***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
Well well well, Dr. Jones, we meet again in the form of comic bookery.
We’re both a bit more experienced than we were when last we met though.
Let’s everybody just calm down and discuss this like the refined beings we are, huh?
Tell me, Jones, are you just a rehash of the first installment of this little digest sized adventure series?
Or are you able to bring something new to the table?
One way or another, I intend to find out.
As per the usual, this here is your handy dandy ***SPOILER ALERT***
Cover by Ethen Beavers & Ronda Pattison: As much as I liked the cover for Volume 1, I think I like this one even more.
The use of space is so much better, my hatred of blank backgrounds having been long established and this one fills up the space far better than Volume 1 did.
The moody moonlit chase is energetic as hell, from the chasers to the frantic birds.
It’s all just beautiful.
Art by Ethen Beavers: Much like the cover, the art this go round is more moody.
Beavers is playing with shadows and close ups way more and to great effect.
I still think that Lucasfilm and now Disney are insane for not utilizing this dude’s style for an Indiana Jones animated series or even more of these types of books.
It’s just so fuckin’ perfectly simplified and stylized.
Story by Mark Evanier: When a series of 16th century animal statues are suddenly being stolen from museums across the globe, statues which may hold the secret to a mysterious ruby that grants the possessor invincibility, Indy soon heads on a globe spanning adventure that leads to the jungles and ruins of Kenya in search of the statues and more!
This is a one of those fun Indy stories where half way through the entire plot shifts tracks and suddenly Indy is chasing something other than what he originally set out after.
The switching of the Mcguffin can often be a jarring and overused trope that feels like a writer has lost their focus and just wants to cram shit in for the sake of it, but it works here because it has a laser focus and intent.
Once again, we see Indy face off with an old french rival.
Though he’s a big motivator, Belloq isn’t the main villain here.
And I like that, it’s something I’ve seen in a shit ton of Indy stories, Belloq is rarely the main baddie, but he’s always a fly in the ointment.
It works so well because it avoids having Indy destroy Belloq and his plans time and again which would just declaw the threat he poses and risk making his implied history with Indy in Raiders seem lame as shit.
To bottomline it, it’s a damn shame they didn’t do more than those 3 stories, the potential was just staggering for it to be used as an entry point for younger kids or people who just missed the boat on the whole Indiana Jones thing.
I still have a 6 page Free Comic Book Day story that was made in this same style and I can’t wait to reread and review that for you guys.
Much like the first volume, this is a perfect marriage of art and story with enough of a twist on the general adventure theme that makes it feel fresh enough to make it worth the effort.
So, if you can find them, definitely pick them up, gang.
Special thanks to @ACFerrell1976 for her unending support and continued editorial assistance.
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Until next time, stay safe out there, gang.
