Retro Comic Recap: Marvel Two-In-One #1

Hello there,

Today's topic is the first issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover showed the Thing ramming his fist through the torso of the Man-Thing. The story was called "Vengeance of the Molecule Man." The issue had a cover date of January 1974.

It all started with Ben Grimm's anger increasing after seeing a picture in a newspaper of the Man-Thing. He grew incensed because there was another monster that had a name similar to his. It even caused him to cancel his bus trip back home to New York. He was now set on traveling to Florida to encounter this other super-being in person.

While the poor old man who was simply trying to run a business sat alone in tears after Ben departed, Grimm was reminiscing about his recent battles with the Hulk and teaming up with Iron Man to combat the Blood Brothers (as shown in Marvel Feature #11 and 12, respectively). He may have been a little oversensitive, but the blue-eyed idol of millions had his reputation at stake.

Meanwhile, on an unnamed planet, the Molecule Man was lamenting his poor health while his enemies were thriving back on Earth. The villain had been exiled to that world by the one called The Watcher. He didn't have long to live and was unhappy that he'd never have his vengeance against the Fantastic Four. 

His son vowed to continue his father's mission shortly before the elder passed away. Afterward, the younger man moved to another room and bombarded himself with a shower of ionic particles. They transformed him and helped to renew his devotion to the destruction of Earth's first superhero team. 

Sometime later, the new Molecule Man arrived not in New York as he'd hoped, but instead in the Florida swamps. The first being he encountered was the Man-Thing. He was repulsed by the creature and dropped the wand he'd been carrying. Without that icon, his skin began to wither and weaken. He grabbed for the instrument and felt his strength return almost immediately. 

He knew then that he had to keep the wand with him at all times and walked on, with the Man-Thing following silently behind him. Not far away, Grimm decided he'd had enough travel for a while and ordered the bus driver to stop and let him out. The driver let him out on a bridge, and Ben jumped down. He had no sooner landed in the murky waters below when vines lashed out at him, thanks to the Molecule Man's powers.

Before he could do further harm, the Molecule Man was tossed aside by the Man-Thing. He recovered quickly and used his wand to revert his foes to their human identities, Ben Grimm and Ted Sallis. Ben insisted that they pursue their attacker, knowing that failing to do so could mean the end of his superhero team.

The Molecule Man was mystified as to why his wand was unable to transport him to New York. He continued on to the city of Citrusville, Florida, as Grimm and Sallis made their way out of the swamp. It didn't take them long to find their foe after seeing the destruction he'd wrought in the town in such a relatively short amount of time.

At one point, the villain turned a citizen into a facsimile of Reed Richards and subjected the unwitting resident to feeling the limits of Richards' elasticity. Grim cried out after seeing the helpless man die as a result. His outburst attracted the Molecule Man's attention. He was tired of seeing Ben in his human form and turned him once more into his rocky alter ego.

After being rebuffed by the Thing, Sallis soon reverted back to his monstrous form. The duo engaged in battle again. Upon hearing their mutual enemy laugh loudly at their plight, Ben tossed a bit of the Man-Thing's muck and knocked the wand from the Molecule Man's hand. He ran after it, but by the time he caught up with it, his mortal body withered into dust.

The Thing then picked up the wand. He wasn't able to use it to turn him or his ally back to their human versions, and watched the Man-Thing saunter off. Ben then gave the wand to a little boy, who began playing with it immediately.

The Molecule Man is one of those Marvel characters who appears every so often. Most people in my generation know him from his inclusion in the first two Secret Wars miniseries. I don't know a lot about his history, but I first saw him in the pages of the monthly Fantastic Four and Micronauts titles. He has incredible powers, but his humanity sometimes prevents him from seeing his true potential. 

This was an enjoyable issue. I wasn't surprised to see the Man-Thing, knowing writer Steve Gerber's background with that particular character. Gil Kane's artwork is unique and always fun to add to my collection. 

Except for this one and the second annual, you should be able to find most of the issues from this run in your comic book store's discount bin or at prices that are typically lower than many other issues that were printed during the same time. They're fun to read, but not very highly sought after by most collectors. I decided to collect them all because I enjoyed the run, and it was a less expensive option than other titles that I've read from time to time over the years. This title has been relaunched in recent years, but the newer iteration just doesn't have the same impact on me as the original series has.

Well, that's all I have for today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the second issue of this series. Ben is back home in New York when he encounters one of Marvel's favorite super-powered characters from the 1940s. The duo also meets a new character whom Grimm takes under his wing in several additional upcoming issues. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.

Retro Comic Recap: Marvel Feature #12

Hi everyone,

It's time for me to talk about Marvel Feature #12. The last issue of the first edition of this title was a team-up with the Thing and Iron Man. The two stars were featured on the cover, battling the Blood Brothers. The issue had a cover date of November 1973, and the tale was titled "The Bite of the Blood Brothers!"

It began right where the last issue left off. Ben Grimm was stranded in the desert (after combining with the Hulk to defeat Kurrgo and the Leader). He soon saw Iron Man fly by, but the armored Avenger was too preoccupied with his goals of locating the Blood Brothers and possibly their leader, Thanos, to visit with an old friend. 

Tony Stark had reached his enemies' former base, not knowing that he was already being targeted through a gunsight by one of his foes. The Thing followed Iron Man's path while Thanos was communicating to his lackeys via a Cosmic Cube from the safety of his ship that was orbiting the planet Saturn. The Blood Brothers had located Iron Man and were awaiting orders. His death sentence was permitted, and the aliens swiftly lunged at their prey. 

The founding Avenger's armor and defensive capacities were enough to hold off the villains for a while, but he crashed into the Fantastic Four's strongman as he attempted to leave the compound. The collision knocked both heroes out. Thanos commended his subordinates on their victory from afar. He gave the order to terminate them just before one of the creatures attempted to use his vampiric abilities on Grimm.

His fangs had little impact on the rock-covered superhero, who trounced his attacker. Iron Man recovered during the ensuing melee and joined in the confrontation. The battle eventually brought a nearby mountain down, but Earth's defenders and their foes still fought on.

A combined effort was needed to knock out the Blood Brothers. Thanos continued to observe via the cube and dispatched his lackeys' punishment through it. The Blood Brothers disappeared, leaving the heroes alone. Iron Man said that the conflict had taken too much of his suit's power to assist Grimm, and Ben was left once again to wander the desert seeking a way home. 

This was the last issue of the first edition of Marvel Feature. It's sought after by collectors because of Thanos' appearance, even though he never directly interacted with the heroes in the story. Thanos was killed off a few years later (in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2) and was resurrected in the 1990s. He's appeared from time to time in different Marvel magazines and movies, and still remains a popular adversary.

I enjoyed this issue. It was, to the best of my knowledge, the first story featuring just the Thing and Iron Man in a drawn-out battle. The Blood Brothers were interesting, although I often think of the Hulk's nemesis the Bi-Beast when I hear about them for some reason. They were an early kink in Tony Stark's armor, but I don't think they've returned very often since this tale. 

Marvel Feature would be revived a few years later, and kicked off with a series of Red Sonja stories. The Thing continued on in his own book, Marvel Two-In-One. Next time, I'll recap the first issue of that title, as Ben Grimm runs into the Man-Thing in the deep South. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another. 

Retro Comic Recap: Marvel Feature #11

Hi everyone,

I'm starting a new week with a new series to cover. Most of you probably know about Marvel Two-In-One, a regular title in the 1970s and 80s that teamed the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing with different heroes. What you might not know is that the concept began in the pages of the bi-monthly series Marvel Feature.

The first three issues of this title featured the original Defenders (Doctor Strange, the Incredible Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and the Silver Surfer) before that group got its own book. The issues following that focused on the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym. The Thing made his debut in this series in issue #11, where he went up against none other than the Hulk himself. They were locked in combat on the issue's cover.

