The Marvel Adventures Of Indiana Jones

Many movie goers lose their minds when a new Star Wars film is released in the cinema as they cannot get enough of the Jedi and their fight against the evils of the universe. In fact, most people only focused on Star Wars when Disney bought LucasFilms back in 2012 and seem to have forgotten about one of the company’s most iconic characters: the one and only Indiana Jones! No joke, when the sale went through I was more excited about the prospect of new Indiana Jones films then Star Wars, and while I love Star Wars I have always felt that Indiana was more of a special movie experience. I can remember watching the Indiana Jones movies while playing with my Kenner Indiana Jones figure based on Raiders Of The Lost Ark and being mesmerized by the over all adventures those movies brought to their viewers, and with it being almost July 4, 2021, why not do a update about an America Hero and with a new Indiana Jones movie hitting the cinema in just a couple of days. I knew this update had to happen as Indiana Jones is a true American hero in the world of cinema, novels, video games and comic books! So sit back and pack a backpack, as it’s time to go on an epic adventure with Indiana Jones and Marvel Comics.

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Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones Jr. is the son of Henry Jones Sr. and works as a professor of archaeology in New Jersey at Marshall College in the 1930’s. The college is the one to foot the bill when Indiana goes on research trips and expeditions that have him travel all over the world and find all types of artifacts from the Lost Ark Of The Covenant, The Crystal Skull, The Holy Grail, The Sankara Stones among so many more. During his adventures he has made many friends and colleagues with names like Short Round, Willie Scott, Sallah as well as Marion Ravenwood with whom he ended up having a son named Mutt Williams. At one point Indiana even had an adventure with his father Henry Sr. to find the Holy Grail and they ran into a ghost knight while on the hunt. He has gone up against Nazis, Cults, Natives and Thieves and everything in between, and all the while he is the hero needed in the situations he finds himself in. It has also been shown that even as a youngster Indiana Jones has went on exploring adventures and was a hero. Indiana Jones is a skilled fist fighter and as well skilled with a gun and a whip. This is only a small crash course of the history of Indiana Jones who I think is hands down one of the best heroes in cinema history and actor Harrison Ford was the best choice to play the character.

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The first film in the series was “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” that was released in 1981 and has Indiana Jones looking for the lost Ark of the Covenant while trying to out step the Nazis who also want it! The film was a major hit with moviegoers and critics and brought the series into the world of pop culture. Raiders brought in $212,222,025.00 on a budget of only $18 million. “Temple Of Doom” was the second film and was released in 1984 and has Indy going after the Sankara Stones that are in the grip of Mola Ram and a Thuggee Cult, all the while he also saves children who are being used as slaves. The film was a prequel and was very popular when released with the kids who flooded the cinema to see it. The film brought in $179,870,271.00 on a budget of $28 million! The third movie was “Last Crusade” that was released in 1989 and has Indiana Jones and his father going after the Holy Grail and fighting with the Nazis again to get it! The film was a major hit with critics and fans and some even say it’s the best sequel and even best in the series! The film did fantastic at the box office bringing in $197,171,806.00 on a budget of $48 million. The fourth film in the series was released in 2008 and is called “Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” and has Indiana Jones looking for the famed crystal skull while tangling with the Soviets and meeting his son Mutt Williams for the first time! The film was met with mixed reviews from moviegoers and critics, but was a hit at the box office bringing in $317,101,119.00 on a budget of $185 million. Now, with the fifth film about to hit theaters, who knows what true adventure Indiana Jones will have and how epic this one will be! But one thing is for sure, I will be there opening night and ready to find one of the world’s lost treasures along side Indy!

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I grew up watching the Indiana Jones films and have seen them all so many times I have lost count! For me hands down the best film in the series is Raiders Of The Lost Ark as it’s the original and really has that adventure feel to it. Plus it’s just so pure and really is a great way to pay respects to all the cliffhangers that inspired it. But when it comes down to the sequels many fans are torn to which is the best. Most say Last Crusade is the best and Crystal Skull is the worst, as people seem to not be able to get past CGI Monkeys and Indy surviving a nuclear blast in a refrigerator. For me the best sequel is Temple Of Doom as it was a film I grew up watching and was the one I had action figures of as well as books, trading cards and even comics and would be one that my brother and I would watch all the time and even played toy adventures in that world. The film had that true big adventure feel and the main villain Mola Ram was pretty spooky as he was a High Priest who can steal the hearts of his enemies! Plus Mola Ram’s men kidnap kids and forced them into labor! Indiana Jones also has a sidekick in the film called Short Round who is a taxicab driver who was 11 years old and is wise for his age, he was played by Ke Huy Quan, credited at the times as Jonathan Ke Quan, who also played Data in The Goonies! Willie Scott a club singer is the love interest in this film, and she is alright but she is no Marion Ravenwood as I feel Willie is more of the damsel in distress. Plus moments from the film like the iconic Indiana Jones on the bridge fighting and bringing it and the bad guys down is pure cinema gold and has stuck with me over the decades. And for those wondering, my least favorite in the series is Last Crusade as I could not get into that one as much and while I enjoyed it, I feel that Sean Connery and his over acting dragged it down slightly…but again keep in mind I still like the movie. And now after talking about Temple Of Doom, I have to get the old DVD out and give it a watch! Also I should say that my brother had the Indiana Jones figure from LJN and I had Mola Ram growing up and I can remember us making them fight, and of course Indiana always won.

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While not in modern times, back in the 80’s and 90’s the Indiana Jones franchise was hugely popular and was on track with Star Wars when it came to loyal fans. So with the popularity of Indy ABC decided to air a TV Show called “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” that followed the character as a youngster with even a cameo from Harrison Ford as a 50-year-old Indiana in an episode. This show would have two seasons and would run 28 episodes and had actors Corey Carrier playing Indiana age 8-10 with Sean Patrick Flanery playing him age 16-21 and George Hall playing him at age 93! And the show would also have some amazing guest stars like Christopher Lee, Daniel Craig, Elizabeth Hurley, Keith David, Michael Gough, Max Von Sydow and Catherine Zeta-Jones among many others. The show was created by George Lucas when he found that many crew members on the sets of the film would always chat about the life that Indiana Jones must have had growing up and this sparked Lucas to write out a timeline of what Indiana Jones did in his younger life, and with that, the TV Show was born! The score for the series was done by Laurence Rosenthal and was good, not John Williams level but still a solid score. The show was meet with mix reviews by critics and fans with mostly them being positive, and the show would even win six Emmy Awards. The show would be released on VHS as well as DVD and while not as iconic as the films it still has a following and is great for fans of Indiana Jones to continue his adventures. And for those of you wondering, yes, I watched this show growing up and very much enjoyed it, and while I have not re-watched it since I was a kid, it is a TV series that I plan on revisiting at some point.

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We all know that Indiana Jones is a very iconic movie franchise, and one thing that all fans know is the amazing score work from John Williams that helps makes the films even more special! I mean you know as well as I do that as you have been reading this update you have hummed or heard “Raiders March” at least once! And while the Indiana Jones films are amazing, I truly think that the score work of John Williams really does make them even more top notch and adds to the adventure feeling of the films. I could never see another composer ever doing the score for any future Indiana Jones films, and if and when Williams is replaced, the new composer will have big shoes to fill. I just had to take this brief moment to praise the score as I truly do think that is some of the most iconic work done in modern cinema, so do yourself a favor and get these scores in your collection whether its on vinyl, CD, cassette or digital and give it a listen while you read the rest of this update.

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Another thing I want to quickly talk about is the very cool novels that have been released that features not only novelization versions of the films but also new adventures giving fans even more Indiana expeditions while they waited for new films. One of the books even was choose your own adventure style and was written by R.L. Stine who of course is known for his Goosebumps and Fear Street books. Of course growing up I had many of these books that I would get from the School Book Fair as well as find at Half Price Books. I can remember enjoying them, and while I liked the comics more these were fun reads on lazy rainy days or even late nights before going to sleep. In factm I think I still have a few of these novels in my paperback book collection.

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If the comics and novels didn’t give you enough new Indiana Jones adventures, he of course also made his way to the world of video games and has appeared on many systems as we are talking from computer to X-Box 360! Some of the games I want to highlight are the first Indiana Jones game was released for the Atari 2600 and was based on the film Raiders of The Lost Ark. In 1988 Temple Of Doom was released of the NES and had two versions of the game one official and one unofficial. In 1994 the super cool Indiana Jones Greatest Adventure was released for the Super Nintendo. 1994 also saw Instruments Of Chaos being released for Sega Genesis and had you play as Young Indiana Jones. In 2000 the N64 game Indiana Jones And The Infernal Machine was released and lastly 2003 seen the release of Indiana Jones And The Emperor’s Tomb released for PC, X-Box and Playstation 2, and this is really just a very small amount of games that have been released featuring Indiana as many PC games as well as even handheld and home console games have been released. The ones I highlighted here are the ones I remember playing the most over the years and are ones that have stuck with me. What was cool about these games and much like the novels, comics and toys they added new life and adventures to the film series and allowed the character to continue on as the fans waited for the next film or in some cases episode of air on TV. I keep the hope alive that for Playstation 5 we will get a new Indiana Jones game as I feel his return to the digital world is long over due.

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When I was a youngster Indiana Jones made his way into the world of action figures as well and my brother and I had to have them! The first series was 3 ¾” figures based on Raiders Of The Lost Arch and released in 1982 by Kenner and lasted two series and a total of 9 figures, 1 horse and 4 playsets with Indiana Jones in his classic hat and jacket being the most popular figure in the series. The line had three versions of Indiana and also had figures of Marion Ravenwood, Toht, Belloq and Sallah. Growing up I had many of these figures and playsets and still have some of them to this day. The next Indiana Jones toys that were big when I was a kid were released by LJN in 1984 and were based on Temple Of Doom and lasted for only three figures that were of course Indiana Jones, Mola Ram and Giant Thugee. And again growing up we had these LJN figures well we had Indiana and Mola Ram, and they were pretty cool. we got them from the old department store Gold Circle. And in 2008 with the release of Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull more toys were released this time by Hasbro and had figures not only released based on that film, but all of the other films in the series! And I bought so many of these figures as at the time I was in the early stages of making my own stop motion movie based on Flash Gordon and many of the Indiana Jones characters were to appear in his quest. And this is only some of the toys released based on the films! But needless to say, if you, like me, grew up a fan of Indiana Jones these figures added new adventures for the hero as we waited for the next film to be released.

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Indiana Jones of course had way more merchandise then what we have already talked about as collectors had so much cool stuff to collect over the years and this included shirts, posters, stickers, drinking glasses, board games, trading cards, statues, magazines, magnets, Halloween masks, watches, pocket knives, home media and so much more! I mean growing up I had some of the glasses, Halloween masks, trading cards and even one of the board games. And as you can see Indiana Jones has graced so many items both official and fan made that collect Indiana Jones stuff can be easy as well as a little pricy as some of the official merchandise has climbed in prices over the years. But if you like Indiana Jones and are a collector make sure to search your local toy, comic and antique shops as well as online shops and see what you can add to your collection today.

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Well as I am sure you have guessed by now that I am a big fan of the Indiana Jones movie series and we are now at the point of this update that we review the comics and again the Marvel Comics series was a no brainer for me to select as they are the ones I grew up reading. And what makes this update even more awesome for me is that I get the chance to reread these issues again after all these years and it will be cool to see if they hold up and are as enjoyable as they were back then. I want to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics, Bell Book And Comic, Game Swap Kettering and Lone Star Comics for having these comics in stock and making this update possible. I want to also remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready lets see what kind of adventures Indiana Jones can have in the Marvel Universe, and I am going to shorten the comics title from “The Further Adventures Of Indiana Jones” to just simply Indiana Jones.

Further Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 1

Indiana Jones # 1  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 1 of 34

Indiana Jones gets a visit from a former student named Charlie Dunne who informs him that he has found the gold cursed statues called The Ikons Of Ikammanen and before he can tell Indy anything else a knife is thrown into the window killing Charlie! Indiana takes Charlie’s notes, maps and heads to the location as Dunne’s sister Edith in order to tell her the grim news as well as find these statues. Indy shows up in Africa and is greeted by Edith, and Indy tells her his main goal is to find who killed her brother and to then find the statues, but ones the enter his hotel room the are attacked by shrouded men who have knives, as Indy fights them off one kidnaps Edith and runs through the streets. Indy gives chase and soon finds himself in a trap that takes him to a underground base were he meets Solomon Black a criminal business man who wants Indy and Edith to find the statues so he can sell them as they are made of gold, and threatens the life of Edith if they do not help him as he is also in control of some very bad men and his hooded henchman Vont will do whatever he says and that includes murder. Indy and Edith are forced to head to the island with the gold statues and find that the beach is booby trapped when it kills one of the two guards, and once at the temple Indy finds that the statues are really just human bodies dipped in gold and he and Edith are attacked and about to be dipped themselves in gold by a tribal cult of old men that lives on the island.

This is such a fun Indiana Jones comic adventure and showcased why back in the 60’s-80’s Marvel Comics was the king of the comics. In this adventure Indiana must travel to an island in order to find golden statues that are said to be a legend, but he is forced to search for them when one of his old students is murdered and a crime boss threatens the life of a young woman. Indiana Jones is a true hero in this comic as he does the right thing when needed, wants to solve a murder, find lost treasure and protect the life of a young woman, and he uses his trusty whip and handgun to get himself out of danger as well as to set his adventure on the right path. Edith Dunne is a smart young lady who along with her brother found the secrets of the Golden Statue, and yet cause she is a woman the bad guys downplay her worth is the quest to get them, and you have to feel bad for her due to her brother being murdered. Solomon Black is a slimy crime boss who surrounds himself with cold blooded killers, and all he cares about his getting the gold statues so that he can sell them and make lots of money, lets hope he gets what’s coming to him soon. The issue is filled with drama, adventure and even a little dash of comedy as Indiana’s wit is in full effect. This was a great issue and story to kick off a comic series based on such an iconic movie character, and as I said proved that Marvel Comics use to truly know how to make great comics. The cover is very eye catching and showcases Indiana Jones and his whip surrounded by the other character in the adventure and the interior art is done by the team of John Byrne and Terry Austin is great stuff, but I do have to say I wish that they drew Indiana to look more like Harrison Ford the actor who plays him in the films. Over all this is a great read and makes me look forward to seeing what’s next!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 2

Indiana Jones # 2  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 2 of 34

Indiana and Edith are being lowered by a chain into a molten gold pit by the islands natives and are trying to find away to escape this painful death, and that’s when Mr. Black and his men arrive and start a battle with the natives an this allows Indiana and Edith to swing the chain an hit the leaver to free themselves. Once outside the temple Mr. Black and his men have defeated the natives and Black gives the order to kill Indiana and Edith as he does not need them anymore and that’s when more natives show up and attack Mr. Black and his men given Indiana and Edith a second chance as they are forced to work along Black and his men in this attack. After the fight Indiana is able to save he and Edith’s life by claiming there is more gold statues an that only he and maybe 11 other people in the world can read it. While back on the ship Edith dresses sexy and lures one of the armed guards into a trap, and Indiana and Edith make their way off the ship but end up being caught by Mr. Black who makes the pair walk the plank into the ocean. But just then a German submarine fires a missile at Black’s ship sinking it and the German’s give our heroes a ride to New York, and best Edith is able to save one of the golden statues. Edith and Indiana get on a plane with one of the statues an that is when Indiana confronts Edith with being behind the murder of her own brother, and it’s true as the pilot of the plane was also in on the killing and quick thinking Indiana says the magic words that brings the golden statue alive and as it kills Edith and her cohort our hero Indiana Jones gets a parachute and dives from the soon to be crashing in the ocean plane.

This second issue is a pretty fun adventure as it has Indiana Jones along with Edith trying to survive natives who want to turn them into golden statues, avoid being murdered by Mr. Black and his band of cutthroat killers as well as for Indiana to try and find out who killed his friend and former student that started these crazy events. Indiana Jones as always is very brave and uses his not only his skills in fighting but it’s his mind that gets himself out of trouble, and is able to defeat all his enemies that seem to be all around. And he not only gets to bring down a scummy criminal organization but also stops a killer who was after fame and fortune. Speaking of that killer her name is Edith and she is the sister of the murdered friend of Indiana who has her brother killed so that she could get all the credit for the golden statues that they were close to discovering, an worse is Indiana had to protect this killer as they both get kidnapped by criminals…and at a point he already knew she was the one who killed his friend. Mr. Black and his men are cold blooded and they do not value human life as they as well just want money and lots of it. Plus while the ship he was on got blown up I think Mr. Black is not dead and will be back. I like the touch of the Golden Statue coming to life at the end to kill Edith and her cohort as it adds that supernatural cliffhanger feel that has made Indiana Jones films so special over the decades. And like I said before the creative team behind this series clearly knew how to make a comic based on this movie character as this was a very entertaining read. The cover for this issue is ok an not as eye catching as other comic covers of that time and the interior art for issue two is done by John Byrne and Terry Austin and I have to say that in spots it looks slightly rushed and sloppy but is still not bad. Over all a good solid issue and keeps up the great work that Marvel Comics was doing with this Indiana Joes comic series.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 3

Indiana Jones # 3  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 3 of 34

As Indiana Jones lands from his air jump a terrible rainstorm rages on and he watches as a group of people are chasing a man and are about to hang him! Indiana Jones decides to save the man and as the two run away his attackers as well as now army soldiers are giving chase, as the unknown man says that they all hate him cause his grandfather has created an elixir that gives the person who drinks it immortality! After escaping their pursuers the man takes Indiana to meet his grandfather who is in a cave that has a stream and after brief introductions the grandfather attacks and beats up Indiana as he has drank some of the elixir water and is super strong and in a rage over Indiana being around and knocks our hero out. When Indiana wakes up he finds that he is tied to a rock with explosives all around as the grandfather wants to crush the army base below with the falling rocks, Indiana is able to escape but is taken prisoner by the army who find him and label him a traitor. Meanwhile the grandfather that’s name is Prospero and his grandson who is Dullard set to blow up the cave after the soldiers disappears and the older is a little annoyed that the younger helped Indiana escape by cutting the ropes that bound him. Indiana Jones is able to escape his cell and steals a army jeep that has a cannon on the back of it, Indiana makes its just in time to fire the cannon and save the lives of the army people as Prospero had set the explosives again…but saving the day gets the stream with the elixir water to be caved in. In the end two locals try to attack Indiana Jones and is saved by Prospero and Dullard who are now teaming with our hero and they flee from the coming army that is tracking them down.

Poor Indiana Jones goes from the frying pan into the fire as soon as he lands from jumping out of the plane he finds himself right back into an adventure! This time around Indiana saves a man from a lynch mob and this makes him the target of not only them but also the military as the man he saved and his grandfather have been a pain in the ass and are claiming to have an elixir that gives the drinker eternal life and super strength…that is if you keep drinking it. Indiana Jones once more does all the things he thinks is right and saves lives as well as gets himself in and out of danger throughout the issue, he even gets beat up by an old man in this issue! Prospero and Dullard claim to have found waters that will give them forever life, and its unsure if they truly have found this or if something else is giving them a boost of strength…are they good or bad it’s hard to tell. Meanwhile the army is being lead by General Hannigan who is looking for a war and so wants to take human lives but is being held at bay due to the rules of the military. And what is cool about this issue is that it takes place right after the last issue and leaves us on yet another cliffhanger as we have no idea where Prospero is leading Indiana Jones and we know that the army will be on their trail and Hannigan is not going to let them get away. The cover for this issue is great and showcases Indiana in the stolen jeep as the army is firing at him! The interior art this time around is done by Gene Day and Richard Howell and its pretty great stuff and has that early 80’s Marvel Comics charm. Over all a great issue that once more showcases that Indiana Jones is a fantastic film character as well as a comic book one and Marvel Comics was the right company to make Indiana leap into the comic pages.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 4

Indiana Jones # 4  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 4 of 34

Indiana Jones is on a plan set to England and soon finds that it’s a trap as the pilot parachutes from the plane and Indiana has to use an old blanket to leap from the crashing plane. Once in the ocean he is picked up by an English ship and finds out that he has been sent to England by America in order to help look into cryptic writings on a cylinder that was found at Stonehenge and is being called “The Gateway Project” and the Nazis are also now after these secrets and the danger level is high. Indiana is paired with the beautiful Professor Karen Mays and together the solve the writings on the cylinder that proves a race of something that could be good or evil wrote it long before mankind walked the Earth, and soon find themselves being chased by the Nazis who want the cylinder! They run through the streets, the train station and finally Indiana has to “borrow” a car in order to drive away but finds himself crashed on a bridge and about ready to plunge to his death along side Karen.

This issue is pretty much a chase that has Indiana Jones and his new female friend Karen on the run from bloodthirsty Nazis who want the secrets that are written on a cylinder that predates the time of man that was found in Stonehenge, and even starts with a airplane pilot trying to kill him with a crash…so to sum it up this is a wild ride and super fun issue! Indiana in this issue is quick thinking as well does not trust the cylinder that speaks of beings coming back to the site of Stonehenge, as he questions if these beings are not going to be monsters. Karen Mays is a professor who helps solve the riddle of the cylinder and the writings on it, and by being so smart she finds herself now the target of bad guys who want what she knows. The Nazis are total scumbags and have places bugged in order to get information, have no issues killing people, stalk and attack their targets and prove that they will always be a thorn in the side of Indiana. The one odd thing about this issue is that it seems that the story of Prospero and his eternal life elixir just has no finish as this issue makes zero comments about that adventure and does not continue the story, so that was very odd. The cover is awesome and has Indiana Jones and Karen on the train rails surrounded by bad guys as the train is behind them. The interior art is done by Ron Frenz and is great stuff and has that classic 80’s Marvel look. This is a solid issue and while I wished they would have fully wrapped the last adventure up, this new one seems like it is going to be fast paced and filled with action and even maybe a little super natural monsters! So with that lets see what happens next in this tale.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 5

Indiana Jones # 5  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 5 of 34

Indiana and Karen are able to escape the falling car thanks to his trusty whip and as they get back to the top of the bridge they find that Nazi’s waiting for them, but Indiana times it out perfect as he allows himself and Karen to fall back off the bridge and land on a garbage ship to make their escape. Karen takes Indiana to her mothers house so that they can hide and come up with a plan as Indiana is worried that the beings that could be summoned tonight could be evil and they can not allow them to be set free and that the cylinder not fall into the hands of the Nazis as this could end bad for everyone in the world. As Indiana and Karen head to the train they are unaware that the Nazis had Karen’s mom’s house bugged and they have the Cargo Pilot on the train to get the cylinder and kill Indiana Jones, as they are made at him for failing to kill Indiana with the plane crash. As he tries to attack Indiana and steal the cylinder the two end up on top of the fast moving train and with his quick thinking Indiana is able to go over the side of the train and get inside safely as the Pilot goes splat as he hits a tunnel. The Nazis end up stopping the train as they dress as cops and Indiana and Karen escape on a stolen motorcycle and make it across a broken down wood bridge that crumbles after they cross to get some distance between them and the Nazis who are hot on their trail. But Indiana and Karen’s luck runs out as they find themselves stuck in quicksand and this allows the Nazi’s to catch up with them and get the cylinder. The Nazis leave Indiana to die in the quicksand and head towards Stonehenge to make contact with the ancient beings. Indiana with his quick thinking and help from a gun and a tree branch saves Karen and himself from death and the pair rush to Stonehenge. As they get there the Nazis have the cylinder and in the sky are snake like demon creatures, and before they can fully return Indiana is able to break the cylinder stopping their return as well as take down the Nazis and allows the police to arrest them.

