiana Jones comics are selling--I've only read a few since the Marvel Super Special edition of Raiders of the Lost Ark. (And every time I remember that one, I wish I had it and the Blade Runner one again: not that they were all that great, but they remind me of my Grandpa on my mom's side, since I'm pretty sure that's where I read those...) But wouldn't a forties Batman/Indiana Jones crossover, not unlike the Byrne Captain America/Batman one-shot, be something? Hell, throw Cap in there. Why not?

Hmm. I probably should've saved this post, to cover while I'm on vacation next month. Well, I'm sure I'll come up with something else between now and then. Maybe.
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Weirdly, this panel could've been in any of the movies. Or could even refer to making the fourth one. Heavy.

Like many, I'm looking forward to the new Indiana Jones film more than I'm looking forward to, I don't know, the election, summer vacation, anything. Now I'm in the process of convincing the Wife and Oldest about it: they loved Iron Man, but she's never seen any of the originals, and I just finally got the Oldest to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark today.

Luckily, the kids and I went to Burger King for toys today. That may have helped sell him...I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to get my sister and folks to come up to see it next week.

For good measure, a friend lent me some Indiana Jones comics the other day: some of the old Marvel ones, and some of the newer Dark Horse ones. I feel bad, because he had Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis #1-3, and I'm positive I have issue #4 somewhere. I'll spot him it, if I ever find the damn thing...I think I liked the Marvel ones better, actually. As a kid, I know I read either #1 or #2 (almost positive it was #1) off the spinner racks, but didn't buy it. I'm pretty sure I didn't because of the cliffhanger ending, since back then finding the next issue could be risky.

I had forgotten, if I ever even knew, that John Byrne had done some issues. I liked issue #24 a lot too: great Michael Golden cover, and the top panel. Watching the opening scene of Raiders, or the map room scene, sometimes you can drift out of the movie for a moment and question the practicality of poison darts, light-triggered booby-traps, or crushing yet really round boulders. Particularly when you put all of those at what's basically your church. Maybe no one's that observant anymore, it's more of a Christmas-Easter thing...

Panels from the Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #2, "22-Karat Doom!" Written by 'Missouri' O'Neil, layouts by 'Chicago' Byrne, and inks by 'Michigan' Austin; and #24, "Revenge of the Ancients" Story and layouts by Herb Trimpe, finishes by Danny Bulanadi. (Great Michael Golden cover on #24, too!)

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