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Atlantis - Indy's fate

© Lon Mills

Most people are familiar with the three Indiana Jones movies, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” but there’s much more to the myth than the movies let on.

This ongoing series will focus on the comic books that have extended the adventures of Indiana Jones into print. Since the early 1980s up until the mid-1990s, the comics medium gave us another outlet for new tales of the archaeologist.

The best comic tale is “Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.” This story began as a computer game from Lucasfilm Games and was released as a four-issue mini-series by Dark Horse comics in 1992. It follows Indiana Jones around the globe as he tries to beat the Nazis to the location of the mythical continent of Atlantis. It houses an unstoppable power source that would give the Nazis unlimited resources in their quest for world domination.

The story starts at Indiana’s school, Barnett College. Indy is paid a visit by a mysterious man who possesses an ancient key. He seeks Indy’s expertise in identifying the key’s origins. Indy recognizes a pattern in the key and associates it to a horned idol found at a previous dig that is housed in storage. Once the idol is located the man steals it and the adventure begins.

The man is a Nazi and is after the secrets of Atlantis and its precious resource, orichalcum. It is an energized metal that powers the machines of the lost continent. The Nazis want it to build an atom bomb.

Indy embarks on a journey that leads him through New York, Iceland, Mexico and Morocco in pursuit of the secrets of Atlantis. Along the way he enlists the help of a colleague, Sophia Hapgood, someone Indy is attracted to but who also gets on his nerves.

The pace of the story is excellent. This would make a great fourth Indiana Jones movie. It stays in line with the “real” myths (or nonmyths depending on what you believe) that George Lucas has used for Indiana Jones adventures. The action in Fate of Atlantis is swift and inventive. I particularly enjoyed Indy’s exit from a hole in the ground in Iceland. Chases, whip and gun fights balance with interesting information regarding Atlantis.

The cover art by Dave Dorman for the four issues and the trade paperback are just stunning. The inside art is a little off for my taste, it looks too cartoony. There must be some licensing restriction about using Harrison Ford’s likeness within the story. However, his likeness for the cover art is perfect.