This is another issue that plays up on high action and builds the chase of the Nazis going after Indiana and the cylinder and by the end Indiana going after them so they don’t use the cylinder. The plot as Indiana Jones in charge of a cylinder that has writing the predates mankind and the spooky thing being is that the cylinder could bring the demonic race back the wrote on it! So Indiana must do his best of keeping it out of the hands of the Nazis who are chasing him as well as his fellow professor Karen Mays as if the Nazis use the cylinder at Stonehenge who knows what kind of evil will be unleashed on Earth. And in this issue Indiana chooses to break the cylinder a priceless relic so that the power it holds will not help the bad guys in their quest for world domination. And of course throughout this issue Indiana uses his smarts, quick wit and tools of his trade whip and pistol in order to discover and be the hero we all know and love. Karen Mays is smart and charming, but sadly her roll in this issue falls fast as at times she just kind of feels like a background player who has a crush on Indiana. The Nazis are as scummy as always and crave the power that the cylinder holds, and they don’t care who lives or dies in their quest to get it, and that even includes their own spies. The demons sadly barely appear and are sent back just as quickly as they appeared, making them spooky but zero threat to our hero. My favorite part of this issue is hands down when Indy tricks the Nazi assassin on top of the train that leads to the attackers death by being smashed by a tunnel, this is a segment that feels straight out of the movies. The cover is very cool and eye catching as it showcases both Indiana Jones as well as one of the cylinder demons. The interior art done by Ron Frenz is good stuff and I have to say I truly love the classic 70’s and 80’s Marvel artwork and miss this style in modern comics. Over all another good issue and a cool adventure to see Indy on.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 6

Indiana Jones # 6  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 6 of 34

The Ravens Nest nightclub is opening in New York and is owned by Marion Ravenwood and even Indiana Jones has money in the club that’s opening night is for the rich and famous. But as Marion is crossing the street to enter the club a car almost hits her, and of course it was Indiana that saves her life. Once inside the club Jamal an art dealer with a shady past and is now decorating the club is upset that an attempt was made at her life. And before the doors open Marion warns Indiana that mobster Marko wanted to put money into the club to use as a gambling place, she rejected his offer and thinks he is the one that wants her dead. That night another attempt is made at Marion’s life and even after she and Indiana Jones confront Marko the next day someone tries to kill both our heroes in a horse carriage accident! Marion and Indiana investigates Marko and soon find that he is not the one trying to kill her, and in fact as they make an escape from Marko’s mansion via a boat they are attacked again by the assassin and Indiana is able to get the attackers knife and comes up with a suspect he thinks is behind these attacks. They head to the shop of Jamal who is away and Indiana knows he has their attacker, and they rush to the Ravens Nest to find Jamal placing explosives around the club! Jamal comes clean when he is confronted and says he has hidden stolen treasures inside the decorations and he used the drama with Marko as away for the mobster to take all the blame so that he could get his riches and make money. Jamal and Indiana start fist fighting and a fire breaks out in the club, Marion and Indiana are able to escape but Jamal stays behind to grab some of his stolen treasure and is blown up in the club explosion. In the end Indiana alerts Marion that he took insurance out on the club so they should be able to get their money back from the fire.

What a fun issue that brings back Marion Ravenwood back from Raiders Of The Lost Arch and has her and Indy opening a night club in New York and find themselves being targeted by a hitman that could have been hired by an angered mob boss but is really a sleazy stolen art dealer who wants to frame the mobster in order to get away with smuggling stolen goods through the club. Indiana Jones is a hero who once more risks his life in order to do the right thing and in this case he gets in the way of a killer who is targeting his lady friend Marion who herself is strong willed and one heck of a fighter and business woman. Really seeing these two back together was awesome and Marvel Comics and the creator behind this series are doing a great job of capturing the fun nature of the film series and the characters that make up that world. The main bad guy Jamal is a true scumbag as he deals in stolen treasures and even after Indiana Jones tries to help him out with the law, his main goal is to kill those who helped him in order to get away with more stolen goods…and like he plans on blowing up a night club filled with people…this guy is scum! The action is fast paced and I enjoyed the fight on the speeding boats by Indy and the masked attacker as the adventure is high in these panels. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indiana leaping into a car being driver by a masked man. The interior art is done by Howard Chaykin and is pretty good with his drawing of Marion and Jamal being good, his Indiana is a little off and has zero resemblance to actor Harrison Ford. Over all a very good issue and makes me look forward to seeing what issue seven has in store for us.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 7

Indiana Jones # 7  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 7 of 34

At a vineyard in France Indiana Jones has found a thief that is dressed as a monk and with a pistol in hand he wants his stolen ancient artifact back, well the one he has been hired to return! The monk is McIver and all the monks that are making wine are in fact thieves and after Indiana escapes with the artifact wrapped in map to keep it from getting damaged the very angry McIver swears revenge. Once back in America Indiana Jones discovers the map he used to protect the artifact leads to lost treasure from a Atlantian tribe and if this treasure is found could be priceless as well as prove that Atlantis was real! And as Indiana Jones sets out for Africa were the map leads he must take along Marion Ravenwood who over heard the importance of the find and wiggles her way into going along for the adventure. Once in Africa they try and hire some extra help, but find that someone else has hired all the extra hands to look for a rare flower, and Indy knows something is up and he and Marion rush into to the jungle to find the treasure. While floating down the river Indy and Marion are attacked by a hippo, alligators plus a python and escape the river but find themselves stuck in quicksand and are saved by flower hunter’s expedition that turns out to ne Nazi’s that are also after the treasure and are being helped by McIver! After escaping the camp Indy and Marion are hiding in the jungle from the Nazi’s who are now hunting them, but some sort of wild animal is also on their trail!

In this seventh issue of Indiana Jones we find him once more alongside Marion Ravenwood as they are on a adventure this time in the Amazon in order to find the treasure of a tribe that is said to have been from the city of Atlantis, but of course one of Indy’s past enemies is also after the treasure and he has brought backup with the Nazi’s and to both sides have to be aware of nature as the beasts of the jungle are also on the hunt. Indiana Jones in this issue by accident stumbles on a map that leads to what could be a very priceless treasure and by finding the map he also finds him self being the hero as always as he gets himself as well as his lady friend Marion out of trouble. The one thing they dropped the ball on with this issue is they do not play up on Indy’s fear of snakes. Marion is as strong willed as ever and wants to get the scoop on this treasure as well as just be alongside Indy as it’s clear the tension between her and Indy is thick. McIver is a treasure thief who hates Indy with a passion and even teams with those scumbag Nazi’s in order to beat him getting the treasure. Like always this is a very action packed issue and Indy has to use his wits throughout in order to outsmart the baddies who want him dead! The Nazi’s being the villains in the story is normal at this point as is adding a past baddie from his past with McIvers, but I do like the idea of adding the wild animals of the jungle into the mix as they do not choose sides and only have one thing on their minds and that’s to make humans go dead! The cover is very cool and eye catching and has Indy saving Marion from gators, and this time around the interior art is done by Kerry Gammill and is very good and I like the way he draws Indy. Over all a great issue that keeps up the high quality and delivers a new adventure for Indiana Jones to keep fans happy until the next film.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 8

Indiana Jones # 8  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 8 of 34

Indiana Jones and Marion are hiding from a group of Nazi’s who are hunting them down and find themselves in a cave with a blood thirsty Panther who is only held at bay thanks to a small brush fire that Indy sets. As our heroes run from the cave the panther attacks a near by Nazi and Indy and Marion run into a Atlantis Giant who is then shot and killed by the Nazis and this goes very bad for everyone as the Atlantis army surrounds them all and takes them to their cave base and to their King who is not happy with the killing of one of his own. The King takes the Nazi that killed one of his men and uses crystals to kill the man as they burn him up from the inside out. As the rest watch on in horror they are rushed away and placed in a cell room, that in the morning turns into a crystal tomb when the sun comes up and the lasers start flying and killing! Indy does not panic and uses the mirrored compact of Marion’s to blast the lock off the cell door and this allows he and Marion to escape as well as McIver and what is left of the Nazis. As Indiana and Marion are trying to get away from the Atlantis Warriors they are also trying to find away out of the cave, while the Nazis and McIver have gotten back their weapons and are killing the warriors as well as The King as the Nazi Captain wants the main crystal and he foolishly grabs the crystal and this causes the energy to go crazy and his own men to be burned up alive and the cave it’s self to collapse onto it’s self! As the cave crumbles Indy and Marion escape with Indy being able to at least save one necklace from the tribe, and unknown to the McIver also escaped and swears revenge of Indy one day. As Indiana and Marion walk back into the jungle they realize that everyone is dead and they can not prove that the Atlantis Tribe even was alive as its all been crushed and blown to bits.

What a fun adventure that takes us into the heart of the Amazon jungle and into the cave of a tribe that is from Atlantis and who uses crystals in order to deal death as well as keep their cave in order. Indiana Jones in this issue as always has to use his brilliant mind as well as trusty whip in order to get himself out of trouble and of course he has to look out for Marion as well who is very strong willed and has no issues grabbing a wood board and putting up a fight. In this issue alone Indy and Marion survive attacks from Nazis, Atlantis Warriors, Deadly Crystal Lasers as well as a Panther! McIver who is a stolen art dealer makes the big mistake of teaming with the Nazis and soon learns that their greed and crave for power almost lead him to being crushed to death or even fried from the inside out by a crystal laser, and I do think we will see him again in another issue as he really wants his revenge against Indy. I like that this issue takes place in a cave that is covered in human bones and crystals and is pretty much a death trap if anyone moves one master crystal the wrong way…truly a deadly spot in the Amazon and adds to the lore of that river and jungle. The over is awesome and has Indiana and Marion in front of a skull cave with arrows coming at them and this makes it very eye catching. The interior art is done by Kerry Gammill again and is good stuff and really helps bring this adventure alive. We are eight issues into this series and I have to say that the creators and Marvel Comics had something special going as every issue has been great and for me has this far lived up to the re-reads.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 9

Indiana Jones # 9  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 9 of 34

Indiana Jones is still in Africa as he is going after The Chachapoyan Idol that was stolen from him by Belloq and sold to a dealer, and as Indy is sneaking into the place he is getting the help of his friend Sallah who is in charge of keeping an eye out. But once inside Indy finds that he is not the only one after the idol as two armed hooded figures are also there trying and now are after Indy and Sallah who have the idol and give them chase on top of the rooftops and by luck Indy and Sallah jump off a roof into a truck that his hauling hay and they take the truck to escape. We soon see that the hooded figures are one scar faced warrior and a blonde woman who swears that she will kill Indiana and get the idol back. Back in New York museum currier Marcus Brody along with Marion Ravenwood are entertaining the press as they all wait for Indiana to arrive at the museum with the idol, and when Marcus takes the idol to a safe room he is confronted by the scar faced warrior and his friends to take the idol. Indiana Jones rushes out of the window that is 23 floors up to try and walk the ledge in order to save his friend Marcus, but once outside he finds that the warriors are as well on the ledge trying to make their escape! Indy almost falls once and is saved by Marion who followed him outside the window, but after taking out one warrior Indy finds off the ledge and the other warriors is stomping on his fingers to try and make Indy falls to his death!

This ninth issue really brings the characters of “Raiders Of The Last Ark” back together as Indiana Jones is joined by not only Marion Ravenwood but also Sallah and Marcus Brody for this adventure that all revolves around the idol that Indy gets at the start of that film. And after getting the idol back Indy finds himself the target of warriors from the tribe it originally belong to. And this issue has a pretty big cliffhanger as Indy is hanging off the ledge that is 23 stories up and a warrior is stomping on his fingers to try and make him fall to his death! I like that Indy as well rushes into a very dangerous spot in order to try and help his friend that is in danger, I also like that in this issue they showcase his friendship with Sallah who I hope makes more appearances. The baddies of this issue are the scar or later said tattoo faced Xomec and his warrior friends as well as a yet to be named blonde haired woman as they all want that idol. This issue really is a fun start to this story arc and does a great job of bringing the film characters into the world of Marvel Comics and I am not going to lie as I would love to see the likes of Steve Rogers aka Captain America cameo in this series or image if Indy had to tangle with the Red Skull! The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy on the ledge and one of the warriors ready for the attack, the interior art is done by Dan Reed and is pretty great, though I have to say that I am not a fan of how he drew Indy in some panels. Over all a great issue that makes me look forward to reading the next issue.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 10

Indiana Jones # 10  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 10 of 34

As the warrior is about to stomp on the fingers of Indy one last time a shot rings out and the warrior falls to his death as once more Marion Ravenwood has saved the day armed with a pistol. Indy then gives chase to Xomec who is able to escape with the idol and even leaves Indy hanging from a flagpole. Back at the museum Marcus is ok and has gotten a phone call from the blonde woman who tells him they can have the idol for a price back and that Indy but deliver it to an old opera house in the amazon, but must come alone! Once back in the jungle Indy knows it’s a set up and he is quickly proven right when he is attacked by warriors, he is able to fight a few off but soon is captured and taken to Xomec as well as the blonde woman who is Ilsa Toht the sister of Ernst Toht who was the Nazi that had his face melted off by the Lost Ark, and she wants revenge and her plan is to have Xomec and his warriors leave Indy tied to some stakes in order for the wild animals to eat him alive! Once by the riverbank and left alone Indy escapes his binding and even fights off some hungry alligators, Indy then is able to get aboard the plane of Ilsa as it takes off. While in the air Indy is able to outsmart and out live Xomec who falls from the aircraft to his death, and then Indy is able to grab the idol and force Ilsa to crash the plane, with of course Indy being able to escape the crash just in time and he does not know the fate of Ilsa. In the end with the idol in hand Indy starts his journey back to New York to the museum.

The Raiders Of The Lost Ark connections continue in this one as we find out that the blonde female villain is the sister of Ernst Toht the main baddy from that film, and she is filled with hatred and wants revenge for her brother’s death and is following in his footsteps by becoming a Nazi as well. Her partner in crime the tattooed faced Xomec is a warrior who is also to cocky for his own good, and his ego is what leads to him falling to his death and going splat on the land bellow from a in flight plane. Marion Ravenwood is a hero like always as she once more saves Indy’s life by killing a warrior who almost had Indy’s number punched. It’s a shame that she did not get to sneak to the Amazon with Indy to get the idol back as it would have been great to see her punch and knock out Ilsa. Indiana Jones in the issue is like always a lucky hero who uses his wits and skills in order to stay alive as well as re-get a stolen idol for the New York Museum. In this issue as well if you think about it both main baddies are dead as one is blown up in a plane crash while the other falls from said plane onto the cold unforgiven ground below…but I have a feeling that Ilsa Toht is not dead and that she might return to get revenge on Indy once more. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy on the wing of the plane, though I am not a fan of the art style used for it. The interior art is done again by Dan Reed and is good stuff for the most part. Over all another great issue and delivers a fun Indy adventure and like before I cannot wait to see what’s next.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 11

Indiana Jones # 11  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 11 of 34

Indiana Jones is in Australia and with an artifact in hand is running from a tribe who are throwing poisoned tipped spears at him during a sandstorm! And as Indy tries to frighten then off with his pistol and whip a group of masked Egyptian ninjas appear and kill all the tribe members and take Indy to a cave were the very rich art collector Ben Ali Ayoob who wants to hire Indy to travel to Spain in order to find the fourth nail of Jesus that is said to be in the hand of a Gypsy King, Indy rejects the offer and Ben sends three of his ninjas to follow him. Meanwhile back in New York Marcus has just hired Marion Ravenwood to work at the museum as they get a package from Indy that holds the artifact as well as a note, saying he is going to Spain to find that nail for the museum if it is indeed real. While in Spain Indy finds an old friend named Torino who is a thief and is running from a group of men he stole money from in a street game, and they pair hide in a nearby church. Once in the Church the workers have heard what Torino has done and they attack the pair and one that is built like a pro wrestler chases Indy around and thanks to a rotting roof that causes the big man to fall, Indy and Torino are able to escape just as the cops arrive. As Indy and Torino escape into the sewers they talk about the Fourth Nail and it scares Torino who once they exit the sewer goes missing! Indy finds himself in a bull fighter arena stable and with him is one angry bull that is charging.

This is a strange issue that takes Indy from Australia to Spain and his end goal is to find a nail that was said to have been selected to be the deathblow to Christ as he was on the cross, but was stolen by a gypsy in order to try and help him. And Indy of course finds himself in all types of trouble, but yet still always finds ways out of danger mostly thanks to his luck, pistol and whip. In this issue as well Indy faces lots of challengers from a Aboriginal Tribe, Egyptian Ninjas, Angry Workers and even on a cliffhanger ending a massive bull! Torino is his sidekick in this issue and is a Gypsy street thief who picks pockets as well as rigs street gambling games, he knows of the Fourth Nail and is scared to talk about it. One of the most fun moments in this issue is Indy trying to fight and avoid the massive muscled church worker who wants to squash Indy like a bug, and the way he defeats him is pretty cleaver by using the big man’s weight and the rotted roof wood to make him fall (to his death maybe?) was pure classic Indy smarts. I also like that this adventure takes him to Spain to find another missing religious artifact and we end the issue on a cliffhanger of a bull about to charge and gore him, great stuff and makes you really want to read the next issue to see how he gets out of this dangerous spot. The cover for this one is pretty good and show cases the drama at the church and has Indy holding onto a ledge as his attacker is about to attack, pretty good stuff. The interior art is done by Kerry Gammill and is pretty great stuff and I like the way he draws Indy as it’s got a touch of Harrison Ford’s look to it. Over all another great issue that leaves us on another big cliffhanger so lets see what happens next.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 12

Indiana Jones # 12  ***
Released in 1983     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 12 of 34

Indiana Jones is stuck in a stall at a bull fighting arena with a bull that is very angry, and after dodging the beats for a bit Indy uses the fighters cloaks that are in the stall to cover the bulls head and this gives him the time he needs to escape and be back on the street. While looking around he notices that the police and the angry mob are still looking for him and the missing Torino, and he gets the shock of his life when Marion Ravenwood surprises him and has joined him in Spain as she has taken a job for the museum to cover all the discoveries of Indy’s. Marion also informs Indy that she seen his friend Torino being taken to a warehouse by the Egyptian Ninjas and they rush to the site to save their friend. Indy and Marion get to the warehouse and fight with the Ninjas and are able to knock some of them out by luck and Marion even shoots one of them wounding him badly. But as Indy and Marion save Torino they get away as The Ninjas come to and even the wounded one is up and wants to continue their mission for their master Ben Ali Ayoob who wants the Fourth Nail. Torino ends up taking Indy and Marion to a Gypsy Camp that the Fourth Nail is at and after Indy helps the gypsies fight off the town’s people who are armed with clubs, they take him to view the Fourth Nail as he has proven himself as a friend to the camp. Once inside the cave that holds the nail they are guided by an old woman who explains that it’s more than it seems, but just then The Egyptian Ninjas show up and they have Torino and drop him down a mine shaft and as Indy and Marion rush to save him the Ninjas take the nail…big mistake! The torches that light the cave flicker and the Fourth Nail glows and as Indy and Marion get Torino to safety they find that the Nail has killed the Ninjas by pearling all their hearts! As the old woman asks Indy if he still would like to take the nail he declines the offer and heads back home along side Marion. Meanwhile Ben Ali Ayoob has not heard from his Ninjas and knows that they have failed and swears that he will see the end of Indiana Jones.

In this issue Indiana Jones is in Spain and is being joined in his adventure by Marion Ravenwood and the gypsy named Torino as they go on the hunt for the religious artifact The Fourth Nail as they are being hunted down by the locals, the police as well as the Ninjas of the greedy Ben Ali Ayoob all who want Indy dead or locked up, so in other words the odds are against him in Spain, and yet its almost like Indy would not have it any other way! Indiana while on the hunt for the Fourth Nail also doubts it and even when seeing it he is not impressed with its rusted appearance, but once he sees that it does have power and kills an elite group of Ninjas in seconds…he changes his tune and decides that maybe the Nail should stay with the Gypsies. Ben Ali Ayoob is clearly now turning his rivalry with Indy into a game that he swears will only have one of them left alive, and keep in mind this is all because he could not buy him off to get the nail for him. The poor Ninjas who are just following orders find themselves nailed in the heart and dead as a doornail…you get it. One think that is always so cool about Indiana Jones adventures in both films and comics is when they can add that supernatural elements to the stories and make the quest a little more danger. Plus in this issue I like the Gypsy Camp and I really like that the Fourth Nail is real and deals death to those who want to steal it away from them. The cover is really cool and features Indy fighting a raging bull! The interior art is done by Kerry Gammill and is a solid as ever and is good stuff. A very fun issue that has Indy not getting the artifact for the museum for once!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 13

Indiana Jones # 13  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 13 of 34

Indiana Jones has some of his students on a fieldtrip looking for Indian artifacts near a cave that is said to be unsafe and after a few accidents including Lucy Giles almost getting stung by a scorpion and a rockslide that almost crushes Indy and one of his male students they start to make their way back to camp in town when they are also run off by two gun caring strangers named Oinkster and Dominic who warn that people could get hurt around the cave if they snoop around. Later that night Indiana thinking that art thieves are inside the cave and sneaks back to it and finds that a criminal named Busby along with lots or workers are making a hidden city inside the cave for criminals on the run, and Indy has to swear and leave and not tell a soul as somehow they have also captured Lucy Giles and are keeping her hostage are insurance. The next day Busby watches as the trucks caring the students leave, but unknown to him Indy has stayed behind and takes out some of the criminals and enters the cave and finds Lucy who turns out to be the daughter of Busby and was in on this cave base idea all along! But Indiana was also smart and before he found her radioed the police who are now on their way! Before the cops get there Indy is able to stop the escape plane that Busby and he along with Lucy and his crew are all arrested.

This is a issue that wraps the full story that has Indiana Jones with his students being run off of the land by criminals who want to turn a cave filled with artifacts into a hidden base from wanted criminals, and Indy must use his smarts to bring them all down and to pay for their crimes. Indiana Jones in this issue also shows that he can be on an adventure and yet still be teaching his students about artifacts and history. I also like that as always Indy’s whip helps save the day as he is super skilled with it. Lucy Giles is a student who clearly has a crush on Indy and seems to be following him around as well as always trying to get his attention, and we then learn that she is really the daughter of a crime lord and is really trying to get his attention cause she is keeping an eye on him. Lucy’s father Busby is a scumbag who is destroying history all for the love of money and to keep criminals out of jail. We do get a very small cameo from Marcus Brody who has a phone call with Indy over the oddness at the cave and the actions of Marion Ravenwood while Indy has been away. The threat in this issue seems a little less dangerous as Indy is able to bring down Busby and his crew pretty easily as he outsmarts them at every turn and gets them all arrested and is even able to smart off to Lucy is tries to hit on him even while being arrested. The cover for this issue has Indy being dragged behind an airplane and is pretty eye catching. The interior art for this issue is done by Ricardo Villamonte and is good stuff and has that classic Marvel Comics feel. And to sum it up another great issue of Indiana Jones done by Marvel, and I really do think that modern Marvel should bring Indy back to comics and get a good creative team behind it.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 14

Indiana Jones # 14  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 14 of 34

Indiana Jones is upset at Marion Ravenwood when she is doing a promotion for the museum that has her dropping flyers out of a hot air balloon on the collage campus as well as around town, as Indy thinks this is cheapening history. Poor Marcus Brody is stuck in the middle of this fight and even has to blow off Harvey Pondexter who works in the accounting department, and this hurts the old workers feelings as we feels he is never listened to. Meanwhile Indy storms away and will be flying out to Alaska soon as Marcus and Marion try to get to the bottom of why they fight so much and it comes down to Indy breaking her heart. Pondexter ends up finding a journal of a past worker at the museum who committed suicide and bones of a deformed god that he found in Mexico that he thought was evil and that’s why he hid it, and now Pondexter decides to steal the bones and sell to another museum and is caught by Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood who are trying to patch things up and they give a chase via cars. Pondexter ends up shooting at them as well as causing a landslide to try and crush them as its clear something is mentally messing with him. And Pondexter ends up setting a fire on a wooden bridge and Indy and Marion must escape by falling into the water bellow as Pondexter himself breaks into a hotel in order to rest and clear his head that is now very cloudy. Indy and Marion make their way to the hotel and Pondexter is waiting for them and is now armed with a poison tipped sword and he is able to cut Indy who is growing weaker and weaker, and as he and Marion try to dodge the stalking Pondexter, it’s Marion who saves the day when she tosses the trunk over a balcony and Pondexter leaps to his death after it. In the end and back at the museum the poison has worked its self out of Indy’s system and Marion gets a telegram that shocks her.

This issue is a pretty fun read as most of the action takes place on a very stormy night and has Indy and Marion on the hunt for a museum employee that they caught stealing who in turn is being possessed by the evil spirit of a Mexican God who is clouding his brain with thoughts of murder! And after trying to kill our heroes several times his connection to those cursed bones lead to his own death. Indiana Jones in this issue is very upset with Marion over her tactics of advertising for the relics in the museum, but its clear he loves her just as much as she loves him, but Marion is dealing with some issues as her father before he passed away in a accident was very upset with Indy for breaking his daughters heart and she has kind of held this against him. The baddie of this issue is Harvey Pondexter a long time employee of the museum who seems to always be over looked by the rest of the staff and treated not well as everyone seems to have no time for him, and after finding cursed bones and artifacts in the wall of the museum he is over taken with bloodlust and greed and turns into a drone for a curse. The action in this issue is lots of fun and kind of reminded me of an early slasher film, and the cliffhanger of the message Marion gets is a good way to get the reader to return for the next issue. I will say that the cover for this issue is pretty cool and has a real fantasty feel to it, in fact it reminds me of a cover you would have seen for other Marvel Comics like Conan The Barbarian or Saga Of Crystar. The interior art is well done and is by David Mazzucchelli who should have been working in Horror Comics as his art would have fit for Marvel Horror series. Another great issue and I cannot wait to see what the big shock is that was in that message.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 15

Indiana Jones # 15  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 15 of 34

Indiana Jones and his friend Jock are in a plane taking pictures of some old ruins in the woods, but are also having to dodge a Japanese ship as well as fighter plane and of course Indy figures out a way to escape the ship and bring down the plane and this angers the ships Captain Commander Hiroto. Once safe back at the museum Indy and Marcus Brody talk about a Chinese Statue that looks like it’s in the ruins and that would be priceless as well as could change history, and Indy know that he has to get it for the museum and heads out to get a ship and a captain that would ask no questions. Now in Panama Indy bails Captain Simon Katanga and his crew from jail as they got busted with an illegal shipment of rum, and now are on board to help Indy get the statue and other artifacts off that island. Before they can even leave Panama they are attacked by goons and after dealing with them and while at sea they run into Commander Hiroto and his men who search the ship, and even semi make a threat to Indy for being American. Finally they make it to the island and to the ruins and the statue is there as well as lots of other treasures but their joy is cut short when female pirate Emeralda Vasquez and her men show up with guns and want to take all the treasures as one of her men was in the jail cell when Indy bailed out Simon and heard it all. Indy along with Simon and his men try to escape but The Pirates capture them at the beach and Indy notices that the Pirates have an American submarine and Emeralda forces Simon to alert his crew they now take orders from her and Indy is taken to the beach and buried up to his neck in the sand with the hopes he will drown with the coming tide and worse flesh eating crabs are also coming his way! Meanwhile Simon dives off his ship and is shot at by the Pirates who think that the Captain has drowned.

Indiana Jones in this adventure as found some ruins and a statue that could change the history books over Chinese culture in America and teams up with a smuggler ship Captain and his men in order to get the goods back to the museum, but along the way they have made big enemies out of the Japanese military as well as pirates who now all have Indy in their sights. This is another very solid and fun read that as always shows that Indy has not only a great mind to escape danger but also has lots of luck as he gets past attacking ships, plans and pirates…but to be fair he in the end of the issue is in threat of drowning or having his face eaten by crabs. Captain Simon Katanga and his men while they deal with shady people and haul some shady things and even kill some people, they are good people at heart and are loyal to tying to help Indy in his quest. And while Commander Hiroto and his men are around they truly are not the baddies as Emeralda Vasquez and her pirates are the true evil ones as they will take human lives as well as steal from everyone. This is a really cool issue as I also like that it takes place on the open waters as well as on an island as it helps add to the adventure nature of the comic. The cover for this issue is fun and the bright red makes it eye catching. The interior art is done by the legend Herb Trimpe and its great stuff! Over all a great issue and I am looking forward to seeing how Indy escapes these crabs! Also if we will get any answers on what the letter in the last issue said that shocked Marion Ravenwood.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 16

Indiana Jones # 16  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 16 of 34

Indiana Jones is buried up to his neck in sand and crabs hungry for flesh are closing in and just as all looks lost Captain Simon Katanga saves the day and kicks away the crabs and digs up Indy and then the two head to the temple and find that the pirates have cleared it out of all the riches and have set bombs all around and Simon’s crew are tied up inside! The timer only has five minutes left and Indy ends up having to leave some artifacts behind in order to rescue the crew and they all make it out at the last minute. And the explosion also gets the attention of Commander Hiroto who sets his site now on that island. Indy and Simon take the submarine and go to the ship were Emeralda Vasquez is and threaten to blow them up and sink them and of course Indy is bluffing. Emeralda comes up with an idea to send a SOS message to Commander Hiroto’s warship that is on the way, and this causes the submarine to dive and once under water the pirates on board clash with Simon’s crew in order to try and take back control, but soon they all join sides as they are attacked by the Japanese warship! Indy fakes the submarines sinking and this causes the warship to go away and gives Indy and Simon along with the crew to get aboard Emeralda’s and a fight breaks out and Indy even punches and knocks out Emeralda, just as Commander Hiroto returns to the fight as he sees the submarine has returns to the surface. Emeralda goes overboard and gets on the submarine and gets behind the gun and is about to fire before she is blown up by Hiroto who leaves the scene after the explosion as he knows he could be in trouble if he attacks the other ship at this point. Indy returns home and meets up with Marcus Brody who informs him that Marion has taken time away from the museum and is going to Greece in order to find her father was suppose to be dead!

In this Indy adventure he finds himself being saved from being eaten alive by crabs and fights alongside pirates and seamen in order to save treasure and overthrow a female pirate captain as well as dodge the attack of a Japanese warship that is on the hunt to stop and kill any pirates they come across. But like always Indy uses his good luck, brains and skills in order to defeat the Pirate Captain, avoid being blown up by a warship and even helps his friend regain his ship and crew and even gets him new members that were once pirates who now have learned a lesson on trust. Commander Hiroto just wants to blow up ships that he thinks pirates are on and does so and takes down one of the high seas most cold-blooded pirate captains, and when he does his goal he and his crew calmly sail away. Captain Simon Katanga is a hero who fights alongside Indy but also saves Indy’s life twice as well as saves his own crew from being blown up by bombs. Pirate Captain Emeralda Vasquez has no quit in her soul and fights to her bitter end as she wants all the gold as well as really wants to kill Indy for getting in her way and being a pain in her ass and cause her plan to get out of control. I also like that Indy in the issue gets a mouth full of sand in order to spit at grabs to keep them away from his face, what a great way to fight back against those little flesh eaters. This besides being a fun adventure mostly set at seas gives us a great cliffhanger as it shows us that Marion has left for Greece in order to meet up with her father is was suppose to be dead, and keep in mind her father also did not like Indiana Jones as he felt he broke his daughters heart. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy above the ship as pirates are shooting at him and the interior art is done by Herb Trimpe again and is fantastic stuff. And with that another great issue from Marvel Comics as they keep proving their creative team really knew how to bring Indy to the world of comics.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 17

Indiana Jones # 17  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 17 of 34

Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood are in some sort of catacombs in Greece and are being stalked by a Minotaur who is swinging a giant wooden club, and Indy remembers back to finding Marion in Greece and how a cult has chased them here to this maze! Indy and Marion try to fight the Minotaur and find that it’s just a man in a mask and by accident they fall into a whole that leads to a cave with blood thirsty bats, and Indy and Marion make barely make an escape to a door that they end up tricking the Minotaur into and the bats end up killing him. Back on the streets Marion and Indy meet up with the drunken Kershaw a man who use to work for her father who tells them for a price about a map that leads to a location in the Himalaya Mountains and about an old white man who leads people there and it’s the location of the disappearance of Marion’s father! The arrive at the location given to them for the map and find that it’s in the hands of Andre Lafonte another man who use to work with Marion’s father and is working along side a group of Mongols as well as McIver who Indy thought had died in the explosion in Africa and now a death order is given to kill Indy and Marion who in turn are able to get the map during a scuffle the make a big escape that includes a car chasing them on horses and getting to a train that takes them to the Himalayas. Once walking around in the deep snow they find a trap and know that people must be around, and when they cross a old rope wooden bridge a massive figure on the other side shakes the bridge and then breaks the bridge and causes Indy and Marion to fall.

Wow this adventure takes Indiana Jones all over the world and has him at the side of his lady Marion Ravenwood as she looks for her father that was suppose to be dead, but now rumors say he is alive and well and running a village in the Himalaya Mountains! And along this quest to find the missing man they come across a cult, a Minotaur, Warrior Mongols, a massive shadow figure and an old enemy in McIver. And of course Indy and Marion do a great job of surviving as well as escaping the grips of them all, well besides the massive shadow figure that causes them to fall off a broken bridge in the issues cliffhanger. And all through the issue you can tell Indy is doing all this for his love of Marion, but is also worried that her father if alive could come between them as he has always had it out for Indy after he first broke his daughters heart. It was cool to see McIver back even if it was for a brief moment and it’s clear his hatred for Indy is still burning bright, and I am sure if not in the next issue in the future their paths will cross again. The Minotaur who is just a muscle man in a costume is apart of the cult in Greece and he is really cool, even if he gets killed by a horde of bats and its clear as day that the massive shadow is the cryptozoology creature known as the Abominable Snowman or The Yeti as others call him. This is a very fun issue as I love the world travel and all the odd bad guy characters, it as a great mystery of is her father alive and ends with a great cliffhanger. The cover for this issue is just ok and is nothing special as it just shows the horse and jeep chase and the interior art is once more done by the great Herb Trimpe and is outstanding stuff. To sum it up this is a great issue and I cannot wait to see how they escape the fall and if Marion’s father is really alive and how they will get past The Yeti.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 18

Indiana Jones # 18  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 18 of 34

Indiana Jones holds onto the side of the mountain and watches as Marion Ravenwood falls off the cliff, and when Indy is able to get to safety he sits in sadness thinking Marion is dead. A group of villagers appear and take Indy to their village that is under a dome and is heated all thanks to a stone that fell from the sky, he also meets the elder leader named Chen Sha who alerts Indy that Marion is hurt but will be ok, as he watches them take her to a temple. The next morning Indy is awaken from sleep by Marion who is healed by a stone from space and they two are very happy to see each other, and the two are taken to a ceremony and notice that a man is sitting with Chen Sha is wearing a Golden Mask and could be her father. They watch as the villagers bring a cage that inside is a Yeti who is very mad, they open the cage and the beast man rages on people and drags one of the villagers away who is happy to feel the touch of death and then Indy and Marion learn that they have been selected to take the place of the Golden Masked man who is dying do to his dependence on the healing stone. Indy and Marion are locked in a cell and use trickery to escape, they head toward the healing stone and find the Golden Masked man their as well who is voiceless, but unknown to Indy he is has been tracked by McIver, Andre Lafonte and his men who even already had a small run in with a group or Yetis. In the end Indy sets a bomb to destroy the healing stone, The Golden Masked man is clearly her father kills Chen Sha and McIver and his crew are killed by a pack of wild Yetis! When back home at the museum Indy and Marion find it closed and inside Marcus Brody informs them that an item Indy brought back has been called out for being a fake and he is now being replaced at the museum.

In this issue Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood find themselves in a strange village in the Himalaya Mountains that is being controlled by a power hungry old man who has them all worshiping a magical stone that fell from the sky that gives off heat as well as heals all manors of illness and even death. And to make things worse for Indy and Marion they are also being stalked by Yetis as well as McIvor and the Mongols and lets not forget the mystery of is the Golden Masked man really Marion’s father? Indiana in this issue of course has luck on his side that keeps him alive, but also for a brief moment he feels the ultimate sadness as he thinks his lady love Marion is dead who turns out not to be but also feels sadness as she never gets the answer of if the Golden Masked man was her father…and we as the readers of course see that it was her father. Chen Sha is kind of a cult leader as he leads his people to worship a stone from space and is willing to kill in order to keep his power over his people. McIver finally tracks down Indy only to seem to be killed off by Yetis, but who knows maybe he will come back as maybe he was able to escape. Marcus Brody this go around is down in the dumps as under his leadership he is accused of showcasing a fake piece and is now on the verge of loosing his job and being a laughing stock, so its an interesting cliffhanger for this important and yet background character. I really like the Yetis as they are wild and clearly hate humans and will kill any that get in their way, and I don’t blame them as its clear that Chen Sha and his people capture them for their weird ceremonies. The cover is very cool and showcases Indy and Marion on a bridge being shaken by a Yeti, and the interior art is once more done by the legend Herb Trimpe and is good stuff. Over all another great issue and Indiana Jones survived the Himalaya Mountains and now must save his friends job.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 19

Indiana Jones # 19  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 19 of 34

Indiana Jones find himself once more near the Himalaya Mountains this time because of a letter from his friend Professor Kobayashi that alerts him that in a cave a primitive tribe lives and worships a dragon that is frozen in ice and the Japanese Military are wanting to get the dragon and use it as a weapon against America! Indy finds the cave but it’s to late as they have the dragon, and a solider even gets a shot off at Indy that grazes him, once the dragon and soldiers are gone Indy is helped by the tribe for his wound and they as well give him a script to control the dragon. Later Indy goes to Japan and finds that Professor Kobayashi has committed suicide after he wrote the letter and now has the help of his young daughter to find the location of the dragon that might be in a old temple, and Indy sneaks in as she keeps an eye outside for his escape. Once in the temple Indy is discovered by a sumo wrestler and soldiers, that want him out and he uses his skill and whip to hide, and later finds the frozen dragon in a lab in the basement. Indy is able to awaken the dragon in the lab and the beats goes on a rampage and as it is about to take flight Indy uses his whip to hitch a ride on the great fire breathing beast that is tormenting people in the villages, but Indy is able say the magical words that sends the dragon back in Himalaya Mountains cave frozen in ice and Indy along with Kobayashi’s daughter are able to get him safe passage home via a old ship.

In this issue we have Indiana Jones once more going to the Himalaya Mountains in order to stop the Japanese army from getting a dragon that they plane on using as a weapon against America! And of course because of Indy’s luck and skill he is able to dodge and defeat some of the army soldiers as well as stop the dragon all the while being a hero that the world will never really know about. Indiana Jones is not looking for artifacts at all as his goal really is to stop the dragon from reaching American shores and later to save innocent citizens in Japan from it’s rage. The dragon it’s self is massive and can not only fly but also breath fire and has zero issues with killing men, women and children and if not for Indy this beats rampage could have been deadly for the world. The weird thing about this issue is that the plot of poor Marcus Brody being called a fraud is not even talked about and makes you wonder what is going on with him and is Marion Ravenwood trying to help clear his name as Indy plays hero in Japan? But while they did not follow up on the cliffhanger of the last issue this pretty much stand alone story was lots of fun and I really am enjoying all the weird creatures and cults they are adding into this series as you cant go wrong with a dragon, Yetis and a Minotaur Cult! The cover for this issue is interesting and somewhat eye catching as it has Indy above the ground holding onto the handle of his whip as we see the shadow of the dragon below. The interior art is done by Larry Lieber and is really good stuff as I do like the way he draws the Dragon as well as he captures the likeness well for Indy. Over all this is another solid issue and I can’t wait to see what is next in this series as it has stayed great from the start this far.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 20

Indiana Jones # 20  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 20 of 34

Indiana Jones is at the museum looking at the artifact that when he brought it there was real and now in it’s spot is a cheap knock off, while looking at it he also meets the new curator named Sloams-Hagen who is a combative way talks to Indy about it. Later Indy and Marion talk to Marcus Brody about the fake and Indy asks who had access to it and the only to people would have been two men that installed the new boiler, and Indy and Marion go to investigate and talk to them. And once at the workshop the meet Al who was one of the men who installed it and he starts to run away when the confront him about the real piece missing. The chase goes all around the warehouse and Al tries to hurt and kill our heroes at every turn, and its Marcus who shows up that saves them and they get the info from Al who tells them that Juan Soto from Cuba is who paid him to make the switch. Indiana, Marcus and Marion all head to Cuba and to the home of Soto that is surrounded by sugar cane that hides his drug operation, and when Soto finds out his land has intruders he sends out his men to bring them down. And after a few moments Indy and his friends are captured by Juan Soto who informs them that he got the artifact for a client that he will not revile their identity, and Marcus drops his cigar onto a box of ammunition that explodes and Juan Soto escapes on a boat and Indy and his friend give chase and they all end up on the same boat after a chase. After a fight Juan tells Indy who hired him and then jumps into the waters and is eaten by sharks. Indiana then tells Marion and Marcus that Ben Ali Ayoob is the mastermind behind the fraud and stealing of the artifact.

In this issue Indiana Jones is on the case to figure out how the real artifact was switched with a fake that leads to his friend Marcus Brody being fired from his job at the museum and all things lead to a game being played by Ben Ali Ayoob who hates Indy after he rejected his offer to join his hunt for the Fourth Nail and after Indy beat some of his Ninjas. Indiana Jones is filled with anger in this issue as he wants to clear the name of his friend and get his job back as well as find the real artifact for the museum. Also fired up is Marion Ravenwood and Marcus Brody who both go on this adventure with Indy to get the answers they seek. The baddies in this issue are warehouse worker Al and drug lord Juan Soto both who are deadly and don’t mind killing to save their own hides and both are just puppets for Ben Ali Ayoob who is the true evil mastermind of this plot all to hurt Indy. This adventure also takes us to Cuba and in this issue Indy almost gets killed by a fighter plane as well as a pack of wolves that are being used as guard dogs but like always his good luck and quick thinking saves his hide! The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy running from a plane and the interior art is done by Luke McDonnell and is good for the most part, though at times I think he makes Marion’s face look manly. So like before a good issue and I am looking forward to seeing how Indiana takes on Ben Ali as it’s clear the two are headed for a showdown with only one living through it.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 21

Indiana Jones # 21  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 21 of 34

Indiana Jones along with Marion Ravenwood and Marcus Brody are heading to a small town in Indiana to find a old school mate of Marcus’s named Austin Coleridge who has bought the towns mine and shut it down putting everyone in the town out of work and might know were the new hideout of Ben Ali Ayoob! And when they head into the local bar looking for him they are attacked by the locals and as the fight spreads to the streets hawks come from the sky and attack the villagers and as Marion hides with them, Indy and Marcus are taken by Tarrant the right hand man of Coleridge to the mine where Coleridge informs them that he bought the mine to find The Gateway To Hell to find The Devil’s Heart as he has been hired by Ben Ali to find it! Meanwhile the townsfolk are now with Marion on their way to the mine as they want to stop this evil man and his crew once and for all. Indy is able to escape the mine, but Marcus trips in the escape and is told by Coleridge that he thinks behind that wall in a stone that turns everything to gold and proves it by showing his old school mate is hand that is now gold! Meanwhile outside Indy runs into Marion and the locals and head back to the mine to save Marcus and stop these evil men from destroying the mine and the town. Once inside the mine Indy fights and defeats Tarrant and his birds as Marcus and Coleridge fight near the Gates Of Hell and a small hole opens up and turns Coleridge into a ghostly monster spirit that ends up blowing up the entrance to the cave. In the end Marion and the townspeople capture all of Coleridge’s men, Marcus watched as his one time classmates now turned monster is crushed under the cave explosion and Indy finds a gun pointed at him from a Nazi that has been stalking him throughout the start of his quest in this small town.

In this issue Indiana Jones along with Marion Ravenwood and Marcus Brody head to a small town in Indiana in order to find a man who might know the hideout location of Ben Ali Ayoob, but instead they find a small town dying due to no jobs and a man who is on a mission to find the Gates of Hell! This is a strange one for sure and yet was super entertaining as I enjoyed the fights in the mine, the spooky supernatural nature of the gates and of course we get one step closer to the showdown between Indy and Ben Ali. Indy in this issue is able to once more escape deaths grip and is able to be the hero as he his fighting for the honor of his friend Marcus who is being framed by a terrible person who has an issue with him. In this issue as well we get a better look that Marcus Brody is not a weak as we think he is as he defends himself even knocking silly his one time classmate Austin Coleridge, and does not break when with his own eyes we watches a man turn into an evil spirit. Marion Ravenwood meanwhile helps lead the townspeople into an uprising to take their mine back. The one thing that is kind of bland and boring in this issue is the Nazi Soldier who is stalking Indy as he adds nothing to this adventure and just kind of around, and I hope next issue Indy kicks his butt and then he is gone. The cover for this issue is fun and has the hawks attacking Indy and the interior art is done by the legendary co-creator of Spider-Man himself Steve Ditko and is great classic looking comic stuff. Over all a fun issue that acts as a piece to the puzzle that is the showdown between our hero and at this point the series most evil villain. Lets see what the next issue has in store for use and if Indy gets one step closer in clearing the good name of his best friend.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 22

Indiana Jones # 22  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 22 of 34

Indiana Jones has a gun pointed at him by a Nazi spy who informs him that Hitler wants him dead, but Indy ends up saving the life of the Spy when he throws a rock at Tarrant who had woken back up and was about to stab the Spy in the back, this act has now made The Spy go along with Indy, Marion and Marcus on their quest by lying and saying he is an officer from Scotland Yard. They arrive in Switzerland as a castle on a hill is the new base for Ben Ali Ayoob and the four split off into groups as Indy and the Spy climb up the hill and fight off the Ninjas Marion and Marcus use a hot air balloon to drop inside the castle to look around for records of art dealing and the stolen artifact. But the plan goes bad when all four end up being captured and taken to Ben Ali Ayoob who orders them all to be killed in the morning. Morning comes and Ben Ali Ayoob has Marion at a table with him eating breakfast as Marcus and the Spy are tied to a tree and Indy is free but all are in a pit with a very hungry Grizzly Bear! Marion tosses Indy a wine bottle and he pops the cork that hits the bear confusing it for a moment, and Indy frees Marcus who in turn frees the Spy. As Indy and the Spy fight the bear, Marion as run off and freed all the hungry animals from Ben Ali’s zoo and the animals attack the Ninjas as man fights against beast all around. Indiana, Marion, Marcus and the Spy all end up in the office of Ben Ali Ayoob who ends up shooting and killing the Spy who throws an old relic into the fire that was connected to The Devil and as Ben Ali Ayoob goes for it he catches on fire and goes up into a poof of black smoke. Once back home Marcus Brody gets his job back at the museum as his name has been cleared, the stolen artifact is returned and he enjoys a drink with his friend Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood.

The game of life and death between Ben Ali Ayoob and Indiana Jones comes to an end and it’s Ben Ali that meets his fate thanks to a mixture of fire and the Devil himself! Indiana Jones also in this issue teaches a Nazi Spy that human life is important and helping others is the right thing to do and this leads to the Spies death who sacrifices himself in order to save indy’s life, that man he was hired to kill. Indy in this issue not only is able to defeat Ben Ali and his men, but also fights a Grizzly Bear in a small arena in order to save the lives of his friends. Marion Ravenwood is also a big hero as she not only disrespects and escapes the grip of Ben Ali and his Ninjas she also sets all his wild animals free who end up taking care of all the Ninjas! Marcus Brody and the Spy as well do there part is shutting down the evil ways of Ben Ali and his men. I really liked the idea of the arena pit that was just the right size for a full-grown bear to do battle with Indy and his friends as it made me think back to the Gladiator days. The game of death between Indy and Ben Ali is pretty well done and while I wish that Indy had been the one to truly stop him with some well-placed fists to his jaw, his fate is pretty messy and well deserved. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and eye catching as it’s Indy squaring off with the Grizzly and the interior art by Joe Brozowski is well done. Over all yet another great issue of Indiana Jones and his Further Adventures this far have been outstanding.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 23

Indiana Jones # 23  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 23 of 34

Indiana Jones gets a new expedition from Marcus Brody at the museum to head to the island of Kaloo to get the Crown Of Rurick, but the island is under the rule of Lord Harry and his drunken pirates who kill anyone that dare enter their land! Indy comes up with an idea to get to the island by joining a Hollywood movie that is in production as a stunt man with the promise he will do the stunt for free as long as he gets to pick the location of the diving stunt and of course he picks Kaloo Island. The films director is Samuel Greeley who makes a deal with Lord Harry to shoot on the island and that’s Harry gets a part in the film! The leading lady is Stephanie Windslow and the leading man is Alphonse Dumarr who is jealous of Indy as Stephanie keeps flirting with him. When they get to the island and during a rehearsal Stephanie keeps flirting with Indy and Alphonse snaps and attacks Indy and the two fight for a bit before they are broken up by the crew. That night Alphonse goes drinking at a bar with the crew and pirates and makes the mistake of talking about who Indiana Jones really is and that he is not a stunt man at all…this of course gets back to Lord Harry. The next day after filming and Indy finds the crown they Hollywood crew and Indy find themselves the prisoners of Lord Harry and his men who also take the crown, but Indy is able to escape and steal a old World War I tank and rescue the crew and they are able to get the Crown and head back to the plane to make it off the island in one piece. And along the way Alphonse mans the gun and canon on the tank making him a hero as well to make up for his mistake. Once they make it back to America and land at the San Francesco airport Stephanie gives Indy a big kiss and as she walks away Indy sees that Marion was waiting for him and witnessed the kiss and runs off heart broken as Indy wants to go after her.

In this issue Indiana Jones goes on a solo mission without the help of Marion Ravenwood or even Marcus Brody in order to get a crown that is on an island that is over ran by pirates and their blood thirsty leader who’s ego is out of control. And to even get to the island Indy has to go Hollywood and even gets the attention of a beautiful actress! And of course this mission can go smooth or easy for Indy as he has a actor who wants to beat him up for the attention of the lead actress and a pirate who wants to see him dead. What a fun issue as I love the addition of the Hollywood crew being apart of this adventure as cinema was just becoming a big part of culture at that time. Indy of course is a hero who’s skills, brains and luck get him the artifact and out of harms way. Alphonse Dumarr is a actor who starts all the trouble on Kaloo island as his ego and love for actress Stephanie causes him to run his mouth to the wrong people and this puts them all on the chopping block to be killed. Lord Harry and his men care about money, power, being known and feared all the while they do all this with great happiness and bloodthirsty glee. I feel bad for Marion as she watches as another woman kisses her man and given the fact he has broken her heart many times before lets hope Indy can smooth this over as he had no interest in Stephanie and she is the one who kissed him not the other way around. The cover for this issue is pretty good and showcases Indy over the waterfall, with the interior art and story being done by Herb Trimpe who work is great as always. And like all before this is a great issue and the cliffhanger of Marion being upset with Indy adds drama to the next issue.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 24

Indiana Jones # 24  ***
Released in 1984     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 24 of 34

Indiana Jones is still in San Francisco taking a few days of vacation to relax and gets a call from a sleazy “friend” named Reeko who has big information for him, but once he finds Reeko something is off as he seems sick and soon Indy notices that Reeko is dying cause he has a knife in his back! And worse a semi truck tries to run Indy over, but Indy is able to dodge it and then hitch a ride to a warehouse on it but can not see who the man is who ordered for his murder but he does find a young woman tied to a chair, but before he can save her he is attacked from behind and knocked out. Once Indy comes to he beats up the thug that was left behind to kill him and also gets out of him were they took to girl and that is on a ship headed to South America. Indy is able to sneak aboard the ship and finds that scummy archaeologist Klexx along with his friend Flaggart are the ones behind the murder of Reeko as well as had him almost killed twice at this point, and he learns that they want to sacrifice the woman at a temple in order to get hidden gold and gems. Indy ends up getting the woman off the boat whose name is Julia Valdez but the two are captured by Klexx again who figured out that Indy was on the ship, once at the temple they have Indy tied up and Julia ready to be sacrificed, Indy uses his pocket knife to cut his ropes restraints and is able to save Julia and all hell breaks loose after. The temple door opens and heat, fire and light fills the area and burns the flesh from the bones of all of the bad guys as Indy and Julia hide from the burning death. In the end Indy and Julia leave the area to return home and we see the twisted hand of Klexx reaching for help that will probably not come.

Indiana Jones even on a mini vacation can not find quit times as adventure and trouble just seems to follow him around! In this issue Indy finds a man dead, has to try and save a kidnapped woman, stop a fellow evil archaeologist from unearthing a hidden treasure and of course has to try and save his own hide from being killed. Indiana Jones once more puts his safety to the side in order to save a young woman from a terrible death, and of course with his luck and skills he is able to save the day as well as avoid being injured or killed himself. Julia Valdez is a you collage student who was kidnapped and set to be killed at a temple all because of her bloodline that is linked to the natives that use to live around the temple. And Klexx is very cold blooded and loves wealth more than he does human life as he has killed and stolen his way through life and has no respect for anyone besides himself, and in the end he gets what he deserves as his own death is very painful. And the supernatural elements are back in play here as the occult is very much a big part of this comic series and it fits in so well and in fact helps add a dash of Horror as well as adds to the adventures of each issue. I wish they had shown what is going on with Marion Ravenwood who watched Indy get kissed by a film actress at the airport, as oddly this is not mentioned at all. In the issue as well the mention that the Crown Of Rurick that he got from Kaloo Island and had to fight Lord Harry and his men to get was a fake, all that travel and danger for a fake. The cover is great and has a painting look to it and the interior art and story is once more done by Herb Trimpe and is fantastic as always. Over all another great issue and again the death of the baddies in this issue is pretty damn brutal.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 25

Indiana Jones # 25  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 25 of 34

Indiana Jones shows up in Peru to help Jessie Hale on her biggest discovery and she needs help in translating a few things as she thinks she found the lost city of El Dorado that is said to be the location of lots of treasures. As Indy starts to translate the rock slab that has the location a group of gun caring bandits lead by Ivar Reiss comes busting in as he wants the treasures for himself and threatens their lives if they do not help him get it. Meanwhile back in America Marion Ravenwood is mad when Indy does not show up for a lecture at the collage and instead Marcus Brody shows up, and this really makes Marion at wits end with her boyfriend. Meanwhile Indy with the help of paper and hot coffee is able to escape along side Jessie from Ivar and his men, and Indy and Jessie hop a train in order to get distance between the two. Indy and Jessie find what they think is the entrance to El Dorado and of course Ivar and his men also appear and they all enter the city together, and Ivar is made with power as gold is all around him and he thinks that this will all make his life easier, but they all soon find that the gold is all fake and that this room is a trap that Indy sets off and as he and Jessie make it to safety Ivar and his men are crushed to death by falling stones as instead of fleeing the room they continue to look for gold. In the end Indy returns to the museum and Marcus Brody hands him a note from Marion Ravenwood to alert him that she is gone and to not come looking for her.

So this is how it ends…and no I am not talking about the comic series or Indiana Jone’s life but I am talking about the relationship between Indy and Marion…it all ended after him not showing up for a speech at the collage…well and the mountain of other issues the two have been having for years. It’s going to be sad not seeing Marion Ravenwood on anymore adventures with Indy in this series as she really was a great character, but now this opens the door to allow Indy to flirt with all the ladies he comes across around the world. This issues plot has Indy looking for the lost city of El Dorado and along the way meets back up with an old friend who cant stand him as well dodges evil doers who want to steal goal. Ivar Reiss is a bandit who comes from a rich family that has been disowned due to his nasty behavior who is driven mad with power when he thinks he can find lost gold that will make him richer than his father, and his greed is what leads to his smashing death. Jessie Hale is a hard working woman who is close to finding the secret of the lost city of gold, but gets caught up in this adventure and must put her faith in Indiana Jones in order to find the location as well as survive it. This one is also a very quick read as the action and adventure moves the story along and the payout in the end truly reminds me of the old Jungle Adventure books I read as a kid. The cover art for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy hanging off the back of a train while baddies on horseback are giving chase. The interior art is done by Steve Ditko, who does a great job of drawing Indiana Jones as he captures the look of Harrison For pretty well, but I do have to point out that sometimes the characters eyes look very dead and wide. This is another fun issue and really by now you readers should be making a mental note to head to your local comic shop and grab this series as if you like Indy they are 100% worth reading.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 26

Indiana Jones # 26  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 26 of 34

Indiana Jones is in the waters of the Caribbean islands looking for a tablet that could the secrets of the location of Atlantis and finds it in the home of a very angry eel that he ends up having to capture in a bag in order to get the tablet, but once he comes up he meets Captain Belgrade who is mad at Indy as he thinks he is stealing fortune from his land and when he demands the treasures Indy has he of course gives him the bag with the eel in it! And when Captain gets mad and orders his men to kill Indy our hero uses a flare gun to set the Captain’s boat on fire and he himself is saved by Short Round who is driving a speed boat and gets Indy out of danger. Once back home Short Round has to go back to school while Indy is bummed that the tablet turned out to be nothing and he then meets Efrem Decker and Elizabeth Cody who wants to hire him to get back a pair of gold plated, pearl handled guns that belonged to Elizabeth’s grandpa Buffalo Bill Cody! They think that Salkovich a rich Russian man has stolen them as he tried to buy them twice and after they rejected the offer the guns was stolen from a museum. Indy and Elizabeth head to Russia and while on a train they are greeted by Peter Rostoff and his men who inform them both that they know who they are and might have information on the missing guns. And soon Indy and Elizabeth find themselves riding with Peter and his men as the Russian army give chase as our heroes have no idea what they have gotten themselves into, Peter’s men end up ditching the army in the river. Once back at Peter’s camp Indy and Elizabeth meet Uri Rostoff the chief and grandpa of Peter who tells them the location of the guns that are indeed in the hands of Salkovich and his private army, he also tells them that Buffalo Bill won the guns in Russia in a shooting contest by beating him…and lastly he tells them that he will have Peter and his men help get the guns back only if they agree to another shooting contest with the guns as the prize against Elizabeth and Peter! They agree to the terms, and it should also be noted that when they first arrived Indy made an enemies of one of Peter’s men who was getting handsy with Elizabeth, who later that night attacks Indy from behind and ties his four limbs to horses to try and rip him apart, but this slimeball also alerts him that he works for Salkovich and is a spy in Peter’s camp!

This is such a great start to this arch that has Indiana Jones on a adventure in Russia alongside the granddaughter of Buffalo Bill Cody on a mission to get back stolen goons that he won in a shooting contest, and they are now the target of the Russian Army as well as a rich thief and his army of goons! Indiana Jones in this issue goes from striking out on finding the location of a tablet that could lead to the finding of Atlantis to being in Russia tied to horses and on the verge of being ripped apart. Elizabeth Cody is a skilled shooter who has her pride in her family name and is doing her part as well to get them back. Efrem Decker works for the American Government and wants Indy as well to try and see what is going on in Russia as they are not sure if they are teaming with the Germens. The coolest cameo in this issue is Short Round who of course is from the film Temple Of Doom and I wish he had been along for the full adventure. It makes so much sense now that they wrote Marion Ravenwood out of the series as we are now in the time of Willie Scott being the lady around Indy’s life. The cliffhanger in this issue is a good one as a spy in the camp has Indy about to be ripped apart late at night so who is going to be the one to save him, or how will he figure out how to escape. The cover for this is ok but not all that eye catching, and the interior art is one more done by Ditko and is top-notch stuff. So with that lets see what happens in the next issue!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 27

Indiana Jones # 27  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .60     Marvel Comics     # 27 of 34

The Spy cracks the whip and the horses start to run in different directions and the pain starts to rip through the body of Indiana Jones, but luck for him Elizabeth heard the attack and is able to shoot most of the ropes off and with his pocket knife he is able to save himself fully. As Peter Rostoff and the rest of his men arrive the spy is long gone and Indy films them in on what has happened. The next morning Indy, Elizabeth, Peter and his men head toward the mansion of Salkovich ready for the battle that is surly going to happen. When they get to the mansion they notice it’s protected all around and that the Russian Army even has housing there for many soldiers who are ready to fight and protect Salkovich and the stolen guns inside, and when some of Peter’s men attack the soldiers Indy leads some to the inside of the mansion to try and conquer it as well as get the guns. Once inside Indy, Elizabeth and two soldiers are caught just as they find the guns by Salkovich and the Spy, and Salkovich even guns down the two soldiers and tells the Spy he can have Elizabeth to have some fun with as he deals with Indy, but our heroes escape and Salkovich goes after Indy with his whip and Elizabeth is being hunted down by the slimy spy. While Indy has a whip fight with Salkovich, Elizabeth meanwhile uses her quick wit and uses caged birds in order to distract the Spy who trips and falls out of a window to his death. Indy ends up knocking out Salkovich thanks to an electric shock and he meets his life when the mansion explodes just as Indy and Elizabeth escape with the prized guns in hand. Back at the camp the shoot contest takes place and Elizabeth ends up throwing the match so that Peter can win and Uri Rostoff can get his pride back, and after they give Uri the guns he passes away and Peter ends up giving the guns back to Elizabeth as he knows she threw the contest in order to make a dying man feel better. In the end Indiana Jones and Elizabeth Cody have the guns in hand and are heading back to America as friends.

Indiana Jones is one lucky guy as he is saved from being ripped to pieces and even helps bring down a very corrupt and powerful man in Russia and best of all makes a new friend with a very skilled young woman who is a master shooter. The issue also showcases just how skilled Indy is as he uses his great mind also to quickly think of plans to get him out of danger and his mind is what brings down Salkovich once and for all. Speaking of Salkovich he is truly a rich man who kills, steals and smirks his way through life as his wealth allows him to get away with so much in his country as his land even houses so many of the areas military. So its nice to see Salkovich get what is coming to him and besides getting a bad electric shock he also gets blown up! I liked Elizabeth Cody as she is fast with a fun, is a hero in her own right and does not run from danger in fear as she uses her mind and skills as well to take out the baddies and save her life as well as those of her friends. The ending of this issue is also about compassion as Elizabeth is willing to throw a contest in order to give a dying man his pride back, and everyone of the old man’s friends and family know what she has done and are very pleased she was such a nice person. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and has Indy swinging in through a window and the art done for this issue is done again by Steve Ditko and is great stuff like always. I would also like to point out that in this issue in the letters page fans are asking for Short Round and Willie Scott to be added in as cast members, one even takes shots at Marion Ravenwood as he wants Willie in the comic more than her! But with that lets get to the next issue and see what adventure Indy is going to be on next.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 28Indiana Jones # 28  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65     Marvel Comics     # 28 of 34

Indiana Jones is at a cocktail party with his fellow colleges from the collage when a young man named Alec Sutherland who is delivering the research diary of the recent passed away Doctor Arthur Hecht who thinks that there are seven towers around the world and had found the location of on in Iran…and Indiana to finish his old friends work heads to Iran to find the tower. Once in Iran Indy is being followed by Alec who wants to help in the discovery and when they run into some villagers they make the mistake of telling them they are looking for the tower that is called The Tower Of Tears, and the villagers go crazy by the mention of the tower as they say it is evil and they attack Indy and Alec who barely escape. Later that night they find The Tower Of Tears and watch a woman in a trance is called inside as her brother tries to beg her to not go in, Indy and Alec follow and see that a powerful Sorcerer is inside and uses a powder on the brother that turns him to dust. When Indy and Alec are discovered to be in the temple a fight between Indy and the Sorcerer breaks out and an eternal flame is put out that fills the tower with Natural Gas! Indy tells Alec to get the woman out of the tower and The Sorcerer makes the mistake of firing a gun that blows up the tower! As The Sorcerer is dying he tells Indy that there is no other towers and that he needed that woman as she was with child and he was going to use the child to take his place as watcher of the evil tower, and with that The Sorcerer dies and the woman’s village come for her and Indiana returns home closing the research of Dr. Hecht.

This issues adventure has Indiana Jones along with a student traveling to Iran in order to look for a tower that is suppose to be evil that is the first of seven, only to get there to find that is the home of a crazed Sorcerer that ends up blowing himself up and informs them that there is no other towers. Indiana Jones in this issue is really looking into these towers in order to finish the research of one of his friends who passed away, and as always his luck gets him out of trouble and he quickly wraps up the research and even saves the villages an towns around the tower from the evil doings of The Sorcerer. Alec Sutherland is a young kid who tags along for the ride who is skilled at riding horses and is one of my least favorite characters to go on an adventure in this comic series, I hope Alec does not show back up as at the end of this comic he acts like he will be sticking around the collage. The Sorcerer is pretty much evil as he kills and wants to kidnap a child to force it to learn dark mystic arts in order to take over living in the tower and tormenting all those who live around it. And like before this issue has that supernatural touch and I like the Tower Of Tears as what a cool and odd thing for Indy to be looking for. The cover for this issue is pretty cool and had Indy and Alec jumping from a plane, and while I would have made it a little more flashy the colors make this cover stand out. The interior art is done by Steve Ditko and like always its great stuff and you have to love his style. Lets see what is next and lets hope that Short Round, Marion Ravenwood and even Willie Scott join him in the next one and we don’t get the return of Alec Sutherland.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 29

Indiana Jones # 29  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65     Marvel Comics     # 29 of 34

Indiana Jones finds himself being attacked by a group of men, but he is saved by Jessie Hale who ends up shooting some of his attackers dead and they find that they are both heading to the shame docked ship as Jessie’s brother Peter is in charge of the cargo ship and Indy is there to buy a Chinese Mummy. But of course this can not ho smooth as Michael Cobb who is leading The Irish Republican Army and Shih Ho of The Tong have set their sights on getting the Mummy as well and will do whatever it takes to get it! The Tong end up capturing Peter Hale and the I.R.A end up capturing Jessie Hale and both sides threaten the lives of Indy’s friends if he does not turn over the Mummy and also it seems one of the Museum’s trustees has it out for Indy as he send a telegram that if he does not get the mummy to the museum then his job there will be terminated. Indy tracks down Peter who is being held in a basement and talks to him to find the location of The Mummy that Peter hid in a nearby cemetery and tells Peter to tell the Tong the location after waiting a few minutes and then Indy alerts the I.R.A to the location as well and they all show up at the cemetery. While at the cemetery Indy finds out that Peter has lied to him all along the to crate that was suppose to have the mummy really has guns inside it for the I.R.A or so they even think! After The Tong and I.R.A fight they come to a truce that if the crate has guns the I.R.A take it and if it’s the mummy the Tong take it…once open they find the body of a I.R.A member and learn that the man who set it all up in China has ripped everyone off! And Indy in the end is forced to go to China alongside Cobb and the I.R.A to get what’s owed.

This is such a fun issue as Indiana Jones is sent to pick up a Mummy that has been shipped from China and instead finds himself being attacked and tracked by two different groups with one being The Tong and the other The Irish Republican Army Who want the crate that the mummy is in all because Peter Hale the brother of Jessie Hale is a liar and a goof who has screwed up a deal that was originally a fraud that took place in China that was a scam to get money…yep its like that. Indiana Jones has to fully use his wits and skills in this issue as not only is his life in danger but so are that of Jessie and her brother, and the criminals they are messing with do not value human life! Jessie Hale is caught up in this adventure because of her brother, but good thing she is around and she saves Indy once as well as helps him slow down those who are tracking him. Peter Hale is a goof who lies and deals in stolen goods and because of his lies almost gets his own sister killed as well as Indy! Both The Tong and The I.R.A are very dangerous and both have their reasons for wanting the crate that in reality has neither items they want. The cliffhanger of the issue is good as it has Indy having to go to China along with the I.R.A in order for them to get their guns and Indy to get his Mummy and I think they both want revenge on the scumbag who ripped them both off…and Indy is also going and Peter Hale would be killed on site in China. The cover is pretty cool and has Indy and Jessie in a graveyard with the I.R.A getting a coffin from the ground and the interior art by Ricardo Villamonte is really good stuff and I like the way he draws Indy. Over all another great issue and one that makes me look forward to reading the next.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 30

Indiana Jones # 30  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65     Marvel Comics     # 30 of 34

Indiana Jones and Michael Cobb of the I.R.A have arrived in China and find that they are also the target of Weng Ho and his men and Weng Ho of course is the man who ripped them both off. After fighting off some of Ho’s men Indy and Cobb go their separate ways and both find themselves being captured, but Indy is able to escape his captors when Cobb sets off dynamite that distracts them and Indy himself then goes and rescues Cobb who was being tortured by a General and the two once more together escape, and each still do not like one another as they have a difference in how to get their revenge on Weng Ho and get what they are owed. Indy and Cobb end up finding the general again and force him to take them to the base of Weng Ho who has an army on his side and once our two heroes arrive at the throne room of Ho he alerts them that he knows that they are there and orders for them to be killed, but Cobb left dynamite to explode outside and this give him and Indy a chance to fight back and as Ho leaves the room Cobb is shot, as Indy goes after Ho a big explosion goes off and Ho and Indy think Cobb is dead. Ho leads Indy to the mummy and tries to get Indy to see his side of things that of course is very evil, and quickly Ho grabs a gun and before he can shoot Indy he himself is shot dead by the hands of Cobb who dies right after, but also makes Indy swear to get his men the weapons…Indy instead uses the last of the dynamite to blow up the shed that holds all the weapons and he wants the bloodshed everywhere to stop. In the end Weng Ho is dead and his army is disbanded, Michael Cobb is dead and his fighters do not get the weapons and Indy is returning home with one mummy ready for the museum.

Indiana Jones heads to China in this issue to recover his missing mummy as his job is hanging on it making it to the museum and finds himself having to go alongside a very unhinged man who is gun happy and have to go against a warlord in China who wants to bring war to his nation so that he can rise to power and part of his idea was screwing over many in order to get money and weapons of war. Indiana Jones shows that you can defeat your enemies without killing them and tries his best to showcase this to Michael Cobb who has been fighting for most of his life and only knows violence to get his point across. And the same can be said for Weng Ho who uses violence in order to get what he wants and that is power and respect and while he does end up being the reason of Cobb’s death he as well almost kills Indy! This issue also brings back Alec Sutherland that lame character from a few issues back and he is indeed now attending the collage so that he can take classes taught by Indy…lets hope he does not make more appearances. The payout for this issue is well done as all those who murder and use violence end up loosing it all and Indy who used his mind and skills is the one who gets what he needs in the end. The cover for this issue is ok and showcases the final moments of the fight from the issue and the interior art is once more done by Ricardo Villamonte and is good stuff. Over all a good issue that features lots of action and adventure all over a Mummy, so lets see what is next for us readers.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 31

Indiana Jones # 31  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65     Marvel Comics     # 31 of 34

Indiana Jones is in a plane being flown by his friend Smitty from China back to America when they crash and Smitty is hurt bad and the pair are found by big game hunter “Congo” Kate Crawford and her Native American scout Robert ThunderCloud as they are in the area hunting Bigfoot as many terrible mutilation deaths have taken place in the woods. And once back in town Smitty is taken to the hospital and Indiana Jones is asked by Kate to go on the hunt for Bigfoot, but before he can fully answer the local sheriff and some towns folk bust in to argue with her as Indy finds himself fist fighting some of the locals at the bar when they refuse to serve and attack ThunderCloud due to his race! After the fight and the next day Indy is set to head back home when the Sheriff and the Mayor show up with the body of the bartender from the night before and while the Sheriff blames Bigfoot the Mayor says that it was ThunderCloud who killed the man and this causes ThunderCloud to run away for his life and the town starts up a lynch mob to do justice. Indiana Jones and Kate head into the woods to find ThunderCloud and save him from the mob as well as to of course see if they can find Bigfoot, but things are getting more and more confusing for Indy as Kate runs off to hunt Bigfoot and he runs into Thundercloud who informs him that he is not a killer and that the bartender worked for the F.B.I and that others are the ones who are killing him to cover up a crime, and with that Thundercloud knocks out Indy and rushes to the cliffs and finds that The Sheriff is a traitor and killed people and made up the Bigfoot story to keep people out of the woods as he had a meeting set up with the Japanese to give them information about the areas Military bases! In the end Indy and ThunderCloud stop the Sheriff, Kate finds the truth about their being no Bigfoot, no secrets are passed to the nations enemy and ThunderCloud is shown to work for the Government and was their to stop this act of treason. Plus Indiana Jones flies home and Kate Crawford goes with him to checkout the museum.

This issue feels like an episode of some late 70’s or early 80’s TV Show that takes supernatural vibes and mixes it with a thriller and in the end it was some pesky human that was the monster that the town thought haunted the woods. Indiana in this issue is a little out of his element and is kind of sucked into the adventure even though he wanted nothing to do with the search of Bigfoot, but does want to save a man from being accused of murder and killed by a mob of townies who are scared. Kate Crawford is a skilled hunter who has came to town in order to hunt down and kill the legendary creature Bigfoot, and while she is a nice person her want and need to be the one to kill the legend also makes her kind of cold in emotions as she gives zero cares for ThunderCloud after he has to run for his life, but also lets see what comes of her as she is on her way home with Indy! Speaking of ThunderCloud he is a lawman who is acting as a guide in order to get to the bottom of the case of who is killing people in the nearby woods and who is the one giving information to the Japanese, a tough as nails fighter who does what he needs to keep America safe. I do wish that a Bigfoot would have shown up and helped fight off the bad guys, and I also think it’s odd that Indiana Jones does not believe in Bigfoot when he has seen a tribe of Yetis not to long ago. Plus poor Smitty man is rocked silly in this issue and this is a side character that has appeared in other issues and makes you wonder if he was left behind or if he was flying the plane that Indy and Kate leave in. The cover for this one is just ok and has more of a superhero comic vibe and the interior art is great like before as it was done by Ricardo Villamonte again. And with that lets see what is next for Indiana Jones in the next issue!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 32

Indiana Jones # 32  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .65      Marvel Comics     # 32 of 34

Indiana Jones has just got done with his class when in the halls he is tracked down by Alec Sutherland who has found more writings of Doctor Arthur Hecht but also at the same time Marcus Brody warns Indy that he has been chosen to escort Victoria Keith around as she is from the British Museum. After showing her around as well as taking her to dinner and when walking her back to her hotel room she gives him a kiss and their night ends, but as Indy get home he finds Alec waiting outside for him and says that he has a tablet that tells the location of the remaining towers. Indiana Jones ends up leaving Alec at the house when he finds that Victoria has stolen his keys and is now inside the museum robbing it! Indy gets to the museum and finds that Victoria has already stolen many of the artifacts and even has rigged booby traps around to slow down Indy who is on her trail, she also lets him know that she wants the tablets but before he can answer her the cops show up and she has to make her exit by leaping out a window and then getting to an airfield and making an escape via plane. Indy gives chase and finds an old man to fly him after her and he plane walks to get into her plane and once he gets the stolen artifact back Victoria jumps from the plane and onto a ship and makes her get away complete with an old amulet that she also took that was connected to the tablet that Alec has. Once back at the museum Indy and Marcus find Alec and the tablet says that the amulet she stole is very powerful and brings back the evil sorceress and could doom the world, they also find out that Victoria Keith is really hire master thief named Amanda Knight and now Indiana Jones is going after her to get the amulet back as well as get revenge.

In this issue Indiana Jones as well as the whole Museum are played for fools when a master female thief named Amanda Knight is able to rob the museum of two artifacts and whoever has hired her is linked to trying to find the Seven Pillars that are said to house evil sorceress and could bring the end to the world as we all know it. Amanda Knight is truly a skilled thief who uses her good looks and skills in order to trick everyone into trusting her and even poor Indy ends up getting a crush on her and she plays them all for fools as she gets what she has came for and has planned it all out so well. Indiana Jones while played at first is fast thinking when he realizes that she is not the kind history loving person she claimed to be and risks his own life in order to try and stop her to get back the stolen goods, I mean he even wing walks across plane wings in order to get to her. And ugh Alec Sutherland returns in a big way as now he is also working at the museum and is still trying to find proof of the towers and is stalking Indy around talking about research he has found…this character needs to go away and Short Round or Marion Ravenwood need to comeback. Over all this is a pretty fun adventure filled issues and is setting up that Indiana is going to have to find and fight these magical menaces. The cover is fun and has Indy hanging onto the wing of a plane and Steve Ditko returns to doing the interior art that is great like always. Another solid issue in the Marvel Comics Indiana Jones series that proves that they knew how to do Indy comics right!

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 33

Indiana Jones # 33  ***
Released in 1986      Cover Price .65      Marvel Comics     # 33 of 34

Indiana Jones arrives in England and meets Percy And Clyde of Scotland Yard who in their own odd way give him a location to look for Amanda Knight at that happens to be an island, and once at the island he finds that the locals at the pub are not very nice as they don’t like people to go digging around their land and the only friendly one is lighthouse keeper Ian Soames who gives him a bottle of liquor before Indy leaves to rest for the night. Later that night Indy looks out the window and sees many of the folks from the pub heading towards the moors with shovels so he follows. That night he looses sight of the men but meets old Crazy Angus who attacks Indy before running away, Indy catches up with him the next day and the old man tells him of life force underground before once more being spooked away. But Indy instead of following Angus finds on a cliff the plane of Amanda Knight so know he knows he is close to capturing her. Later that night Indy is attacked in his room by towns folk and one even drinks some of the liquor that Ian gave him and dies from it, and because of this Indy is now being called a witch and the people are going to kill him and Angus for being witches! Indy runs to the lighthouse and finds it empty but bolts the door shut in order to hide there for the night, but while inside he his hearing terrible screaming from outside as well as below the building. And after opening a trap door he finds Amanda Knight tied up and once he frees her she runs away telling him to be aware that a evil Magician with powers is behind all the evil on the island and once they are both outside they find the dead bodies of many of the towns people and the Magician is Ian and he wants Amanda dead as well as Indy as you see he is one of the seven sorceress and he has awaken the dead of the Vikings that once walked the land and they are coming to kill Indy and Amanda on this night.

Oh man is Indiana Jones in trouble now as the cliffhanger of this issue has dead Vikings coming out of the ground armed with swords and all wanting to slice and hack him to death all on the orders of Ian who turned out to be a very bad man as he is one of the seven evil wizards who have tormented the world and now he has ultimate power cause he wears the stolen amulet artifact! And Amanda Knight is on the to be killed list as she failed to get Ian the tablet he needs as it holds the key on how to destroy all these evil sorcerers once and for all! Indiana Jones in this issue finds himself on a very hostel island that is filled with townspeople who think people are witches and always seem to be up to something when the sun goes down, and worse of all once more he finds himself as a target for black magic. Amanda Knight who might be a master thief finds herself being taken prisoner and shoved in the basement of an old lighthouse and even when freed she stares death in the eye as she is set to be killed by the one who hired her. Crazy Angus is well crazy and everyone thinks he is a witch, but in his words you can hear some wise thoughts that will help Indy in this one. Ian Soames is an evil sorcerer who is one of the guardians of the ancient evil pillars, and while he has magical powers he also uses poisoned liquor to try and deal death to his enemies. This issue has a great cliffhanger that makes you really look forward to reading the next issue, and sadly the next issue is the last in the series! The cover for this one is pretty cool and reminds me of the Doctor Strange comics of the 80’s and the interior art by Ditko is of course just as great as always. With another great issue read lets see what the final one has in store for us and how Indy will bring down this dark magic that threatens the world.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic 34

Indiana Jones # 34  **1/2
Released in 1986      Cover Price .65      Marvel Comics     # 34 of 34

Indiana Jones is being over taken by the skeleton warriors and Amanda Knight is able to grab the amulet from Ian Soames and run off with it and as Ian gives chase Indy is able to break free of the skeletons and as well gives chase of the pair, but runs into Crazy Angus instead and the two rush off to stop this madness. Indy and Angus head to his small shack and find Amanda in there as well hiding and the three come up with a plan to use the amulet as well as the moonlight to burn Ian and stop his mindset of destruction. But they do not get much time as Ian comes busting into the shack with murder in his eyes, as Angus does his best to hold off Ian with his own Earth magic Indy and Amanda rush to town to get Indy’s whip and gun only to find that the townspeople have them and are waiting for the pair also with hate in their eyes. But Indy finds out that the townspeople are not informed on Ian and they only have been acting like jerks because of a hidden treasure that is on the island. But before things can be smoothed out Ian appears and uses winds to cause damage to the town as he does not care about anything now besides getting the amulet back and killing Indy. Indy and Amanda make it to the lighthouse and figure out that its his tower that gives him power and after fighting off more skeleton warriors and using the towers light as well as the amulet against Ian they both managed to survive as Ian dries up and dies. In the end Amanda heads towards her plane to get away from the island and Indiana Jones has what is left of the amulet and is heading back to the museum.

The final issue of Marvel’s Indiana Jones is both great as well as underwhelming as I wish that it would have gotten a more proper ending as this storyline of Alec Sutherland’s obsession of having Indy finish the work of his old professor that involves magical towers and evil wizards is a little bit of a let down as I would have liked to seen Indy on a more epic adventure that was not tied into Alec and Doctor Hecht as this story lasted for way to many issues and Alec got more panel time then Short Round who was the movie character that fans wanted to see in this comic series. Indiana Jones in this issue has to use his luck to really get away from a very pissed off wizard and if not for his quacking thinking and mind he would have ended up dead, and lets be honest all through this series Indy showcases why he was the worlds best adventurer! Plus you have to give Indy credit as well for his skill with fist fighting as well as the use of his gun and whip. Amanda Knight and Crazy Angus are his help in this issue and they serve their purpose, but really don’t add much. In fact I think way too much of this issue is spent of Amanda Knight arguing with the decisions Indy is making and this drags the pace down a bit. Ian Soames is a pretty cool villain as he has magical powers that can raise the dead as well as can create very powerful winds, and in the end he is the one who defeats himself when he uses all his remaining energy to try and take out Indy. The series as a whole is dang near perfect as they are all great reads and took Indiana Jones all over the world and had him finding all types of interesting items as well as crossing the paths with many strange characters…and while at first they did a great job of working in other characters from the film series like Marion Ravenwood and Marcus Brody as the series continued they would introduce ones like Short Round and Sallah only make short cameos and poor Willie Scott never appears and instead we get lame characters like Alec Sutherland appearing multiple times in several issues. I also feel that this comic series did a really good job of staying loyal to the film series in feel as well as the over all nature of the adventures. The cover for this issue is good and yet again reminds me of a cover you would have seen on a Doctor Strange issue. The interior art was done by the icon of comics Steve Ditko again and is great work as his art style is very fitting for this comic. I am not sure why Marvel Comics did not continue their Indiana Jones series I would guess it had to do with either poor sales or the licensing was to expensive, but I really did wish they would have continued as these were great reads back in my youth and are still great reads as an adult. Checkout the artwork below to see some of the styles used in this series.

Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic Art 1Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic Art 2Adventures Of Indiana Jones Comic Art 3

Indiana Jones has always been a big part of my life when growing up and the films, games, toys, TV shows and comics all did their part to entertain me as well as make my imagination run wild with going on my own adventures to look for lost treasures. And I am sure if you are reading this update, you as well are a fan of Indy, and I hope that you like me are very excited to see Indiana Jones 5 in the theaters. I want to thank Harrison Ford for coming back to play Indy one last time for us fans…and let’s hope Disney does not screw this one up. Our next update will be on July 4th and that means it will be about an American Hero that is from some sort of media and this year we are going to Pro Wrestling to find our hero, Corporal Kirchner, the real life military man who worked for the WWF in the 1980’s! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch an Indiana Jones film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for some grilled burgers, cold drinks, fireworks in the sky and a update event at the Rotten Ink Arena.

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Marvel Horror Showcase – The Golem

In the 1970’s Marvel Comics unleashed a batch of Horror themed characters on readers as the comic code was loosening their grip on previously strict rules allowing horror and monsters to enter the inked pages of comics once more. They had such ghouls and creatures as Dracula, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, Daimon Hellstrom, Frankenstein’s Monster, Living Mummy, Godzilla, Jack Russell the Werewolf by Night, Zombie and Golem to name a few, and while many of them had long lives in the pages of Marvel Comics, some of them only lasted a small handful and have faded away from the comic spotlight. Today for this update we are going to take a look at one of their Horror themed short lived characters, and I have chosen Golem as I think this hero monster needs his time in the sun and for a new generation of Marvel Horror Comic readers to discover or even think about once more. In fact I am thinking that this will be the start of a new themed update series I will call “Marvel Horror Showcase” and will allow me to breakdown a classic Marvel Horror character and share my connection to them as well as share some history about the character. So if you’re ready to be spooked by Marvel Comics, let’s take a macabre journey with the thing that walks like a man called The Golem.

The Golem’s origin in the Marvel Universe is as follows: in the city of Prague, the people were being oppressed by evil tyrants and wise man Judan Loew Ben Bezalel created a massive man shaped statue out of rock, clay and blood. The Golem was used to avenge the people and did just that. After his work was done for the people of Prague, The Golem wandered around helping the innocent against evil people. Once the massive creature did what he could for mankind, it walked its way into the desert and allowed the sand to cover him up hiding away from mankind. And once he is uncovered in modern times The Golem once more becomes a protector for innocent mankind and binds itself to the family who uncovered it and has awoken it from its long slumber. The Golem is mostly a protector, but in the wrong hands he can also be used for pure evil as it is a creature of emotions of those it’s bound to. While The Golem might not be a true icon of Marvel Horror, he has made his small mark in the Marvel Universe.

When I was a youngster some of the first Horror Comics, I ever read were the Marvel Horror books as well as a few of the Gold Key titles, and I would say Marvel was my introduction to Horror Comics over all and that is where I discovered the comic series Strange Tales and in those pages I discovered Golem. The Golem was one of those characters I can remember reading his adventures and wondering why he was not a fully fledged monster on a rampage, but learned to really enjoy his superhero adventures. One thing I always liked about Golem was that he always seemed one step away from going fully fledged rampaging monster as he can be controlled, and if the demons got ahold of him he would have become full evil and really scare mankind. I also have heard that The Golem has become a member of the monster team S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Howling Commandos alongside The Living Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and Zombie to name a few. Plus over his comic book run he even took on The Thing from the Fantastic Four!

I really owe a lot of my love for Horror Comics to the Marvel Horror as they were the first ones I read and can even say that I collected as I was obsessed with getting my hands on issues of Werewolf By Night, Godzilla and Tomb Of Dracula. But enough gushing about Marvel Horror, let’s get into looking at the Strange Tales issues that The Golem appeared in as well as the issue of Marvel Two-In-One he appeared in. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s take a look at the first Marvel Horror character I have chosen, the one and only The Golem!

Strange Tales # 174  ***
Released in 1974   Cover Price .25     Marvel Comics    #174 of 188

Professor Abraham Adamson along with his nephew Jason, niece Rebecca and his helper Wayne Logan are searching in the desert for a mythical creature called The Golem that is said to have been buried in the sand many decades back. And as Wayne and Rebecca are digging, they find the massive body of The Golem and with some chains and digging equipment they are able to bring it to the surface once again! But while they are happy to have found their discovery, a few miles away a war wages on and man is killing man all in the name of land. The next day Colonel Omar and his men ask to refresh at the camp of Professor Adamson who grants them shelter and a place to rest. But The Colonel and his men show their true colors as they are at the camp to loot it as they are deserters of the war and during the looting Professor Adamson is shot and killed. The rest are taken as prisoners, but the war criminals made a mistake as the soul of Professor Adamson finds its way into The Golem who once more comes alive. The Golem finds the soldiers and makes quick work of them ending their lives with ease and once done he finds Colonel Omar who has a gun to Rebecca’s head, and with speed The Golem crushes the gun and kills Colonel Omar as Rebecca, Jason and Wayne all notice a look in the creature’s eye that reminds them of Professor Adamson.

Strange Tales # 174 does a fantastic job of bring comic readers into the myth and horror world of the character The Golem! Our creepy tale has a Professor being murdered and his loved ones kidnapped and with his dying breath is able to call on the living statue The Golem who was created to fight evil to avenge him and save his family, and that’s what happens. Professor Abraham Adamson is a good man who loves the history of The Golem and has spent many years of his life to learn of the legend as well as find its location. But while he is super smart, he is a little too trusting as he allows soldiers to stay at his camp and they end up being the ones to end his life. Rebecca, Jason and Wayne are good people who are a part of Professor Adamson’s team to find The Golem and get a shock of a lifetime when they watch as the Professor is gun downed and The Golem walks and kills. Colonel Omar and his men are cutthroats who steal what they need and have no issues with killing as long as they are not caught. The Golem is a silent avenger who reacts and takes action when danger to the innocent is around, and it’s clear he only walks the Earth again due to the tear of the dying Professor. This comic has the Marvel Horror feel as it has deaths and a monster but does downplay the violence as the kills of The Golem are hidden in all panels. The story was written by Len Wein and edited by Roy Thomas, and to me that’s a great pairing for 70’s Horror Comics. The cover is great and eye catching for those who love the creature runs amok flare as it showcases The Golem smashing a jeep and reaching for a woman. The interior art is done by John Buscema, and all his work is fantastic. While the Horror for this character is downplayed, the macabre aspect is not, and this issue is a fantastic read for those of us who love classic monsters of myth and legend.

Strange Tales # 176  **1/2
Released in 1974   Cover Price .25     Marvel Comics   #176 of 188

Rebecca, Jason and Wayne look at The Golem in shock as the dead bodies of the soldiers are all around them, and decide that they need to get The Golem back to the University in Florida as that was their uncle’s wish. As they are loading The Golem onto a ship, they are visited by more soldiers who want to keep the statue in their country but they are attacked by The Golem who is about to kill them as well until Rebecca orders it to stop…and it does! As the soldiers run off, the Adamson family and The Golem hit the high seas set to return to America. Evil wizard Kaballa The Unclean and his winged demons has set their sights on The Golem as Kaballa thinks he can control the creature who can help him on his conquest to conquer the world and sends his wing demons to attack the ship and bring him The Golem. The wing demons attack, and The Golem once more comes to life and along with Wayne saves Jason who has heavy barrels fall on him, and Kaballa learns that The Golem needs to be on land to get his power, but when things get super bad The Golem powers up and tackles all the demons into the water and as they die one of them fires a bolt and blows up the ship and The Golem is forced to swim or sink and as he paddles by Rebecca, Jason and Wayne jumps on his back as they all end up on an island.

This second macabre tale has The Golem on his way to America on a ship, and we find out that a demonic wizard has his eye on controlling him and sends some demons to attack him and see what he is made off. In this issue we also learn a little more about The Golem as he understands English and can take orders from those it cares about. Plus we learn that it needs to be on land in order to have its full power and strength. We also learn that The Golem does not care and will kill if he feels that innocent people are in danger and in a rage almost kills more soldiers who really didn’t do much besides get upset that Americans are taking more of their culture away. Wayne Logan in this issue also shows he is a hero as he does what he can to try and bring down the flying demons and risks his own life trying his best to help The Golem. Jason is useless and causes The Golem to use up some of his strength in order to save him as when the demons attack he is in the way. Rebecca in this issue is kind of in the background but it is shown she can control The Golem as it listens to her. Our issue’s bad guy is Kaballa The Unclean who controls an army of demons and for some reason thinks that The Golem will make him more unstoppable, and all he really does is watch as his demon minions get their butts kicked. This issue brings in supernatural elements to the Horror and Superhero atmosphere this story has already delivered. I like the idea of The Golem being a killing machine that now must fight demons in order to protect its human friends, plus I feel that he is now facing baddies that are a challenge…but also I feel that adding the demons in also takes away the classic feel of The Golem myth and just turns it into a cheesy Doctor Strange style story. The cover for this issue has a classic 70’s Marvel look and is eye catching for readers like me. The interior art is done by Tony DeZuniga and has a more Horror Comic look. Over all this is a good issue that just took the story in a more cheesy supernatural mystic Marvel way. Let’s see what the third part of our story has in store for us and let’s see what island our heroes are on.

Strange Tales # 177  **1/2
Released in 1974   Cover Price .25     Marvel Comics   #177 of 188

Kaballa The Unclean is upset that his winged demons have failed him and decides that he will next send Fire Demons after The Golem as he really does think that with his power he will be able to conquer the world! Meanwhile at the University of Florida, a Dr. Yeates does not believe that The Golem is real even after his assistant Saudia Yamal shows her tests that prove The Golem is alive! Rebecca, Jason and Wayne all try to prove that The Golem is alive, and yet Yeates does not want to hear it and when he gets the chance he decides that he is going to use a blow torch and melt the monster just in case he is proven wrong and The Golem is alive and he is not able to fill the seat at the University left behind by Professor Adamson. But when he turns on the torch, he is greeted by the fire demons whose appearance makes The Golem come alive to protect Yeates as well as Rebecca and Wayne who mistakenly shown up at the lab. The fire demons are powerful and hurt The Golem with their extreme heat, but before The Golem goes down, he gets his second wind when he thinks about how much he loves his new human friends and with his bare hands he takes down the fire demons. And defeated again, Kaballa sits back on his throne and thinks of his next attack plan.