The story was called "Cry, Monster." The issue had a cover date of September 1973. It all started in the Fantastic Four's first skyscraper headquarters, the Baxter Building. Reed Richards (aka Mister Fantastic) and his brother-in-law, Johnny Storm (better known as the Human Torch), were trying to prevent the Thing/Ben Grimm from pulling apart a piece of Reed's laboratory machines.

Reed constructed the device as one of his many attempts to turn Grimm back to his regular human form. Ben wasn't having any of it. He had no desire at the time to revert to what he'd been before the fateful rocket ride into outer space that was responsible for the Fantastic Four's creation. Their origin was summarized in the first several panels of the third page. What none of them knew was that they were being observed from afar by the former master of Planet X, Kurrgo (who had only been seen before in Fantastic Four #7).

The erstwhile monarch recounted his initial visit to Earth and how Reed had tried to help his guest save his people from the possible collision of their planet with a different world. Richards had shrunk the populace down so that everyone could fit into a rocket that could deliver them all to safety. Kurrgo had stayed behind when the planet started collapsing and was trapped in the rubble. 

Kurrgo's loyal robot aide came to the rescue and delivered him to a hidden ship. They took off right before Planet X was destroyed. It took Kurrgo several years to find the new world that his people had settled on. However, by that time, they'd decided that they no longer wanted the despot to rule them. They had prepared defenses to drive Kurrgo away. He and his robot fled, but Kurggo would not forget the betrayal.

His ship now hovered over Earth. Kurrgo was searching for Earth's mightiest warriors and came upon the mighty Hulk. He was about to enlist the jade giant to his cause when the Hulk's long-time enemy, the Leader, intervened. The man who was once Samuel Sterns was encased in a cylinder aboard a ship, as he conversed telepathically with Kurrgo. 

The Leader thought that the Hulk's power could help him to recover from his paralysis. Kurrgo proposed that the two of them settle things by having two of Earth's mightiest beings battle for them. The Leader had chosen the Hulk, and Kurrgo opted for the Thing. Whichever one of them won the match would have the services of both champions and the scientific knowledge of the loser. 

The game was about to begin. Back in the Baxter Building, the Thing was about to boot the ball of mechanical junk he'd just made when he was transported into a town that seemed to be right out of the Old West. He had just gotten his bearings when an astral projection of the Leader appeared before him. 

Sterns explained that Grimm had been sent there to serve as Kurrgo's warrior, where he would be going up against his warrior, the Hulk. Ben's temper flared until the Leader showed him an Ultrex bomb that had been activated and was capable of destroying the planet in less than thirty minutes if Grimm didn't disarm its timing mechanism before then.

The Leader's image then disappeared, and Grimm was left all alone. He announced his accomplishment to Kurrgo on the spaceship, where the two villains awaited the reaction from the green-skinned hero. Grimm was still stewing in the Western town when Bruce Banner's alter ego struck the first blow. He was wondering why he'd been sent to that place to fight the Thing. 

The two engaged in a battle that knocked down much of the old buildings around them. Not even Grimm's disclosure of the bomb was enough to deter his foe. The fight continued until the Thing finally was able to subdue the Hulk temporarily. He then turned a corner, and found the bomb that the Leader had shown him, only to learn that it was a fake. 

The Hulk had returned, ready for the next round when a beam from the ship orbiting Earth's atmosphere struck him. Ben grabbed onto a green leg and ascended with him. They were then face to face with the Leader and Kurrgo. Kurrgo dispatched his faithful robot to defend them, which was knocked into part of the spaceship's controls.

Ben decided to bail out before the craft went down. The Hulk followed, and the two of them landed safely back on Earth. The ship exploded and plummeted planetward after the Hulk bounded away. The Thing was then left by himself once more. Now he just had to figure out how he'd get home. 

Even though he wasn't as popular as the Hulk (who is still my favorite Marvel hero), I still admire the Thing. He's strong but also has a good moral compass. He's not as smart as Reed, but usually manages to figure things out and has saved the day plenty of times on his own or with the assistance of other  comrades plenty of times since his creation. This was a fun yarn, one that was my introduction to Kurrgo and featured my favorite Hulk nemesis, the Leader. The Thing and the Hulk had tussled before, and would meet each other many more times as the years have gone on. 

