Good afternoon all,
Hope everyone's been enjoying this weekend so far. I just returned from visiting family on what would have been my late grandmother's birthday, so I guess it's time for me to talk about the twenty-eighth issue of Marvel's ongoing series The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. The cover depicted Indy using a parachute and tossing his whip with one hand to help a comrade who had jumped from the same plane as our hero. The story was called "Tower of Tears." The issue had a cover date of April 1984.
Things began at a Marshall College cocktail party. Indiana was mingling with his colleagues when a young man tried to enter. Indy heard the fevered pleas and heard the student out. He introduced himself as Alec Sutherland and explained that he was there to provide Jones with a book from Indy's former teacher, Doctor Arthur Hecht. Hecht insisted with his last breath that the tome be supplied to Indiana.
The volume was more than just a mere diary. It was a journal of the late professor's excursions. He wanted his former pupil Indy to continue his work. Sutherland pointed to the passage in question, which mentioned the Tower of Tears in Iran, one of seven towers on the planet that were rumored to contain sorcerers that could bring about the end of life as we know it.
Professor Tavistock laughed when Jones read the entry aloud. Sutherland lashed out, noting that he wanted Indy to restore Hecht's good name by determining if the towers were real. Indiana was up to the challenge, especially since the semester break had just begun. He and Sutherland departed by plane and arrived in the skies above central Iran a couple of days later. Jones had to utilize his whip to guide the lad down, who had been terrified to pull his own ripcord after their jump.
Once the duo was on the ground, they made tracks for Tehran on foot. They eventually came across a caravan that seemed friendly until Jones mentioned the purpose of their quest. The strangers were then proclaimed to be looking for evil and were attacked before they could properly explain. Indy managed to free himself and Alec. When arrows were fired the professor's way, it was Sutherland's turn to ride to the rescue. He'd commandeered a horse and asked his companion to join him.
The pair galloped to safety after jumping a cliff. Sutherland admitted that he was on his college steeplechase team, which explained his familiarity with their ride. They made camp for the evening until the threat of heavy rains disrupted their slumber. Jones then pointed to their objective: the Tower of Tears.
Now all the adventurers had to do was to figure out how to gain entrance. They ducked behind one side when Alec noticed a woman from the caravan they'd encountered earlier, who seemed to be entranced. She found the entrance and was followed by a colleague, warning her of the potential danger lurking inside. Jones and Sutherland dashed in right before the door slammed behind them.
The Americans followed the caravan members up a spiral staircase until they saw a sorcerer chanting before a fire pit. The magician was pleased by the woman's arrival. Her companion threatened the sorcerer, but his knife was quickly taken from him by his opponent. The young man braved the flames and emerged from them unscathed.
This didn't seem to faze the sorcerer, who took a pouch from his belt and tossed some of the powder it held on the lad. The woman's protector was quickly turned into a stain on the stone floor. A bit of clumsiness announced Jones and Sutherland's presence, and the sorcerer then turned his attention to them. Indy fought the wizard, and in trying to protect him, Sutherland inadvertently snuffed out the flames.
This enraged the sorcerer, because the flames had not been extinguished in two decades. Indiana reached for his opponent's pouch and tossed some of the powder at him as a distraction. The foes fought for Indy's pistol, and Indiana smelled a whiff of natural gas. He advised his opponent of the problem, but he didn't believe him and fired anyway.
The shot caused an explosion that blew up the top of the tower. Indy emerged a bit sore but otherwise okay. The pair extracted information from the sorcerer, who had been thrown from the structure in the blast. He said that the hypnotized woman had been with child, and that he'd planned to take the baby and raise it as his successor. They learned that the tale of the seven sorcerers plotting evil was merely a fairy tale.
He went on to say that Hecht was imaginative. Indy insisted that Hecht was honest. The sorcerer gasped that there was only one tower before succumbing to his mortal injuries. Indiana and Alec were about to face retribution from the caravan until the woman stepped in, declaring the newcomers' heroic acts.
Both men recounted their experiences in Iran to Tavistock several days later, back at Marshall College in Connecticut. Tavistock found little credibility in what he was told, particularly the portions regarding sorcerers and magic. After he left, Indy tried to impress upon Alec the importance of telling the truth about their discoveries. The lad understood and expressed an interest in transferring to the school because he felt that he still had a lot to learn. Indiana replied that they both had much to learn.
This was a fine issue, but I would have appreciated a bit more background on Hecht, Tavistock, and Sutherland. As far as I know, this was the only story where they were featured or even mentioned. I still wonder what Sutherland's career was like, and if he transferred to Marshall College to study under Doctor Jones. It could have made for some interesting stories, or at least back-up tales in this series. Just another example of wasted potential, I guess.
That's all I have for you today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the twenty-ninth issue of this series. Indy returns to the West Coast and runs into another familiar face as they embark on another adventure across the pond. Until then, have a great weekend and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment