How's your Tuesday going?
The focus of today's article is the eighth issue of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. The cover depicted Indy and Marion Ravenwood pointing their pistols at off-screen attackers, as arrows flew around them and a giant skull appeared in the background. The tale was titled "Africa Screams! Chapter 2: Crystal Death." The issue had a publication date of August 1983.
Jones and Ravenwood had been hiding from a Nazi regiment in a cave in Western Africa when a roar behind them alerted them to the fact that they weren't alone. Indy lit a match to get a closer look and saw a panther staring back at them. He turned the match toward the dry grass on the cave floor and used it to create distance between them and this new threat.
A German soldier spotted the two Americans, but before he could get a clear shot, the panther lunged at him. Indy and Marion were talking about the rumored Shintay tribe that was supposed to have split off from Atlantis that both factions were looking for when an arrow buzzed past Indiana's head and landed on a tree behind them. It had been fired by an eight-foot-tall man with fair skin. Their attacker had loaded another arrow in his crossbow and was about to fire again when he was felled by a bullet from behind.
The killing shot had been fired by one of the Nazis, whose group had now caught up with the Americans. Among their party was Indy's rival McIver, who examined the corpse and knew that the crystal arrows and ornamentation could fetch a pretty penny. He realized that he must have been looking at a blood relative of the Shintay.
Colonel Vogel, the leader of the German military group, knew they had to be close to the Shintay colony and the power source that, according to legend, the Atlanteans had owned. He had just ordered Indy and Marion's deaths when the entire group was surrounded by more Shintay warriors. No one understood the words the tall men spoke, but it was quite obvious that they wanted the visitors to follow them.
Before long, the group arrived outside a complex crafted of mud, dirt, and bones. The entrance looked like a human skull (and was somewhat reminiscent of Castle Greyskull from the Masters of the Universe). The captives were brought inside to face the leader named Vyperion.
Vyperion claimed the travelers as his. Indy asked if they were indeed Shintay, to which Vyperion replied that they were descended from that Atlantean offshoot. They were outcasts because they worshipped death while their brothers worshipped life. They were deemed a threat to Atlantis and were shunned, banished, and never allowed to return to their homeland ever again.
When asked by Marion why Vyperion spoke English like a British butler, the leader pointed to a skull that once belonged to another visitor, a British missionary who had come across their tribe many years before. Vogel then asked about the rumored source of power. Vyperion explained that it came from the crystal orbs that were contained in the room. They had been raised in Atlantean soil and could focus elemental energy from the planet itself.
The tyrant then provided a demonstration of that power. He pointed to a Nazi soldier who had been tied to a post, the same person who had gunned down their brother. The soldier apologized and pleaded for his release, but that was not to be. Vyperion grabbed the orb nearest him and slightly moved the bone limb that it rested in. The soldier began to writhe in pain. Marion and Indy observed in horror as their foe started burning up from the inside. Afterward, Vyperion ordered his men to imprison their guests to be dealt with the following day.
As dawn began to break the next morning, the sun's rays brought light to the crystals that were embedded in the roof of the complex. Some of those light rays were concentrated into deadly beams, including one that was nearing the Americans until a German soldier yawned and moved his arm, only to have that appendage burned. His terrified scream woke the rest of the chamber's occupants, who soon found themselves being bombarded by the beams from above.
Indy and Marion stood against the pillar where they had rested until Jones asked for Marion's compact. He used the mirror to reflect one of the rays at the door lock. They hightailed it out of the room and overtook the guard outside as they continued to search for an exit. While Vogel, McIver, and the soldiers made a beeline for the throne room, Indy and Marion continued to descend until they stumbled into an archery range.
As the heroes were dodging arrows, the villains were gunning down Vyperion. Vogel then grabbed one of the crystals and continued to move it. As he did so, the lights went out in the room, and several of his subordinates started to heat up inside, but Vogel continued his machinations.
Jones and Ravenwood were making their final stand as McIver was begging his ally to cease his activities. Vogel finally wrenched the crystal free from its mooring. Immediately afterward, the building started to fall apart. Indy and Marion burst through the closest wall before it collapsed behind them.
Vogel realized that he might just have made a mistake, but before he could do anything about it, he was impaled by a large tusk that fell from the ceiling. Indiana and Marion were a safe distance away when they watched the complex disintegrate in a spectacular explosion. Indy pulled a small souvenir he'd taken from his jacket, noting that it would be a fine conversation piece for the museum, and Marion added that she'd have a fine story for the Sunday supplement. Several yards away, McIver crawled out of a pile of rubble. He was thankful to have survived, since he'd have a chance for revenge against Jones someday.
For a two-part story, I thought that this was a satisfying conclusion. David Michelinie's story and Kerry Gammill and Sam Dela Rosa's artwork kept me hooked throughout. I just wish we had learned a bit more about the backstories of the villains and the Shintay tribe. Maybe if another Indiana Jones title surfaces, that could eventually happen. This is still one of my favorite storylines from this series. I'm glad that McIver survived, although he now reminds me a bit of the triple agent that was featured in the Crystal Skull film.
That's it from me for today. Tomorrow, I'll cover the ninth issue of this title. A popular character from Raiders of the Lost Ark makes their debut in this series and joins Indy on another foreign adventure. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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