Tomorrow, I'll discuss the final Thing tale from Marvel Feature before he was given his own magazine. Marvel Feature #12 has Grimm teaming up with Iron Man. The two heroes take on a twin terror, and this issue has one of the earliest appearances of a well-known foe who's probably best known lately for his roles in Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another. 

Retro Comic Recap: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade #4

Good afternoon all,

I'm closing out the weekend with a summary of the final issue of Marvel's adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The cover showed Indy duking it out with a Nazi officer atop a German tank. The tale began with Indiana and his father flying in a pirated biplane with a trio of German fighters in hot pursuit. 

Indiana was piloting the getaway vehicle, and his father manned the gunner's seat. He eventually figured out how to use the guns, but accidentally managed to shoot their tail flap, which he blamed on their opponents. The plane landed shortly thereafter, and our heroes commandeered a car, which they used to evade one of the planes that tried to fly through a commuter tunnel.

The elder Jones used his remembrance of Charlemagne to draw the attention of several birds flitting around the beach, several of which caused one of the German fliers to lose sight of his targets and crash explosively. They later reached Iskenderun, where Sallah gave them the bad news about Marcus Brody's kidnapping (as shown in the last issue). 

They followed the Nazi entourage, which now included a large tank. The heavy vehicle spotted the trio's car and knocked it out of commission. However, the Nazis now had to be concerned about the Americans and their ally, and the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword (who we saw in issue #2 of this miniseries, back in Venice). 

In all the confusion, Jones Sr. found Brody in the belly of the tank. The two old chums later escaped after Indy fought off several SS soldiers. Indiana was still locked in battle with one of them right before the tank careened off a nearby cliff. 

Sallah, Marcus, and Indy's father watched from the cliffside, thinking that the American professor had been lost for good. They were mourning when Indy crawled up, wondering what all the fuss was about. His father hugged him, and they later followed the German forces on horseback.

Both parties found the secret canyon and the temple within. The villains were trying to reach the chamber where the Holy Grail was kept, but with little success. Indy and his companions were soon apprehended by the Nazi sympathizers. Walter Donovan convinced the younger Jones to volunteer after shooting his father in the chest.

Indiana used his father's grail diary to pass through the traps that lay within. He found the last remaining knight inside a small room. Jones was allowed to search for the cup of Christ. Elsa Schneider and Donovan followed after Indy had reached the area. Walter chose a rather majestic-looking chalice. He dipped it into the fountain and soon learned that he'd made the wrong choice, as his body began to atrophy until it disintegrated.

Indy then found what seemed to be a carpenter's cup and tested it. The knight confirmed that he'd chosen wisely. He then took the cup to his father to heal his wound. They observed the knight standing silently behind him, serving as a reminder that the grail could not cross the seal carved into the floor. 

Elsa tried to leap for the cup after the ground beneath them started to split, but she fell into the abyss. Indy was tempted to do the same, until the gentle words of his father brought him back to reality. The quartet then departed just as the temple collapsed behind them. They rode off into the sunset together as the story came to an end. 

The last five pages of this issue were reserved for ad space. If those pages were dedicated to content, this adaptation probably could have been published in three issues instead of four. The only problem I had regarding this issue's content was that they skipped the reason why the younger Jones was called Indiana. I get that not everything could be included, but I felt that was an important part of his lore. Nonetheless, it was still a satisfying adaptation of the third Indiana Jones flick. 

This was the last Indiana Jones comic book published by Marvel. Dark Horse acquired the publishing rights in the 1990s and distributed their own stories, along with collections of the original Marvel ongoing title, from 1994 to 2010. There haven't been any other Indy comics published since then. I think that it would be interesting to revisit the original series and produce new content that features the primary main and supporting characters, as well as some of the more memorable characters from the regular series' run. Maybe that will happen someday. Time can only tell.

