Good morning, all,
Hope everyone's enjoying this nice weekend. I'm starting the day with a discussion of the twenty-ninth issue of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. The cover showed Indy and several others standing in a cemetery next to a grave that was being dug up and a coffin being brought to ground. Several onlookers appear poised to attack. The tale was titled "Shot by Both Sides." The issue had a cover date of May 1985.
The story started in San Francisco's red light district. Indiana was about to learn more about the angry mob that had assembled around him. They made driving down the street rather difficult for the professor from Connecticut. Several of the men even tried to grab Jones in efforts to accost him.
Hostilities were finally broken up by a shot fired by a derringer pistol belonging to Jessie Hale (who we last saw in issue #25). The two caught up for a while. While Indy was wondering why the Chinese Tong were after him, he noticed Hale walking toward the Ocean Pearl which was about to dock in the harbor.
She called out to a crewman named Peter, who was her brother. He greeted Jessie and Indy warmly. Peter wasn't expected the professor until the next day, since his ship had arrived a day early. He made sure that the proper crate was loaded into a waiting truck and Jones was ready to depart until the trio found themselves surrounded by members of the Irish Republican Army.
The gun-toting gentlemen were less than friendly, but before most of them could react, the truck took off. A short while later, Peter let Jones and his siister out. The duo were going to create a distraction before meeting for a celebratory dinner later that evening.
It didn't take very long for Indy and Jessie to catch up with their attackers, and surprise them from behind. The gunmen forced them to split up, but Indiana was still alone when he arrived at Chang's restaurant at midnight. More minutes continued to pass before Shin To and his subordinates arrived. They had Peter, and Indiana made an offer to trade the man for the mummy that had been offloaded earlier.
Afterward, Indy walked alone when he was accosted by the same IRA members he'd just evaded earlier. One of them showed him a lock of hair that he claimed was Jessie's. Jones needed a couple of hours and was told where their leader could be reached. When Indiana returned to his hotel, he was handed a telegram by a bellboy. The message was from Tavistock back at Marshall College, informing him that his employment contract would be terminated if he didn't bring the mummy back in one piece.
Jones had a lot to think about. He took a walk and caught up with the Tong who had been tailing him. He forced the man to take him to the building where Peter was imprisoned. He found Jessie's brother who lied about having the mummy to save his sister. He then told Indy where the mummy was being held, and gave him directions and instructions on how to reach the cemetery where it now rested.
Indy reached the cemetery an hour later, and expected the IRA members to meet him, after he'd called them. Sure enough, they were just inside the front gates and were most interested in the crate, which actually contained weapons. Their leader said that the mummy was still back in China.
Jones slowly realized Peter's role in the deception, and how he'd thrown a wrench in the plan by arriving a day early. He was about to leave with Jessie before a fight broke out between the IRA and the Chinese Tong. Peter had been freed and brought his captors to the gravesite with him.
Even though Peter had double-crossed them, Jessie still didn't want any harm to come to her brother. They went back for him just as the two warring factors' leaders were about to open the crate. What they found inside was something that neither of them expected.
Inside the box was the fresh corpse of Patrick McManus, the IRA's contact in China. Peter swore that he'd loaded the correct cargo, and the IRA leader figured out that Weng Ho had stolen their money and killed McManus. Shin To and his lackeys left, because the fact that the mummy of their ancestor was back in their homeland meant they had no reason to continue the fight.
This left the IRA members in a quandary. They still wanted their missing cargo, but they couldn't just let the Americans go to the police. Jessie had never been to China and Peter was certain that he'd be shot on sight if he returned. Indy had been to that country before, and decided to join their group, but by that point, he wanted nothing more to do with Peter.
This was the last monthly issue of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. The series was published on a bi-monthly basis for the rest of its run. That was a common practice for Marvel books that were selling poorly, and happened to other titles like Star Wars before its eventual cancellation. It was also the last appearance of the Hales in this series. The subterfuge was interesting, but writer Linda Grant didn't really seem to be a big fan of providing much background material on her characters. That and the changing art teams on this title probably contributed to its loss of regular readers.
That's it for this article. Later today, I'll talk about the thirtieth issue of this series. Indy and the IRA leader will return to China to find the missing weapons and the ancient mummy. We'll also see what Alec Sutherland (introduced in issue #28) has to say when he meets with Marcus Brody. Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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