In his final appearance in the pages of Strange Tales our monster hero The Golem once more battles demons in order to protect humans from being killed and wronged and finds more about his own powers as it’s not only the land that fuels his power but also love. The Golem in this issue also shows that he is starting to share a mind link with Rebecca and Wayne as they can hear little of its thoughts. The Golem is also starting to learn who and what is a threat and when he should attack and when he should just remain solid like a statue. Dr. Yeates on the other hand is kind of a scumbag as he would rather destroy the creature instead of being wrong on his prediction that it’s all a hoax, as he does not care about The Golem nor the history of it; all he wants is to move up at the University. Jason, Rebecca and Wayne all kind of take a back seat in this issue as they are more just around at the university and are the ones who delivered The Golem there and are the ones it wants to protect. The Fire Demons are powerful and are good fighters as they almost bring down our living clay creature, and Kaballa once more just watches the battle and is evil and ate up with craving power. Once more this issue plays up on the mystic supernatural aspects and mixes in Horror slightly as it’s clear that comics like Doctor Strange was popular at the time for Marvel and they wanted to add it into this simple plotted Horror Comic. The cover for this issue is okay but does lose the Horror and is clearly more mystic looking. The interior art is done by Tony DeZuniga and is good and fitting for the direction of this series. In the letters section of this comic they talk about the fate of The Golem and the people of Marvel say that they could not figure out what to do with The Golem so they pulled the plug on him and his story in the pages of Strange Tales and decided to turn the comic over to featuring Adam Warlock instead. And we would have to wait a little time to get an end to The Golem’s tale and it would come in the pages of Marvel Two In One and that’s what we will take a look at next.

Marvel Two-In-One # 11  **1/2
Released in 1975     Cover Price .25     Marvel Comics   # 11 of 100

The Thing and his girlfriend Alicia Masters are rushing to the train station so they can get to Disney World in Florida for their vacation, and everything seems to be working against them as the cab driver who took them to the station argued with The Thing for a short time and even the train almost left without them! And once on the train the other passengers treat The Thing like he is a monster and even all sit away from him and Alicia. Meanwhile at Sam Pedro University in Florida’s Ancient Cultures Department, a small group is meeting next to the Golem with Professor Yeates who is arguing with Jason Adamson about if the stone statue can indeed come to life and fight, and this spins the wheels of both who view the Golem differently as Jason knows it is a protector against evil and believes his uncle’s spirit is inside the stone statue. Meanwhile Kaballa The Unclean has figured out that he can take control of The Golem by separating him from Rebecca and Jason and allowing his own evil will to be what guides him. Kaballa also uses the weather to his advantage and uses water to separate the kids from The Golem and unlucky for The Thing, he must tangle with The Golem who is more powerful and more brutal than the Fantastic Four member and is able to knock the hero around. As The Thing tangles with Golem, it gets flashes in his mind that his foe is sending him and risks it all to build a bridge to the college so that Rebecca and Jason can be near Golem and try and get him back under their control. As The Thing builds the bridge our of cars, poles and what ever he can get his mighty hands on he must also fight off demons who are attacking trying to keep him from his goal as Kaballa only needs a few more minutes before he takes over totally! The Thing is able to build the bridge and Rebecca and Jason rush to their monster friend and as they try and get Golem under control Kaballa attacks them and this forces the Golem to use his powers and vanquish Kaballa! In the end The Golem is now frozen in place as Jason and Rebecca plan on watching over it and The Thing and Alicia can now start their vacation.

The Golem in his final appearance in a classic Marvel Comic has our monster going on a rampage as well as once more being brought in by the power of love form his human friends. In this issue Kaballa The Unclean almost gets full control of The Golem and uses weather and demons as his defense to try and keep his control for the time that’s needed to become it’s full master, but what he didn’t count on was that The Thing of super team the Fantastic Four being in town and helping the Adamson family regain control. In this issue Jason and Rebecca are helpless to help The Golem and spend most of the issue arguing with Professor Yeates and being stuck at the college and watching as their friend and protector is being possessed and going on a massive rampage! The Thing is a hero that is lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it to be in the area as this is going on as his power is what saves the day for the world as if Kaballa would have gained total control everyone would be in some serious trouble. Kaballa The Unclean is as sinister as ever and in this issue before he is defeated is so close to getting what he wants and starting his take over of the world, but as always his ego and self titled nature lead to his defeat. The Golem in this issue starts out being the stone protector the world needs to being a rampaging monster that Horror Comic readers want, to ending up a frozen statue that is stuck in the middle of Florida. This final story in the classic arch of Golem seems a little rushed and to be honest The Thing and him really don’t fight as much as they should, showing Marvel really just wanted to end Golem and his comic run. In fact Golem really brings down Kaballa pretty easy and it would have been great if they decided to have Golem be a ramping monster by the end of the story and not just a good guy statue frozen until a later date. I mean as a bad guy it would have been great to see him tangle with Man-Thing who is also set in Florida or even do battle with The Hulk, Thor, Werewolf By Night and Luke Cage to name a few. While after this appearance Golem would go on to make cameos in a few other issues this really does mark the end of his comic star. The cover for this issue is fantastic and captured my attention when I seen it as a kid, and the interior art is top notch and done by Bob Brown and has that Marvel flare. Over all I would have loved to seen more of the Golem in comics and really wish they would have left him bad for awhile to allow the above mentioned battles before having Rebecca and Jason once more get him under control. If you like Marvel Supernatural Horror, then I would say give this a read, as it’s a fun one. Check out the art below to see some of the styles used for this series.

So as you can see, Golem was and is a pretty cool Marvel Horror monster that had a short run that delivered some scares but mostly supernatural action. While Marvel seemed to really give up on the character and never allowed him to fully live up to his potential of becoming a good Horror Comic character, he still was able to leave his bloodstain mark on it no matter how small it was. And while writing this I also thinking about the next character I would like to cover for next Marvel Horror Showcase and I am happy to say that I have chosen IT The Living Colossus to be the next Horror subject! But enough of talking about a future update, let’s talk about the next one as I will be taking a look at Horror Hosts Iris & Retina from Mondo Smash A’GO-GO! So until next time, read a Marvel Horror Comic or three, watch a classic Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Join me next update as it will be a blast talking about these Dayton, Ohio Hosts!

Marvel’s Fastest Gun In The West…Rawhide Kid

Once upon a time western comics were all the rage for young readers, and cowboys like Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, Billy The Kid, Roy Rogers and so many others entertained and captured imaginations. In fact besides comic books, westerns also use to rule the box office as well as TV airwaves and cheap paperback novels, and it seemed like every kid wanted to be the cowboy when playing “Cowboy And Indians”. But like all super popular media, it, of course, also had a big fall and has lost its hold on the youth today who seem to prefer video game heroes to those from the old wild west. Growing up, I loved films like Once Upon A Time In the West, Magnificent Seven, Young Guns and Quick And The Dead, not to mention the classic true tales of Billy The Kid, Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok! Plus no joke. The Rifleman is one of my all time favorite TV shows, and Lone Ranger was a hero of mine when I was a kid! So while westerns in media even by the time of my youth were not as popular of a genre, they still had their hooks in my entertainment. I mean let’s be honest, many of you readers growing up have played Cowboys and Indians and even looked up to the likes of Roy Rogers or John Wayne. For this update we are going to take a look at a western hero from the Marvel Universe and after looking at all the options, I decided to take a look at Rawhide Kid and his 1985 mini series. So get your spurs on, find a trusty horse and let’s head out to the wild west and see what Marvel has in store for us when it comes to Cowboy heroes. This update will be a quick one and should be a fun one for fans of classic Marvel western heroes.

Some of you younger readers I am sure do not remember the Rawhide Kid as Marvel Comics over the years have not really done much with him besides give him a MAX series and turn him into a raunchy character to try and be edgy in 2003, and then in 2010 he had another mini series put out this time again simply released by Marvel. But before we dive too deep and start the review of Rawhide Kid, I want to share a little of the character’s back story and history with you readers who might be unfamiliar with Rawhide Kid’s slinging ways. As a baby, Johnny Clay had most of his family killed by Indians, and he was left behind as his brothers fled and one was even captured and taken. Ben Bart, a fast Texas Ranger gunslinger, took in the infant Johnny and raised him as his own family on an old ranch, where Johnny at the age of 18 became the fastest gun in the west. One day Johnny heads to town for supplies, and while away, some gunslingers sneak onto the ranch and kill Ben and this sparks Johnny who finds the body to become on a quest of revenge. Once tracking them down and out-dueling them both in a gun fight, Johnny turns his adoptive father’s killers in and decides to change his name to Rawhide Kid and to use his fast shooting skills to help others. And after having it out with an evil ranch owner that leaves the man shot, the Rawhide Kid becomes a wanted man when a sheriff fails to see that the Kid was only saving the day. But even as a wanted man, the Rawhide Kid used his gun skills to help people and to fight crime. Over the years Rawhide Kid has teamed up with the likes of Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, Phantom Rider and even Iron Man! This character ran from 1955 -1979 and lasted 151 issues for his first solo run and would come back in 1985 for a four issue mini series. While Rawhide Kid is not a popular Marvel Comic character nowadays, he was one who made his mark for the company and is one that deserves respect for being one heck of an entertaining western comic character. Growing up, I read many of his adventures from comics that my Grandma Brassfield would buy for my brother from garage sales, and can remember enjoying them pretty well but still always preferring the superhero and horror comics. If you like classic western movies and TV shows and also enjoy reading comic books, give Rawhide Kid a chance as the early stuff is lots of fun and holds a real classic feel. Oh and I should also note that Rawhide Kid’s drink of choice is milk, and him asking for it at bars and saloons is a running gag in the series.

Cowboys also made a mark in the world of video games with most modern gamers agreeing that the Red Dead Redemption series is one of the over all best games going! But one of the earliest western games I remember was for the Atari 2600 and was called Outlaw and has you having to outdraw an outlaw in order to score points. And when getting this update together I figured it would be fun to take a small NES Challenge on a western themed game for the Nintendo and decided to settle on Gun.Smoke released in 1985 by Capcom. So I picked January 22, 2019 as the day to play this game and hooked up the RES (Retro-Entertainment System) and was ready to just sit back for a few minutes and just have fun and play this game and see how far I could get. My goal this time around is to not even beat the game but to just replay it after all these years, I want to thank Game Swap Kettering for having the game in stock for me to buy and make this quick play a reality. So after pouring myself a tall glass of water and eating a good meal of home made chicken and dumplings, I set out to take a shot of surviving the 8-bit wild-west! And the game was just as fun as I remember as I just ran around shooting all the baddies in town with my goal being to collect a bounty put onto the head of a criminal. The longer I played the more I enjoyed it, but also the longer I played it my hands became more and more cramped as the game forces you to always move up and you must be dodging and shooting at the same time. Capcom should make an updated version of this game and make it like an alternative to Red Dead Redemption and have the player play as a man on the side of the law whose goal is to capture some of the worst gun slingers the wild west has ever known…just an idea. If you enjoy classic NES games and also like wild west shooters, make sure to check out Gun.Smoke as I think it’s a forgotten gem for that system that is worth your play time.

I am not a big soda drinker, but from time to time I do enjoy a good soft drink, and for those wondering it really is hard to pick between Pepsi or Coke as each I think go well with different types of meals with Coke being the best with Pizza and Pepsi going well with Mexican food. But in October 2018 I must say I had one of the worst sodas I have ever tasted (minus those weird ones like Ranch and PB&J) and it was called “Moxie Original Elixir” and my gosh it had one of the worst after tastes of any soda I have drank as it tasted like cough syrup…it was so gross! So this is just a warning for you cola soda drinkers, stay clear of Moxie unless you have a bad cough cause who knows it might help ya!

While working on this update, I got thinking about the old steakhouse Ponderosa that was really inspired by the old west and flavors of the past as well as the TV show Bonanza. Growing up here in Ohio, we had a few of them around and I can remember that my Grandparents on my Dad’s side really loved eating there. I can remember eating the salad bar and loading up on small steaks and baked potatoes and chatting with my brother about toys, comics, video games and horror movies as we ate. But while they were popular places to eat here for a while, they faded away from the Dayton market and all went out of business with the longest one to hold on being on Airway Road. So I wanted to have a meal at Ponderosa in order to celebrate Rawhide Kid and Marvel Western Comics and to relive a little bit of my youth. The nearest Ponderosa is over an hour away from where I live and is in Hillsboro, and after calling up my pal Josh Weinberg, we hit the rode to have a good lunch at an old staple restaurant for our family growing up. The only downside is that I no longer eat red meat and must find some food I can eat from a place that is a steak house. We hit the road on January 15, 2019 to the good old Ponderosa, and on the drive there we chatted a little about the future of the Wolf Hunter movie series as well as a wrestling and baseball talk. It took a little over an hour to get there, but once we did, the place was pretty epic and from the outside was one of the biggest Ponderosa’s I have ever seen! The setup inside was very nice and clean, and Josh and I decided to eat the salad bar buffet. Our waitress was super cute and looked like she could have been a model or a pop star country singer. I chose water as my drink of choice and during my lunch I had chicken wings, mashed potatoes with two types of gravy, mac & cheese, green beans, ham and chicken noodles. And I must say it was all pretty good with the mac & cheese and chicken wings being the stand out and the most tasty. Over all while the inside was very Texas Ranch looking, the meal was good southern style cooking and flavors. On the ride back we talked lots more about MLB aka the Cincinnati Reds and had a hoot as we spotted in someone’s yard a statue of the Apple Pie Tree from McDonalds. It was worth the drive to eat once more at Ponderosa Steakhouse and over all was a fun cold day in Ohio. Below are pictures I took on that day.

So now that I have my belly filled with some good old Ponderosa food, I think it’s time we sit around the campfire with a cup of coffee and start our look at Marvel Comic western hero The Rawhide Kid and the 1985 mini series I have chosen to cover for this update. Now I want to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you’re ready readers and friends, let’s review the Wild West adventures of The Kid! Oh and I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having this whole mini series in stock.

The Rawhide Kid # 1  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .75       Marvel       # 1 of 4

The Rawhide Kid is an old man now and is making his way atop Nightwind to town when railroad workers spot him, and the oldest member of the team shares the story of Rawhide Kid being the fastest gun in the west and how he avenged the murder of his adoptive father. After hearing the story, a young city boy on the rail team decides to quit his job to follow Rawhide Kid into town and asks him to train him in gun slinging. Rawhide Kid finds a saloon to relax in as the youngster also enters the bar and hears some of the men talking about the greatest gunslingers of the west and he chimes in Rawhide Kid and points him out to everyone as being the best! The saloon owner refuses to serve Rawhide Kid a good breakfast now as he thinks he is an outlaw and worse as he is about to leave some of the railroad workers have shown up for lunch and bait Rawhide into a massive fist fight that he is winning and is broke up by Sam the town Sheriff and friend of his who takes his old friend to the jail in order to give him a place to rest. That night the City Boy breaks down the wall of the jail to “free” Rawhide Kid who was not even locked up, and this makes the town go crazy as they all start firing at him and his new young goofy friend! But Rawhide Kids still keeps them safe and the Sheriff is able to calm the towns people down, as the City Boy comes to learn that the Rawhide Kid is really in town to put a flower on a grave of a young kid he gunned down in the city many years back.

This Marvel Western Comic is lots of fun and this first issue was a fantastic read to kick off a mini series as it blends his old adventures and his current story really well and brings new readers up-to-date on who the character is and was. The plot of this issue has the Rawhide Kid now an old man who returns to a town that he killed a young gun slinger in and soon finds that the town dislikes him and look at him as an outlaw, that his friend is now the town Sheriff and he also has a young city boy who idolizes him and wants to learn to become a gun slinger like him. Rawhide Kid is an aged fast draw gun slinger who is a man that is haunted by his past as he has taken so many lives with his guns. Plus I like that even though he is an old man he don’t take guff from people who want to try and test him and his legend. I also like that he just wants to avoid trouble and that all he really wanted to do in town is have some ham, eggs, bread and of course a glass of milk before visiting the grave. The City Boy is a young man who gets wrapped up in the stories of how great Rawhide Kid is and decides that by being trained by him will lead him closer to fame and fortune instead of working hard for his money. While he is a good kid, he also is a screw up and causes Rawhide Kid lots of issues with the locals in this issue. The townspeople are all mostly judgmental who hate Rawhide Kid due to old wanted posters that use to hang, forgetting that he was the one who gunned down a madman who killed many of the townsfolk many years back. Sheriff Sam is the only one who seems to know that Rawhide is a good man and he has to be the voice of reason when it comes to them getting trigger happy. And Nightwind is still the same old fast horse long time readers love. It’s great to see that Rawhide’s trusty horse is still alive and helping his owner to get out of tough spots. The comic does a great job of building up a good story that shows our hero is an aging man who still is as skilled as he was in his youth as the world around him is changing and his good deeds are out shined by damning words from the past. The cover is great and has a real classic look and the interior art is done by the iconic Herb Trimpe who is one of my favorite classic Marvel artists. I am surprised on how much I enjoyed this issue, and I am very much looking forward to reading what’s to come in issue two. So with that let’s see what Rawhide Kid gets up to in his next adventure.

The Rawhide Kid # 2  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .75       Marvel       # 2 of 4

Rawhide Kid and City Boy board a train to get out of town and to check one of Rawhide’s bank accounts in a nearby town as he is owned money from a writer who has been writing dime store books about Rawhide Kid’s past adventures as well as tall tales about him and who has not paid! While on the train City Boy gets real nervous when two men approach and even tries to shoot them with a gun he has hidden in his boot causing panic on the train and for Rawhide Kid to also be the target of the two men who turn out to be the law as City Boy is a wanted man! Rawhide Kid and City Boy escape the train and the law as City Boy shares his story of how he accidentally murdered his old boss in Chicago defending the honor of his sister. The pair find an old abandoned shack and spend the night there only to wake up and find that they are in the practice area of Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West Show! And after some talk Rawhide Kid joins the cast of his traveling road show as does City Boy. While working for the show he runs into the writer who he makes pay him all the money owed and also runs into Annie Oakley who was an old fling of his. But the lawmen also show up and he and City Boy must race off as Oakley and the rest of the crew run distraction.

This second issue has Rawhide Kid once more being on the wrong side of the law thanks to his new student City Boy. We find out his real name is Jeff Packard and he is wanted for murder back in Chicago of a slaughterhouse owner who employed him and his sister. Our plot of the issue has two main storylines with one being City Boy and his running ways from the two officers out to get him and the other is Rawhide Kid who has been ripped off by a writer who owes him lots of back pay money for books he wrote about the living legend. Rawhide Kid is very noble and not only wants what’s owed to him but also wants to teach and protect him from the law who wants to take them both in. Jeff Packard aka City Boy is a young man who still has the idea of being a gunslinger will bring him money and tells a tale of why he is wanted in Chicago that involves a man using and abusing his sister, and when thinking about it, I am not sure I believe him and I think he killed the man in a botch theft as City Boy is very much into money and is saying this in order to get the help of Rawhide Kid to escape the law. What really is cool about this issue is the fact they add in real Wild West people like Wild Bill Cody and Annie Oakley and have them at the Wild West Show! Makes me hope that more real cowboys show up in this mini series! The over all feel of this issue is the great chase as our heroes spend the issue on the run from the law who are outclassed by the fast and adventures style of Rawhide Kid who always is one step ahead of them. The cover for this issue is great and holds a classic western comic look and once more Herb did the interior and is fantastic. Over all this second issue is, as good as the original and I cannot wait to see what issue 3 has in store.

The Rawhide Kid # 3  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .75       Marvel       # 3 of 4

Rawhide Kid and City Boy have made camp outside of a town were Rawhide is teaching him how to be fast with a pair of six shooters. Meanwhile the law has hired a former slave now turned bounty hunter to bring in the pair of “fugitives”. While at the camp, Rawhide Kid goes for a quick swim as City Boy goes to make breakfast and is attacked by the law and Bounty Hunter who informs him that his sister is fine and is now to be married off, but thanks to Rawhide Kid and Nightwind, they are able to free City Boy and they ride off to find shelter and a place to hide and regroup in the near by town. Once in town they find that it is made up of former slaves and all the males have been killed and the women and children are hiding in the church and tell Rawhide kid that a hate group killed all the males and are returning for them all because they want the town cause oil has been discovered under it. The Bounty Hunter leaves the law behind and tracks his bounties down to the same town. Once the Bounty Hunter finds them in the church a showdown is about to happen until the hate group shows up and they have to join forces in order to save the locals as well as themselves. In the end the good guys win and kill and chase off the hate mongers and the Bounty Hunter drops out of turning them in and decides to stay in the town and help them rebuild and protect them from others trying to steal the oil. Rawhide Kid and City Boy ride off still on the run but also as heroes.

Wow this is a great issue and shows that Rawhide Kid is a good man who does what’s right and is also teaching City Boy the same morals. This issue has Rawhide and City Boy being hunted down by a skillful Bounty Hunter who ends up joining with his bounties in order to protect a town that is being slaughtered by a group of hate and greed filled men. Rawhide Kid is still a man trying to avoid his legend as he knows that much of it was made up by writers and storytellers, and while some think he is an outlaw, he is really a man who does the right thing and even risks his own life to save others. He also has zero tolerance for those who hate due to skin color and has no issues standing up for what he thinks is right and putting haters in their place or even six feet under. So I have to say I was wrong about City Boy as it looks like he was telling the truth about killing the man over his sister, and he in this issue is learning not only to be fast with a gun but also how to be a better person and to help others. The lawmen are desperate in this issue and go looking for help to capture their “outlaws” by hiring a bounty hunter and once more when they go for the arrest they fail. The Bounty Hunter is a former slave who also fought in the civil war and is now super skilled with a gun and always gets his man and seems very happy to be hired to take down a legend like Rawhide Kid, and in the end he learns that he needs to also look at valuing innocent human life and not just look at all people as dollar signs. This issue really does take a look at racism and does it in your normal Marvel Comics way and shows that they tackled all types of issues in their comics. One of my favorite moments in this issue is when the Bounty Hunter tricks members of the hate group into a barn and traps them inside and burns them alive…very brutal! The cover for this issue is great and showcases true comic western action and interiors is once more done by Herb and is fantastic! With the next issue being the final in the series, I am wondering how this will all wrap up and if City Boy will be reunited with his sister and if Rawhide Kid will find the retirement he so badly wants. Well let’s not delay and see what issue four has in store for our cowboy hero.

The Rawhide Kid # 4  ***
Released in 1985     Cover Price .75       Marvel       # 4 of 4

Rawhide Kid has a terrible nightmare about having to save a faceless woman from a pack of skull faced baddies who all represent death while the town around them burns! City Boy is startled but warns him that it sounds like one of the tall tales from one of the dime novels written about him and they go back to bed after Rawhide burns the book in the campfire. The next day they ride into town and Rawhide Kid finds it’s the same town from his dreams and after City Boy goes to feed the horses a woman runs to Rawhide asking for help and out comes a pack of men who are the law looking for City Boy! Rawhide Kid tells the lady to warn City Boy to leave town and out smarts and moves the lawmen who warn him they will never give up till they get him! Rawhide Kid finds City Boy who is sick of running and is going to stand his ground against the lawmen and even sucker punches and knocks out Rawhide Kid who tried to talk him out of fighting. When Rawhide Kid comes to he finds that City Boy has been shot dead by the Lawmen and in a dazed state he refights the ghosts of his past leaving them once more dead. When he comes to he finds that he has killed all the lawmen who killed his new friend and this also allows him to bury his past and embrace his legend and to move on in what’s left of his life into the sunset.