That's all I have today. Tomorrow, I'll begin a new series. This one will feature a well-known member of the Marvel universe, one who stands out for his distinctive powers and abilities, and his long-standing feud with the Yancy Street Gang. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another. 

Retro Comic Recap: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade #3

Good afternoon,

Hope everyone's having a great weekend. Time for me to recap the third issue of Marvel's adaptation of the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The cover depicted Indy and his father tied to chairs together with flames spreading around them. The third chapter began with Nazi soldiers bursting into the room where father and son had just reunited. One of them asked for the grail diary, which Indy had been carrying.

His father had mailed the book to him, thinking that it would be safe. Indiana took advantage of their open quarrel to distract the Germans and steal one of their machine guns. They left the room, but soon ran into more Nazis, one of whom was holding Doctor Elsa Schneider hostage. Indy lowered the gun right before Schneider took the book from him. 

She led them to her leader, who was sitting before a fireplace. The host stood up and revealed himself as Walter Donovan (whom we met in the first issue). He'd warned Indy not to trust anyone, and that turned out to be an important warning. Elsa paged through the book and noticed the map was missing. She realized that Indy had given those pages to Marcus Brody. Indiana talked up Brody's talents, which were far more impressive than his actual skills.

At that time, Brody had just arrived in Iskenderun and met Sallah. They were swiftly met by foes, who Sallah fought off. Marcus ran right into the back of a waiting truck that had been camouflaged behind a merchant table. 

Donovan and Schnieder left the Americans tied up together in chairs facing opposite walls. They left to pursue the Holy Grail. Indiana had his dad reach for the lighter in his jacket pocket. The elder Jones found it, but fumbled it as it lit, and soon started the carpet ablaze. They hopped toward a platform that spun into the Nazi control room before spinning back to their original position. 

The curious soldiers who emerged from the secret door were overwhelmed by the flames, allowing Indy and his father to escape. They soon found a hidden staircase that led to a pier. Indiana started a boat to serve as a decoy while they fled on a motorcycle that had a sidecar. 

They eventually stopped when Jones' father argued that they had to retrieve the book. Indiana questioned that, knowing that they had to help Marcus. The older Jones pressed the issue, noting that his diary contained information about the traps that they would encounter once they reached the Grail's location. 

Indy changed course, and the pair set off for Berlin. Indiana was able to disguise himself as an SS officer and grab the book from Elsa. He then turned around and faced none other than Adolf Hitler, who stared for a moment before signing the book that was before both of them. The Joneses were then headed for an airfield to depart via zeppelin.

As they waited for takeoff, Indiana noticed the soldiers' presence. He took out a few stragglers before their departure. He and his dad were able to relax for a bit until the younger Jones figured out that they were heading back to Germany. He grabbed his father and set out for the small plane that had been attached to the larger craft.

He detached the biplane and took the controls. His father was in the gunner's seat, and the two of them flew off. Minutes later, a trio of German military planes swooped toward them.

The last five pages of this issue were occupied with paid and house ads. That's my only real complaint for this series. I felt that the writing and art were solid and consistent throughout. There were some parts omitted due to the ages of the series' target audience, but otherwise, this adaptation was very true to the source material. 

That's all I have for you today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the last issue of this miniseries. We'll find out what happened to the Jones boys and learn where Marcus ended up. We'll also see if Donovan, Schneider, and company were able to reach the Grail's hiding place and just what they discovered. Until then, have a great weekend and don't forget to tbe kind to one another. 

Retro Comic Recap: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade #2

Good morning,

Hope all's well. I'm starting my weekend with a discussion of the second issue of Marvel's limited series adaptation of the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The cover showed Indy and Doctor Elsa Schneider standing before a skeleton resting in a tomb with scads of rats looking on. 

The story began with Indiana driving home. He was concerned after learning from Walter Donovan (last issue) that his father had gone missing while serving as their project lead for the quest for the fabled Holy Grail. He and Marcus Brody arrived to find a mess. The house had been ransacked, and someone had rifled through Indy's mail.

Jones then remembered the book he'd picked up in his mail at Marshall College earlier in the day. It had been sent from Venice, Italy. He unwrapped the package and saw that it was his father's grail diary. Indiana decided to take Donovan up on his offer. Before he boarded the plane bound for Italy, Walter warned him to not trust anyone. Those words would later prove to be rather prophetic.

Jones and Brody arrived in Venice a short while later and were greeted by Doctor Elsa Schneider. She'd worked with Indiana's father and was surprised by his sudden disappearance. They headed toward the library, which was the last place that Elsa had seen Indy's father. She held out a note with the Roman numerals III, VII, and X printed on it. The three and seven could be found inside the library, which was once a Franciscan monastery.

Indiana deduced that the tomb had to be somewhere in the library. He ascended a spiral staircase and saw the Roman numeral ten printed on the floor they'd just been walking across. It turned out that X did mark the spot in this instance. Jones returned to the floor and pried a portion loose to reveal a tunnel underneath.

He and Elsa descended into the sewer. A lit match kept most of the rodent occupants at bay. They found a torch, which they used to locate the tomb. Inside was the body and shield of the second warrior. Indiana used paper and chalk to make a quick rubbing of the inscriptions carved into the tomb's cover before the waters behind them went up in flames. 

The duo had to overturn the tomb and use it as cover until they could swim to safety. Schneider and Jones eventually found a staircase that brought them up to the city streets. From there, they engaged in a race with a boat whose riders were shooting at them. They jumped into another similar boat and followed. 

Indy finally managed to grab their attacker, who disclosed that he was a member of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, and that their organization stood to preserve the grail's secrets for a thousand years. Indy let the man go when they neared a dock. After informing the stranger he was there to find his father, Indy was told that he was being held in Brunwald Castle, on the German-Austrian border. 

Later that evening, Indiana convened with Marcus. They discussed the day's events, including the term Alexandretta, which was a city that had been demolished by the Knights of the First Crusade centuries ago. They also talked about Iskendrun and the fact that Jones' father knew the route but had no place names to identify. Marcus was to head to Iskenduren in the morning to meet with Sallah. Indy was going after his father.

Indy and Elsa arrived at the castle the following day. Their disguises were seen through by the butler, but Indiana knocked him out so they could enter the gates. It didn't take long for them to see Nazi soldiers or figure out where Indiana's father was being held. Indy used his whip to crash through the prisoner's room and was promptly hit on the head by his dad, who thought the intruder was another Nazi officer at first.

They caught up for a few minutes, and Indy filled his father in on his recent discoveries. The elder Jones was grateful that he'd mailed his grail diary to his son so that it would be out of the hands of their enemies. Indy was thinking about that just as more S.S soldiers burst through the room. 

I was hoping for a bit more content, but the last five pages of this issue were dedicated to ad space. I felt like this adaptation was rather faithful to the film. There were a few minor changes, but overall it followed the movie very well. David Michelinie and Bret Blevins made a good team, and it was apparent that they took the source material seriously. I remember watching the castle scenes and describing them to my brother in the theater, knowing that I'd be in that portion of the world the following summer for a while. Even though the castles and other historic buildings I visited that summer after graduating from high school were nothing like the ones in this film, it gave me something to look forward to with optimism.

That's all I have for this morning. Later today, I'll cover the third issue of this miniseries. We'll find out what happened to the Jones boys and see just who they could trust. We'll also learn what happened to Marcus and Sallah, and a lot more. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another. 

Retro Comic Recap: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade #1

Happy Friday!

It's time for me to talk about Marvel's adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This was covered in a Marvel Super Special and a four-issue limited series. I only have the limited series in my collection, so I'll start my coverage by recapping the first issue, which showed young Indy squaring off against a lion, with an image of Harrison Ford's Indy in the background. By the way, the picture of Jones in the top left box is a different image of the American archaeologist, for the first time, since Marvel's publishing rights to the character began in 1981. 