This fourth and final issue in the mini series brings together all the stories that ran through it and gives a closing to Rawhide Kid who just wanted to retire and get away from his legend. The plot of this issue has Rawhide’s nightmare of a burning town with people trying to kill him coming to life and while he is able to face his inner demons and let go of his past, he also loses his new friend City Boy in the process. Rawhide Kid is an old man who has a bad rep with some people and others view him as a hero…and all he really wants is to be left alone and enjoy the time he has left on this world without having to fear that some upcoming gunslinger wants to put a bullet through him. The thing about Rawhide is that he is very loyal to his friends as well as to his morals of what he finds right, and because of this as reader I found myself feeling bad for him as trouble always seems to find him. In other words Rawhide Kid is a western hero who has baggage and guilt for those he has had to gun down in the past and would love to just disappear and never shot another person again. Poor City Boy I really did judge him all wrong, and he is no liar or coward in fact he is a young man who has warped views on how to be a good guy and what it means to be a true gunslinger, but means well. It’s crazy that in this issue he is gunned down and his body is just left on the back of his own horse for the town to see…no wonder Rawhide Kid has to go all quick shot on some lawmen ass! The major downside to City Boy dying is that he does not get to see his sister before he died. The lawman in this issue are very cold blooded and seem to get joy in trying to gun down the “outlaws” and are proud the shot and killed a young man who only killed to protect his sister. But while they are cocky at first, they all end up dead when they piss off Rawhide Kid who out classed them and leaves them all dead in the dusty streets. The end gun fight between the lawmen and Rawhide Kid is well down as he is still dazed from being knocked out by a sucker punch and envisions old baddies he has killed as well as loved ones he has lost, and with each re-kill or re-lose he is letting go of his past that haunts him. This mini series is great and really shows that Marvel has always made the best western themed comics with some of the most interesting original characters. The cover for this issue holds a little horror element to it and is very eye catching and as I have said before Herb Trimpe’s interior art is amazing! If you like westerns, cowboys and classic Marvel Comics check out this mini series!

So while Marvel Comics has left the Wild West far behind and have not had an ongoing series for decades their ones from the past live on for readers to discover at their local comic shops as well as conventions. I would recommend tracking down such titles as Kid Colt Outlaw, Two-Gun Kid and of course Rawhide Kid if you enjoy old western films and comics as they are really entertaining reads. For our next update we are going to stay in the world of Marvel and take a look at one of their most popular Superheroes The Amazing Spider-Man…but there is a twist as we will be looking at his Power Records Book and Record release that features an original story! So until next time cowboys and cowgirls, read a comic or three, watch a classic western film or two and as always support your Local Horror Host! See next update for a web slinging good time!

The Failed New-Verse Of Marvel: Spitfire

Marvel Comics has always been my favorite comic company as they had characters that captured my imagination as well as stories that were simple yet highly entertaining and also well placed real life drama into them from death of a loved one to drug addictions making the stories seem more real no matter how over the top the heroes and villains were. Characters like Spider-Man, The X-Men, Captain America and Iron Man all made impacts on the youth reading them and even held on to readers who were growing up with this kind of storytelling style.  What was nice was each character had history and each had baggage and drama that shaped them into the hero they became up to that point. In modern comics from Marvel, in my opinion, when it’s convent they just hit the restart button if they back themselves into a corner or build up too much history for the character or sometimes they just want to sell yet another # 1 issue of a character fans love. But Marvel in the 80’s still was holding on to the 60’s and the true history of each character created by the likes of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and even Stan Lee. So enter Jim Shooter and his idea of creating an all New Marvel Universe that would feature new heroes who didn’t have over the top powers and would be set in real time. For this update, I looked through the list of New Universe characters like Justice, Star Brand and Nightmask to name a few and decided to cover Spitfire, a giant red robot whose covers caught my eye many years back but I never read till this very update.  So I’m pretty hyped to finally see what the character is all about. So forget about all you know about the Marvel Universe and let’s dive deep into the New Universe.

On a side note Juliet’s look at Star Trek: The Next Generation was late being turned in and will be posted when done some time in the future, I want to say sorry to you readers who where looking forward to it.

Marvel New Universe Banner Logo

Jim Shooter started reading comics at a young age but stopped when he was 8 years old.  His love for them started up again when he was 12 and was in the hospital for minor surgery began reading the comics the hospital provided and found that Marvel was better at telling stories than DC (who he had read more of in his past) and found himself more into the Marvel characters as well…at that moment he knew that DC “needed the most help” and spent a year reading as many comics from both companies he could get his hands on. At the age of 13, Shooter sent DC some drawn out stories featuring the Legion Of Superheroes.  They loved his stories and bought them hiring him to do a few more for Supergirl and Superman.  DC hired him to become a writer for them full time a little while later. Shooter took the job to help his low income family and began working on titles like Action Comics, Adventure Comics and Legion Of Superheroes to name a few and even created the characters Karate Kid and Superman bad guy The Parasite! He was also one of the main brains behind the first race between Superman and The Flash! By 1969 Shooter had graduated high school and applied for a job at Marvel Comics as he would be going to college at New York University.  While Marvel hired him as a editor and co-plotter, Shooter decided to not go to college and only lasted a short time at Marvel as he had no money and lived at a YMCA! Shooter moved back to his home town of Pittsburgh but got the bug to work in comics again and returned to DC for a short time writing Superman and Superboy And The Legion Of Superheroes. But after a feud with the editors of DC and a phone call from Marvel’s editor-in-chief Marv Wolfman, he returned to Marvel and this is were he became a legend! Shooter rose to power within the company pretty fast and by 1978, he became the 9th Editor-In Chief for Marvel that was growing and becoming the top comic company in the world.  With this Shooter started doing some great things for artist including royalties for great selling issues, the return of original artwork to artists and even help bring Star Comics to life in that showcased comics based on toys and cartoons like Thundercats and Star Wars: Ewoks! Shooter also did some amazing big crossover events for Marvel like Secret Wars, Secret Wars II and Contest of Champions. He cleaned up the Marvel Universe comics that hit shelves that were stale and had low sales.  He allowed Frank Miller to really bloom on his Daredevil line.  He allowed comics like Dazzler to be sold only at comic shops.  He wrote the second Spider-Man and Superman crossover comic and so much more that helped put Marvel truly as the king of comics! But for all the good Shooter did for Marvel, he also lead to lots of drama and turmoil in the Bullpen as he was a little over controlling and set rules that had to be followed.  Rumors also spread that he wanted to kill off many of the companies top heroes like Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor and start over with them so that they didn’t have all the old history to remember for the characters. This idea pissed off lots of the old workers at the office and this lead to what was known as New Universe that was launched for Marvel’s 25th Anniversary and was Shooter’s baby that had no ties to the ongoing Marvel Universe and would have no over the top superpowers, no hidden races, gods, mythological beings, super technology and magic in the books that included Star Brand, Spitfire, Kickers Inc. and many others. The New Universe was met with mixed reviews and many of the titles struggled, and after the Marvel workers and Shooter falling out of favor with each other he was fired in 1987. Shooter went on to do some cool things after Marvel like helped create Valiant Comics and Defiant Comics among lots of other great creative things. Say what you will about Jim Shooter, but I will say what he did for Marvel and comic readers in his time as Editor-In-Chief is top notch stuff. I would have loved to see what he would have came up with if he would have gotten to stay at Marvel past 1987. Before we move onto Spitfire, let’s chat a little about some other stuff shall we?

Jim Shooter 1Jim Shooter and Stan LeeJim Shooter 2

Did you know that in 1986 New World Pictures was the owner of Marvel Comics? This is something very fascinating to me and explains why Marvel did comic adaptations of such films as “House II”, “Elvira Mistress Of The Dark”, “Pinocchio: An The Emperor Of The Night” and even comics based on the TV Show “Sledge Hammer”. At the time of New World buying Marvel, they were an expanding movie company who were using profits not just to make more movies but to consume other companies and that’s where Marvel came in as they knew they could option the characters for films and TV as well as have comics made around their properties. But this also makes me wish they would have made comics based on many more of their films like C.H.U.D., Godzilla 1985, Children Of The Corn and Creepshow 2 to name a few. Man, the missed opportunities of cool horror Marvel titles is sad.  Could you imagine a three issue run based on the C.H.U.D.’s or even an adaptation of Creepshow 2! But by the early 90’s, the New World Pictures owning Marvel came to an end and none of these films that should have gotten the comic treatment did. I should also note that Pinhead and the film he’s from, Hellraiser, that was one of New World’s top Horror properties, got comics from Marvel’s sub branch Epic. What New World Pictures movie or TV Show would you have liked to have seen turned into a Marvel Comic?

Godzilla 1985 PosterNew World Pictures LogoCHUD Poster

Since I started Rotten Ink over three years ago, I have had one tiny little cat cheering me on as I not only read the comics or wrote the update but also as I watched the horror host shows and did the research.  That cat is Leslie my 10 year old calico cat that I have had since she was a tiny kitten. Leslie was a gift from my girlfriend at the time Jennifer as a way to help me deal with losing my job and not finding one right away, Leslie was at a pet store called Jack’s Aquarium and Pets, and as I was walking by, her tiny little paw came out of the cage and grabbed me.  She started talking and doing all she could to get my attention and after taking her out of the cage I knew she had to be mine…and for $60, she was! I named Leslie after the character Leslie Graham played by Lisa Orgolini from the 1986 horror film “Trick or Treat” and from the moment we bought her, she became my best friend as she would follow me around meowing (something she still does to this day) and would sit in my lap and watch horror films throughout the nights. Leslie is not a people kitty and for the most part will avoid all others besides Juliet and myself, but she does warm up fast to my cousin Stephen Alexander. She has a very strong dislike for our other cat Streets J, who we rescued from the streets of Dayton, and her birthday I say is July 4th as I tell her the fireworks are also in her honor! Juliet for some reason gave her the nickname Beans and calls her Leslie Beans. Leslie is such a great cat and one of my favorite pets I have ever owned.  I am writing all this because as I am working on this update, Leslie is right here cheering me on, or wait maybe she is screaming because she wants wet food with extra gravy….but whatever the reason she is meowing, thanks for always being a great sidekick, Leslie!

Leslie The Cat

So after my “Matt Goes To The Movies 2015” update in January I had lots of you readers and friends ask me why I cut the best survival horror games of the year ranking from it.  The reason I cut it was I felt that it slowed down the pace of that update….but for those who are wondering about that, I will chat a little about it on this one, better late than never right? This year I upgraded from a PS3 to a PS4 and throughout the year bought a few games and got a few games as gifts with titles like WWE 2K16, Mad Max and Batman Arkham Knight to name a few. And a total of three survival horror titles that will be my list here! So let’s get our controller in hand and see what horrors PS4 had in store for me! I should also note that I did buy Resident Evil: Revelations 2 for PS3 this year!

Best Horror Games 2015

# 3

Godzilla PS4

Godzilla lets you take control of the giant King of the Monsters as you smash your way through Japan fighting off the military as well as fellow Kaiju like Rodan and King Ghidorah and growing bigger and more powerful in size. The game also offers just monster battles as well as VS. mode that lets you and a friend fight it out. The game is simple and fun and is a total no brainer, but that’s also its downside as it’s not too challenging and can get boring after an hour of gameplay. While this might not be the best Godzilla game ever made, I will say Bandai really tried to make a game that felt as if you were indeed Godzilla stomping around town. Plus you can upgrade your Godzilla and get other skins, changing his appearance. It’s worth checking out if found cheap enough and you’re a fan of the Godzilla movie series.

# 2

Zombie Army Trilogy PS4

The Nazis are losing World War II and unleash their ultimate weapon, black magic and Zombies! Choose your fighter and make your way across Europe as you fight off the hordes of the undead. This game is lots of fun and for some reason made me super nervous when I was playing it.  I am sure it’s due to the sounds of and the hordes of zombies and weird voices chanting. The game is a spin-off of the Sniper Elite series and allows you to sniper off zombies as they approach with direct kill shots to the head showcasing the X-Ray effects of the hit! Zombies might be overdone in the world of movies, comics and video games, but this one was lots of fun and worth playing if you’re looking to kill some time and if you like sending Nazi zombies to hell!

# 1

Until Dawn PS4

A prank goes terribly wrong and leaves two sisters missing in the mountains. Sometime later their brother has a reunion with 7 of his closest friends, all of whom were there the night his sisters went missing, but something wicked is in the air as friends start to be attacked by a masked killer who seems like he is out for revenge! But all things are not as they seem as the game takes twists and turns and leaves you as the player in control of the fate of the playable characters as your choices have effects and you must choose wisely! What made this game really great was not only the atmosphere but also the characters who some are really likable while others are jerks and this makes you become attached to some of them and forces you to choose wisely. This is hands down the best horror game I played this year! For those wondering, my two favorite characters are Sam and Ashley, both of whom I was trying my best to keep alive.  One survived; the other sadly did not…and I am not sharing who was who.

Until Dawn Screen Shot 1

We have covered Jim Shooter, survival horror games of 2015 and my cat Leslie up to this point, and I think it’s time that we take a quick look at Spitfire, the hero of our selected New Universe comic series as I am sure many of you readers like myself are not too familiar. As I said above, I selected Spitfire to be my pick for many reasons that include the fact that it’s a robot comic from the 80’s (and I’ll say this till I am blue in the face like a Smurf: kids of the 80’s love robots).  The covers for the series looked interesting and eye catching too even though I knew nothing about Spitfire and The Troubleshooters.  Lastly and most importantly, it had a good run that did not last too short or too long. When looking up and reading the first issue of this series, the first thing that took me by surprise was that Spitfire is just a suit worn by a female professor. I had no clue that this series was about a female hero and that made it seem like an even better choice to start my travels into the Marvel New Universe. So really quick, these are the basics of what you need to know: Professor Jenny Swenson is well liked by her students and the school she teaches at.  When her father is set up and killed, she along with some rebel students that call themselves the Troubleshooters try and get to the bottom of the crime and unlock a whole world of secret societies and people pulling the strings! She is opposed to war and acts of violence and wants to only use her father’s technology for the betterment of mankind. Those are the basics of who Jenny aka Spitfire is and below is some art of what her suit looks like as well as what she looks like.

Spitfire Armor 1Spitfire Armor 2Jenny in Spitfire

So are you ready to dive into Marvel’s New Universe? Are you ready for comics based around non-gods or super beings? Are you ready for a world where the Amazing Spider-Man does not exist? Well I know I have some curiosity to see just what this comic universe is like, and I must admit I have owned some of these New Universe comics for years and never have read a one of them! I should thank my friend Eric Shonborn for lending me the audio book of “Marvel Comics The Untold Story” by Sean Howe that sparked me to want to do an update about the New Universe as well as a thanks goes out to Bookery Fantasy for having the whole run of Spitfire in stock for only a dollar each issue! I also like always want to remind you that I grade these issues on a standard 1-4 star system and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So let’s get to these reviews and see how Spitfire stacks up to the main Marvel Universe comics.

Spitfire 1

Spitfire # 1  **1/2
Released in 1986   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 1 of 13

The Massachusetts Institute Of Technology is the place of learning for a group of students called The Troubleshooters who are super smart but also pranksters! Their young red headed teacher is Professor Jenny “Spitfire” Swensen whose father has just been killed in what was ruled an accident while working at his lab. At the funeral, Jenny meets Mr. Fritz Krotze who was her father’s boss who informs her she must come and get her father’s stuff from the lab in 24 hours! When at the lab, Jenny is being watched by security as she quickly checks her dad’s computer and finds a hidden message that informs her who killed him and why! But before she can finish reading, she is asked to leave as her time is up.  She returns to school and gets the help of The Troubleshooters to break in and read the rest of the message. Mr. Krotze, meanwhile, is showing off a mech-suit called M.A.X. 1, and it’s clear that Krotze killed her father who created a better suit called M.A.X II nicknamed Spitfire! Jenny and Troubleshooters succeed in breaking into the lab and finds the message that tells them Krotze was indeed his killer.  Jenny wears the Spitfire armor, and together they move the lab that can transform into trailers! In the end Spitfire beats M.A.X. I and lets Krotze know that once she has 100% proof he will be going down for her father’s murder.

Going into this comic, I had to throw out all the thoughts of classic Marvel and go in with a fresh mind and a realization that Spitfire was not going to be a larger than life hero like Iron Man and would be more rooted in technology that would and could be more possible.  So with that said, I must say that issue # 1 of Spitfire is an average comic adventure set around a C list comic hero. The plot is generic and has a young and cute professor having her father murdered by his boss over technology that later falls in her hands.  Throw in some youths as her sidekicks and some small time action, and you have this issue. Jenny Swensen is a hip cool Professor who is not only a good teacher but also is well respected by her students as she is fun and fair with them.  She is cute and a red head, and she comes from a family of very smart people as her dad was a inventor.  Her father is also the one who gave her the nickname of Spitfire. The downside, besides the fact she wants revenge, is that she don’t have much of a personality that shows through.  I’m so looking forward to seeing her grow as a character. The Troubleshooters are a bunch of smart kids who as well are okay but have no personalities besides that they like to pull pranks and are loyal to their teacher. Mr. Krotze comes off as a generic rich bad guy who wants to take research projects and turn them into a military weapon and will kill and screw over whoever he can to make money and get power. M.A.X. II or called Spitfire is a cool suit that is bright red and is supposed to be used for construction, and while not equipped with guns or lasers, it does have some killer buzz saws and super strength. As I stated, this issue is just average yet fun, and I am looking forward to seeing what the next issue’s has in store for me. I should also note that Herb Trimpe did the art for this issue, and he is one of my favorite old school artist who worked on Incredible Hulk issues in the 70’s! His classic style art helps bring this story to life for sure. I also must say I really like the cover for this issue as it showcases all the main characters.

Spitfire 2

Spitfire # 2  **1/2
Released in 1986   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 2 of 13

Jenny and Troubleshooter member Andy are in the woods testing the limits of the Spitfire suit when some hunters in a pick up truck lose control and almost fall off a cliff till Spitfire saves them causing a news story that leaks back to Fritz Krotze who wants the suit back bad and tells his assistant Richard Faylen to bring in a top secret government project called “Behemoth.”  It’s also clear, as Faylen leaves, that Krotze is not in charge as he is taking orders from a group that calls themselves The Club. Meanwhile The Troubleshooters lead by member Eddie Giotti with a pair of metal arms raid Krotze’s labs to try to find out what he knows about the whereabouts of Jenny, and when they find out, Faylen and lots of the guards are taking a train to Jenny’s location, Eddie jumps on the train to see if he can find out the plan as the other Troubleshooters follow. Eddie finds himself being taken into the train and beat up badly as Behemoth turns out to be a Super-Tank that goes head to head with Spitfire in a battle of metal and power. In the end The Troubleshooters save Eddie from the train and guards, but his ribs have been broken and Spitfire destroys Behemoth and decides that she is no longer hiding and is going to take the war to Krotze!

This second issue is as fun as issue # 1, and sadly also just as average in story and characters. The major downside is what I like to call the Shooter Trick that has plot elements that took place in another New Universe Comic series forcing the reader to have to buy other comics in the series to get the full story.  Jim Shooter sure did love this trick and used it not only with the New Universe but also the normal Marvel Comic series. The plot has Jenny and her Spitfire suit battling the idea of limiting how often she uses it as it’s by all accounts a stolen piece of equipment.  Krotze wants and needs to regain the suit for not only himself but the secret group knows as The Club. Most of this issue is drama as it has Jenny battling her own mind on right and wrong as well as Troubleshooters going on their own and trying to be heroes but really just adding more stress to the all ready bad situation Jenny is in. I love the odd addition of student Eddie Giotti wanting to make mad monkey love to his teacher Jenny, such an odd subplot. I do also like the idea of a secret society being the true bad guys and wanting the suit as they see the power it has and with some modifications how it could be a major weapon. Jenny as a character has changed slightly as it’s clear she wants to be a hero, but hates that she must hide away from the world as she is wanted for the suit that’s stolen technology. Krotze also shows how evil he is by stopping at nothing to get the suit back, but they do a nice job of showing fear in him as The Club clearly owns his soul and pulls his strings. Behemoth The Super-Tank is not really a threat once Spitfire figures out that its nothing but a tank controlled by a thin wire…yeah, the super tank is a remote control weapon…yeah, once the line is cut it stops….terrible. Eddie Giotti of The Troubleshooter’s stands out this issue as not only a man with a great mind who creates super strong metal arms for himself but also shows he really is hot for teacher and makes dumb mistakes to play hot shot. I really dig the Troubleshooters as they are great side characters who do add to the story and drama of this comic series. The cover is again well done, and the art is done by Herb Trimpe again as well and looks fantastic. I am hyped to see how Spitfire takes the war to the bad guys so I am going to wrap this one up and move onto issue # 3!

Spitfire 3

Spitfire # 3  **1/2
Released in 1986   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 3 of 13

Jenny is planning her attack and wants to find illegal dirt on Krotze to report him to the police, but she herself is under investigation for the taking of her father’s lab and the Spitfire suit! While Eddie Giotti heals up in the hospital after the terrible beating he suffered at the hands of Krotze’s guards, the rest of the Troubleshooters build cyber body parts that allows them to run 140mph and even use their mind to hack into computers and phone lines. Jenny also notices that Theresa, the only female Troubleshooter, seems to have a dislike for her as she clearly does not fully stand behind them breaking the law to prove Krotze guilty. Meanwhile Krotze is being blackmailed by Bronson, the goon who wore the M.A.C.K. I suit that was beaten by Spitfire as well as the one who killed Jenny’s father, is himself killed in cold blood by Krotze who knew he had to cover his tracks of all wrong doing after the government is mad about him destroying the Behemoth Super-Tank! Spitfire goes alone to Krotze’s lab and by accident shoots a solider.  This causes her to second guess the mission and leaves her open for an attack that almost leaves her dead, but with the help of the new and cyber improved Troubleshooters, she is able to escape the lab with her life. Krotze is upset that he was not able to kill Jenny and get the Spitfire suit but soon gets a visit from The Club member Steel Hawk who is there to help.

The struggle of Jenny continues as she really wants to put an end to Krotze and his corrupt company, but once more her fears and doubts stand in the way as she wants to do so in a law abiding way. The plot is just as the others and has Jenny/Spitfire going toe to toe with Krotze and his men, but this time her own fears and doubts leave her open for a massive attack that almost leaves her a dead roasted chicken in her suit of armor. Jenny in this issue has way to many doubts and also is so filled with rage that its making her unstable and leaving her open for attacks and for looses to the hands of her enemies. But also it seems she talks a good talk as in the last issue when she found out Giotti was hurt she acted as if she was going to blow Krotze’s lab up and kick his teeth out in the process, but we find her in this issue wanting to sneak in again and just steal files from his computer. The Troubleshooters once more prove that they are needed as they build new helpful technology as well as save Jenny’s fat from the fire when she chokes during a fight. Krotze in this issue really does prove he will do what ever he can to save his own butt as he murders a man with no real remorse and worse uses a high power laser to do the deed. Over all this is a pretty good issue and while some things change with the plot and characters it still feels the same as the other two issues, the cover is pretty dang cool and the art this time is done by Ron Wagner who also worked on comics for Marvel like G.I. Joe, The Transformers and Morbius: The Living Vampire and it’s pretty solid work. Good issue that’s adds more drama to the story and makes me want to see just how Jenny is going to deal with the fact she shot a US Solider and she almost died, so lets head to issue 4.

Spitfire 4

Spitfire # 4  ***
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 4 of 13

Fritz Krotze is missing, and his company is now under investigation into selling weapons to terrorist and the star witness is Jenny who explains how she wants to prove he killed her father and even exposes the fact he works for The Club on live TV! The Troubleshooters are nervous watching as they don’t want to be dragged into this political mess as Steel Hawk is enjoying it all as he has already killed Richard Faylen with a car bomb and had kidnapped Krotze and has tortured him and finally kills him with a metal bat and drops his body into a river hoping it will be uncovered.  It’s all part of a trap and set up for Jenny to take the fall. At a party hosted by the Senator, a bomb is found and Spitfire comes to the rescue but also finds Steel Hawk waiting for her.  The two fight and Hawk’s weapons are just too powerful for the suit to handle and just as all looks grim and Steel Hawk is about to put a bullet in Jenny’s head, she breaks his leg and the police show up and chase him off. In the end Jenny is looked at as a hero to some but finds herself under arrest for the murder of Krotze!!