After the splash page, the story started in Utah in 1912. Young Indiana Jones was part of a scout troop that was riding past a rock formation. The group stopped, and Indy took some time to tend to his friend Herman, who had taken ill. The duo separated from the main group and spied on some treasure hunters. Indy noticed that the men had found the Cross of Coronado, which had been given to Cortés in 1520. Its unearthing proved that Coronado had been looking for the fabled seven cities of gold.

Indiana sent his friend to warn the scoutmaster and alert the authorities. He then crept down to retrieve the treasure, but his act didn't go unnoticed. The lad from the cave eventually managed to return to his horse. The animal wasn't much of a match for the vehicles that pursued them, but Jones saw a circus train before them and leapt at the opportunity to evade his foes.

He made his way across the train, landing in a pit of snakes in one car and grabbing a whip to fend off a lion in another. Indy was finally forced topside by the thieves, but a snake hidden in his sleeve kept them from regaining the cross. Indy escaped and high-tailed it on foot to his family home. Inside, his father was at his desk, preoccupied with his latest translation efforts. The elder Jones told the youth to wait and count to twenty in Greek.

Indiana saw a car arrive and ran to tell them what had happened. The constable listened, taking the cross from him, which he gave to the man who had just found it. He smiled, put his fedora on the teenager's head, and informed him that he'd lost that day, but it didn't mean that he had to like it.

The attention then shifted several years later, as Indy was on a boat in the middle of a storm, having to surrender the same item again to the cross's owner. This time he took advantage of the inclement weather and choppy waters to free himself. Jones grabbed the cross before jumping overboard, just as the barrels of fuel ignited and presumably sank the ship and its crew.

Indy caught the attention of an American freighter and returned to his teaching position at Marshall College in Connecticut a few days later. He wrapped up his lecture by informing his students that most of their work would be done researching in the library, that archaeologists followed facts, and that "X" never marked the spot. 

After the bell rang, Jones handed the cross to his colleague Marcus Brody. Brody was pleased with the results of Indy's excursion and allowed him to return to his office, where several frantic students and many messages were waiting for him. Indiana told the secretary to take names and that he'd see each pupil in turn. He then closed the door behind him and started sifting through the mail.

A small package from Venice intrigued him. He decided to slip out the window, putting the parcel in his suit pocket. As he walked, the professor was approached by a car. The pistol in the passenger's jacket convinced Indy that they wouldn't take no for an answer to their invitation to join them.

Some time later, Jones was greeted by Walter Donovan. Indiana was familiar with the man, noting his generous contributions to the National Museum's collection. His benefactor then pulled aside a sheet, and Jones peered at a stone tablet that lay beneath it. He identified it as something that had been constructed during the mid-twelfth century.

Indiana started translating the inscriptions, which talked about the Holy Grail, a historical artifact that his father had spent most of his career searching for. The grail had supposedly been lost for a thousand years before three brothers who were Knights of the First Crusade discovered it. Two of those brothers walked out of the desert. Only one survived the journey, and his tale was told to a Franciscan friar.

The book in Donovan's hands was the manuscript from that friar. It didn't disclose the grail's location, but indicated several markers that had been made. The tablet Indy had just read was one of the markers. The second one had been entombed with the brother who didn't make it through the desert. Donovan's project leader believed that marker to be in the city of Venice, Italy. 

The final brother was rumored to be the grail's keeper. Donovan had asked for Indiana's assistance because their project leader had gone missing. Neither his colleague, Doctor Schneider, nor anyone else on the team knew of his whereabouts. He then disclosed that Indy's father was their project leader. 

Bret Blevins was a good choice for the art duties on this adaptation. His work matched David Michelinie's script and was easy to follow and understand. Looking back, I wish he had been assigned to the regular monthly Indiana Jones title before it was cancelled. He captured the essences of both the young and Professor Indy perfectly. 

That's all I have for now. I'll begin the weekend with a discussion of the second issue of this adaptation. We'll find out what happened to Jones when he traveled to Venice in an attempt to unravel the mystery and locate his father. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.