Wow, this issue really rocks its packed with action, drama and murder and shows that setting this New Universe in a real world environment can work with the right writer. The plot of this issue has an assassin setting up Jenny with a murder he committed in order to get her off the trail of The Club, only to find that while it worked, it also brought his actions into the light. In this issue, Jenny seems to have her act together and is helping the government catch Krotze for his terrorist activities.  Plus she shows that she is really building a superhero attitude and wants to save innocent people when danger is near. The fact that she gets her butt handed to her in this issue by Steel Hawk and then gets arrested for a murder she did not commit makes me really hyped to read issue 5! Fritz Krotze, who was shaping up to be the series’ main bad guy, finds himself beaten and killed all for the amusement and punishment of The Club, and when he’s killed, I mean he is killed by a metal baseball bat! Poor Richard Faylen as well is killed by a hit from The Club that leaves him blown up thanks to a car bomb! Steel Hawk is one badass killer who takes joy in the kill as well as enjoys the set ups that go along with his evil deeds. I really can’t wait to see him return and go toe to toe with Spitfire again! The plot of this comic series is starting to really progress with this issue, and that’s cool as I did not see the murder of Faylen & Krotze coming at all! The art in this issue is done by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane who also did work for Marvel on Spider-Man, Hulk plus a few others, and I must say his style worked well for this issue! The cover as with all the others so far is well done and eye catching.  Over all, this is the best issue so far and shows that this series might have some life in it after all!

Spitfire 5

Spitfire # 5  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 5 of 13

Jenny Swensen is in jail for a murder she did not commit and her Spitfire suit is now in police custody and everything looks real grim as everyone is quick to find her guilty. The Troubleshooters are all wondering what their fate is as they want to help Jenny, but they also can’t tip the police off to their involvement in the theft of the suit and breaking into the labs. Giotti however can’t give up on his crush Jenny and along with a few others decide to break into the police station and spring Jenny from jail! Meanwhile Steel Hawk who is nursing his broken leg and gets a new assassination job from The Club as they want him to kill the Prime Minister of England who is visiting the USA in a few days.  He of course takes the hit. Jenny gets a visit from Star Brand, a super powerful man who has special powers and who had warned her in the past not to use the suit, as it would cause her issues, and as he points out..it has! Giotti steals the suit and is unaware that the core pack is about to blow up and act like a nuclear bomb killing many innocent people in the process.  Star Brand tries to talk some sense into him, but the two end up fighting that leaves Spitfire suit down and out and Star Brand able to get rid of the core pack. In the end, Jenny is happy to hear that the danger is past and finally is able to get a night’s sleep in jail.

This issue should be called “Jenny Goes To Jail” and at some point in the comic they should have shown Ernest P. Worrell dressed as his grandma…yeah! But to be serious, this issue’s plot has Jenny in jail waiting to be cleared of the crime of murder that she didn’t commit, but things don’t look good for her. For extra drama throw in Star Brand and The Troubleshooters trying to steal the Spitfire suit and you have a fun and entertaining issue. Jenny in this issue tries to put up a tough as stone attitude, but is clearly shown to be scared and emotional over what her life faces ahead. Very nice growth for the Jenny character, and I am starting to really like her as a comic character! Star Brand who had his own series running at the same time is a hero who likes to hide his power and not show it off.  This makes him come off as a little cocky as he judges other people who do use their abilities. The Troubleshooters are shown to care for Jenny and would even rob a police station for her but they are also really scared that they will be caught up in her crime of stealing the Spitfire suit that could also get them blamed for the murder. Really cool to see Giotti in the Spitfire suit try and fight Star Brand only to loose and almost blow up the city in the process, I mean I know Giotti wants some booty from Jenny but he also needs to listen and not be so reckless in his attempts to impress her. Another fun issue and once more makes me wonder how Jenny is going to clear her name of the crime and get out of jail to bring down The Club. Herb Trimpe did the art again as well as the cover that’s pretty eye catching, so with that lets move onto issue six.

Spitfire 6

Spitfire # 6  **
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 6 of 13

Jenny is set free from jail and the charges dropped when they could not come up with enough evidence to convict her of murder. Steel Hawk is back in town and ready to kill the U.K Prime Minister and is also now on the polices radar as they think he is the one who killed Krotze and want to find him for questioning. Meanwhile Terry cant take it anymore and goes off on Giotti about how he is drooling over Jenny, and how if he could get his head out of his butt he would see that she is in love with him, she is upset and embarrassed by her remarks and runs and hides in the courts restroom, were she over hears the cops talking that Jenny could be on trail again soon if they cant find Steel Hawk. The Troubleshooter decide to use their mock up smaller versions of the Spitfire suit and hack into the police computer files and track down the hideout of Steel Hawk and find Krotze’s blood and the metal ball bat that killed him! They also find the plan to kill the Prime Minister as she lights the Christmas Tree downtown, Steel Hawk has a bomb that will go off killing many…as the issue comes to an end The Troubleshooters are rushing downtown as the Prime Minister is pushing the light up switch.

She’s Free! This issue takes Jenny out of jail and back into the drama of The Club and it’s evil ways, well sort of as this issue she sits out on the sidelines as The Troubleshooters are the ones trying to track down Steel Hawk and stop the assassination of the Prime Minister of England. Terry shows that she is torn between wanting to help find the truth and hating Jenny who she is clearly jealous of. The Troubleshooters in this issue are the main focus and they act like a bunch of kids who are getting a thrill of breaking the law for good as well as having drama amongst themselves. In fact in this issue they more they were used the more I found myself not liking them as they all came off kind of annoying and bratty. Steel Hawk on the other hand is crazy and shows that while The Club might be the puppet master of evil, he has no strings to hold him down as his idea to kill the Prime Minister is to blow her up!!! So what I learned for this issue is that Jenny is the true star and The Troubleshooters are better as bit players and not the main focus as I found this issue kind of bad, with the only highlights being Steel Hawk. The art is good and done by Vince Giarrano, who worked on mostly DC Comics like Batgirl and Manhunter.  The cover on this issue is also pretty lame and reminds me of a independent 90’s comic that would be found in a quarter bin at the local comic shop. So I am ready to move past this issue and hope Jenny makes her comeback as Spitfire in the next issue, and I hope this is not the start of The Troubleshooters taking over the series.

Spitfire 7

Spitfire # 7  ***
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 7 of 13

The Troubleshooters have saved the Prime Minister of England but now have a hit on them placed by The Club and to be carried out by Steel Hawk! The Troubleshooters decide to retire from being heroes and visit Jenny to tell her the news. Jenny Swensen is dealing with all the pressure of her dismissed trail for murder as well as the fact her students are running around playing hero is technology her father created.  This leads to her wanting to talk to her one time boyfriend Bernie about the news she just got about being fired from the collage next semester. Steel Hawk, however, is on a path of murder as he uses a rocket launcher to blow up Tim and his steel legs that leaves him near death’s door and both of his legs needing to be amputated, and kills Andy with his own laser beams, and tells the others he will see them soon! On her way home, Jenny is kidnapped and pulled inside a van leaving us wondering what is happing next…

This is a good issue that mixes action and drama really well, and man I did not see Troubleshooters being killed off like this coming at all! The plot is really just that Steel Hawk is pissed about failing to killing the Prime Minister and takes out his rage on those who stopped him. Steel Hawk is super cold blooded and his murderous ways are highlighted in this issue as he kills a homeless man, Andy and cripples Tim all with a gleam in his eye. I can’t wait to see Jenny put on the Spitfire suit and go toe to toe with this assassin. The Troubleshooters are dropping like flies, and the worst part is they were trying to retire from the hero game but got out at the wrong time. Tim may live, and I am guessing if he does he will have metal legs.  Andy is sadly dead with no coming back after taking a full laser blast to the back and through the chest. Jenny Swensen is down and out, and she clearly is snapping under the pressure. I am sure when she finds out her students are being killed, her rage and fire will return, and I feel sorry for The Club and Steel Hawk as I think she will be gunning for them. This series took a really bold step by killing off two of the main Troubleshooters and as I stated before, I did not see that coming at all. I wonder if any more of them will die in the next issue, as well as who kidnapped Jenny? The art is done by Alan Kupperburg and Tony DeZuniga and is well done.  This time I think the cover is a little generic and so far is the weakest of the bunch. This is a great issue that shows this series does have life, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Spitfire 8

Spitfire # 8  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 8 of 13

What’s left of the Troubleshooters meet at the hospital. Tim has just gotten out of a surgery that took both his legs below the knees.  This makes Giotti very upset that one of his friends is now crippled and another is dead, and he swears revenge on Steel Hawk. Meanwhile Jenny Swensen wakes up in a dark room and finds that she has been kidnapped for what she knows about M.A.X. suits.  The kidnappers want her to build them one and use a fighter named Brick to rough her up into doing so.  They give her 12 hours to build a suit to defend herself from Brick, and she spends it building a stun gun that does not work as a counterattack against Brick. You soon find out that the people who kidnapped her are betting on if she will break and tell them what she knows of her father’s work or die before doing so. While Eric is done being a Troubleshooter, Giotti and Terry hack into the F.B.I computers and find out all they can about Steel Hawk as they want him to pay for his crimes. In the end Jenny was not in any real trouble as it seems that her tests and kidnapping were done by the government.  Giotti finds Steel Hawk and almost beats him to death until he is saved by a unknown ninja.

Giotti finally gets his metal arms on Steel Hawk and delivers a massive beat down that I cannot say for sure but sure looked like it broke Hawk’s back. This issue’s plot is about revenge and self control as Giotti gets his revenge for his friends and Jenny learns that she is strong willed and in control of her own life. Jenny Swensen this time around is mentally and physical abused throughout the issue all by some government tools who want to see if they can break her into telling them the secrets of the M.A.X. suits. I really wished when they came out and told her it was a test, she would have kicked one of them in the head. Steel Hawk is on cloud nine after taking out two of the Troubleshooters but soon learns that what he thought were easy targets have the guts to fight back! Terry and Giotti stick together and use their suits to track down and deal with Steel Hawk.  I think this might lead them to the path of wanting to be heroes again. I can’t say for sure, but I think Eric who was a Troubleshooter is done, and I would be shocked if we see him again. The Ninja who saves Steel Hawk from his beat down is a mystery, and I am not sure how they will play into the future of this series. And I am sure this is the only time we will see dumb old Brick who spends his time in the issue beating up a woman.  To be honest, there sure is a lot of woman beating in this issue! Still no Spitfire suit and at this point I am not sure when it will make its comeback, but I am hoping soon as I want to see it tangle with The Club! Alan Kupperburg and Tony DeZuniga once more did the artwork, and it looks great.  The cover this time around is back to being eye catching and solid, and to be honest has a Amazing Spider-Man feel to it just replace Jenny with Mary Jane, Steel Hawk with Kraven The Hunter and Giotti with Spider-Man…go on and look and tell me you don’t agree! Well let’s move onto issue # 9 and see where our journey takes us next. I should also note that the comics title starting in this issue changed from Spitfire And The Troubleshooters just to Spitfire.

Spitfire 9

Spitfire # 9  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 9 of 13

Terry and Giotti have decided to fully retire from being Troubleshooters, and they both destroy their suits and vow never to become crime fighters again! Meanwhile Steel Hawk is in a hospital with multiple broken bones and possible brain damage after the beating he took from Giotti.  His savior Varna is trying to nurse him back to health to get revenge. Meanwhile Jenny is set free by The Government run buy a man named Roth who sends her home on a private jet alongside and man named Jake Travest who is also being watched and forced to do things for Roth.  They both soon find out that they are not being sent home but to Afghanistan to see if Russia who is invading that county has M.A.X. suits, and they soon find that they do as our issue ends with one about to grab Jenny and Jake from a horse.

First thing I must say is that this issue is pretty slow moving and most of it takes place on a plane were Jenny and Jake get to know each other and talk slightly about the past and how they both dislike Roth who acts like a evil puppet master. What’s odd about all this is Jake seems to be a Manchurian Candidate and does what he is told once the name “Slash” is brought up.  Plus not sure if I trust Jake as he knows a little too much about Jenny and her past as well as the whole deal with The Club. Jenny in this issue seems just pissed off and fed up with how she is being treated and is growing to hate the fact her father made these metal suits. Terry and Giotti seem to really mean that they are out of the Troubleshooter game and would rather focus on school and not crime busting. Steel Hawk looks like a mummy as he is covered in bandages and has pure hate in his eyes.  I’m not sure who the woman Varna is, but I am sure we will find out sometime in this series. Roth is such an ass and uses his rank and power to make people do what he wants them to do.  He’s not a likable guy, and it’s shown he can make fake VHS recordings of people like Jenny’s father and make them say what he wants. Over all, this was a slow paced issue that seems more like it should be a James Bond issue and not a New Universe title, a good read just slightly boring. Alan Kupperburg does the art, and it looks good while the cover on this one is average and has nothing to special besides it could be mistaken for a John Carter Warlord of Mars or Doc Savage cover. Let’s see if issue 10 brings back the action or brings on more of the zzzzz’s.

Spitfire 10

Spitfire # 10  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 10 of 13

Jenny and Jake are stuck in Afghanistan helping the rebels fight off the invading Russians and their black market M.A.X. suits. Jake is losing his cool a lot and seems to not be bothered when having to kill and injure the Russians, and this is making Jenny uneasy about his mental stability. Jake is able to attack a Russian Solider in a M.A.X. suit and break his arm in three places and leaves him for dead while taking the suit back to the rebel’s home base.  There Jenny, unaware it’s Jake, shows them all how you can bring the suit down with a well timed bullet to a weak spot on the suit. When they find out it’s Jake in the suit, they have a plan that is much like the Trojan Horse that will allow the captured M.A.X. suit to enter the Russians’ hideout with a device Jenny made that will render the suits unusable, but the rebels have other ideas as they place a bomb in the suit and not only blow up all the M.A.X. suits but also all the Russians at the base. In the end Jenny is upset that men had to die, while Jake tells her that’s what war is and Roth comes to get them and informs them he wants them to join a elite group.

This is clearly no longer a superhero comic and has made the leap to secret agent spy comic.  While its still good, it’s also a major letdown as I enjoyed the fact that Jenny was a woman who wore a metal suit and fought off attacks in her hometown. Spitfire is no longer the suit and her nickname, it is now her code name as a tech spy. This issue has the horrors of war as Jenny first hand sees all the terrible things that go on. She seems fed up with all the drama her father’s creations have caused her and really is pissed off at the Government and how they have tricked her into doing their dirty work. Jake is shown to be a man with split personalities as one moment he is fine joking and the next he is snapping people’s arms and being an ass to whoever is in his way. If I read this issue right, “Slash” is his other side…and Slash should not be confused with the Guns N Roses guitarist or the evil turtle from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Russians seem pretty dim and open themselves up for lots of attacks and are dumb enough to take in the M.A.X. suit after it had been missing for like two days. While only in it for a few moments. Roth is as pushy as ever and forces them into joining his little spy game group. The cover of this issue is a little weak, but the art inside, done by Alan Kupperburg, is pretty good. Over all I wish more would happen in the action department, and while the story is changing, I am not sure if it’s going in the right direction as I feel the secret agent route they are taking Jenny down just might not work. Also take a note that starting with this issue ,the comic is not just called Spitfire but is now Codename Spitfire…ugh! Well let’s see what issue 11 has to bring to this spy dance.

Spitfire 11

Spitfire # 11  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 11 of 13

Jenny starts this issue being pulled out of the ocean wearing a new Spitfire suit by Roth and some Navy workers.  She is rushed to surgery as she is badly hurt and her legs burnt. Meanwhile Jake is seen as a prisoner of a Russian general who is torturing him and enjoying doing so! We flashback and see how Jenny and Jake were on a mission that went wrong that lead to Jake’s capture and Jenny being roasted in her own M.A.X. suit. Back to current time and Jenny is weak and burnt and is told by Roth that the government wants them to leave and not go after Jake and that’s an order.  Jenny doesn’t listen and musters up all her strength and climbs into the now repaired Spitfire suit and beats the bad guys and saves Jake from a certain death. When returning to the Navy ship Jenny and Jake are taking to sickbay where they are told this new secret squad might already be facing retirement!

This issue has the effect and cause set up and shows how Jenny and Jake fail at their first secret mission as a team with the goal to save a hostage who is killed.  They each come close to death’s door making it a true failure. Roth seems annoyed and yet also proud of his new team who are a rag tag bunch of misfits. Roth has grown as a character from an unlikable government agent to a well rounded respectable kind of agent. Jenny has gotten her desire back and it’s clear now that she is going to use her father’s work for good as her new Spitfire suit is built for war.  Also she seems to have come to terms with the fact people die in war as she murders soldiers to save Jake. Speaking of Jake, this issue he starts is mission out being G.I. Joe but ends up being a whipping boy for the enemy.  The cheesiest thing about him is how he says one-liners even after being beat up! Once more this takes the spy route and only has a dash of superhero, and I am not sure how I am feeling about the change in feel and direction of the series. The cover for this issue is great and eye catching. I really like the aerial combat scene, and it also lets you get a good look at the new Spitfire costume. The art this time around is done by Grant Miehm who is known for his work on the Marvel series Namor: The Sub-Mariner, and its great stuff and is second best in line behind the work of Herb Trimpe so far in the series. To sum it up, this issue is okay but feels like a filler issue when looking back at it.

Spitfire 12

Spitfire # 12  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 12 of 13

Jenny is watching tape of a failed test she just ran in her new Spitfire suit, and while upset she drops a picture of her father and finds a computer hard disk that has a program that is the attitude and beliefs of her father! Meanwhile, something wicked is going down as an air force base is attacked by terrorist Evan Reinger who steals a top-secret jet and kills all witnesses.  The government call on Spitfire to take it back and to bring in Reinger dead or alive. As Spitfire engages the jet being flown by Reinger, the hard disk of her father’s beliefs takes over the suit and almost gets his own daughter killed as his anti war feelings get in the way of her being able to defend herself as he tries to shut down the suit! Lucky for her, Roth and crew are able to eject the disk, and this gives her enough time to blow up Reinger and the jet and save her own skin. In the end Jenny says her goodbyes to the disk as she deletes the program and embraces what she is now doing with her life.

This issue is close to the end and has Jenny having to come to terms that she is now using her father’s work as a means of war.  This causes her to also have to let go of the ghost of her father whose own beliefs have impacted all her decisions her whole life. For some reason in this issue Jenny looks like a character from the cartoon Jem or could have been a woman in a Hall and Oates music video, but with her odd appearance aside, she has made another step in growing as a character and is now a fully fledged agent who wants to do the right thing. It’s a shame that the character takes the next turn of growing and it’s one issue before the final. Jake and Roth take a backseat in this issue and act as supporters who play a key part in why Jenny turns the page on using the tech for war purposes. Evan Reinger is a killer who does not seem to mind killing and his main focus is getting that plan to use for bad purposes, and when he is blown up it comes to no real loss for the world. The action and drama mix well in this issue, and I am finally glad to see that Jenny’s father will be out of the picture in the next issue we can hope. The cover is okay and is just a more chaotic version of last issue.  The art inside this time around is done by Javier Saltares who is known for his Ghost Rider work for Marvel and is a style that I am not a super fan of, but I guess it works. Well, we are at the final issue of Spitfire, and I for one can’t wait to see how they are going to end this series! So let’s get to the 13th and final issue of Spitfire.

Spitfire 13

Spitfire # 13  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Marvel Comics # 13 of 13

Celia Cliff is an agent who goes missing during a mission in the middle of the jungle, and this leaves Jenny alone with a new tech whiz partner named Willy.  The pair, along with a new version of the Spitfire suit, head out to find the missing agent and try to bring down the evil St. John who is kidnapping the local children and turning them into half human and half robot slaves! Jenny gathers information from the locals and heads to the castle that holds St. John’s empire and along the way she defeats one of his robot henchmen and finds out that they all have very little control of their own minds! When at the castle Jenny and Willy find out that Celia is becoming one of his robot soldiers.  As two of his robots attack Spitfire and St. John is keeping Willy at bay it’s the last dying breath of Celia in her new robot state of mind that is able to bring down St. John as they both die. In the end Jenny and Willy head back home, an agent down but a world safer.

The final issue of Spitfire leaves lots of questions unanswered as well as many storylines unfinished, and that takes away from the over all appeal of this series as we as readers get no closure and it just ends with a story that has no real build up! Jenny in this issue becomes a James Bond type and travels to a hostel land to rescue a fellow agent and to take down an evil mad super intelligent doctor that is also building robot suits that will be used in wars against America and our allies. She has a kick butt attitude in this issue and wants to save the agent as well as help the small town that is being terrorized by this madman. The Spitfire suit is once more redone and this time is less bulky and is lightweight and ready for hand-to-hand combat. Willy is a tech nerd who wants to follow this mission through even though he’s only really good at building and redesigning metal suits.  Plus we only know him from this issue so it’s hard to build a real opinion of him. Roth is only in the issue for a few pages as he delivers Jenny to Willy and then disappears.  Jake does not appear at all, and this was a lame move as this is the final issue and he is her partner. The remaining Troubleshooters never make an appearance, and we have no clue if Steel Hawk healed up and murdered them as this is a plot that they just dropped. St. John, who works for the Club, becomes the main focus bad guy and he for some reason reminds me of a super villain that would have made an issue appearance in Captain America comics from the late 70’s that would have gotten beaten by the end, much like what happened to him here. I mean he wears a cape and has crazy hair…I thought they said the New Universe was breaking away from the cheese of the Marvel Universe. The thing about this series is that it had so much potential, and each issue for the most part was very entertaining and was a nice break from the normal comics I had been reading like Amazing Spider-Man and Conan The Barbarian, but as a series it was a total mess as the creative team clearly had no direction as the comic’s name changed three times in the 13 issue run and the storyline as well changed and had so many holes in it that Swiss Cheese would have been envies of all those holes! I can also safely say that I liked the character of Jenny “Spitfire” Swensen as I found her very likable and enjoyed that over the issues she did grow as a character and became more tough and worldly. The final issue’s art was done by David Hoover and is well done, and the cover is pretty cool but a little cheesy. This is my first major step into the New Universe, and I can say for the most part it was enjoyable and I will take a look at another character sometime in the future.  So if you like Marvel Comics from the 80’s or are curious about the New Universe than Spitfire is worth checking out for sure. Check out the art below that showcases Spitfire in all her glory.

Spitfire Art 1

That was a fun read yes, but one thing’s for sure, The New Universe is not even in the same league as the Marvel Universe as I feel the need to read some Incredible Hulks or Captain Americas from the 80’s after I am done writing this last part of the update! And one a side note, I do know that Spitfire does appear in other books in the New Universe line and maybe just maybe one of those issues has the answers to the plot holes and questions. Our next update will take us far away from Marvel and once more into the world of Dell Comics and more important will be another look at a classic Looney Tune character! We will be taking a look at the icon of swine, Baron Von Porkchop’s favorite cartoon character, the one and only Porky Pig so make sure to comeback for that as it will surely be a great time. Until then, read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and as always support your local horror host and enjoy this March weather.

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