Well, folks,
We made it! It's time for me to talk about the thirty-fourth and final issue of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. The cover showed Ian Soames using his sorcerous powers to blast bolts of energy at Indiana and Amanda Knight. The story was named "Something's Gone Wrong Again!" The issue had a cover date of March 1986.
The tale began on Estry Island in the Orkneys in 1937. Jones and Knight were at the mercy of the wizard who'd conjured long-dead soldiers to rise from their graves and protect him. I know this sounds more like something out of a Conan the Barbarian comic book, but please bear with me. The sorcerer wore an amulet around his neck that Knight had stolen from Marshall College's National Museum in Connecticut (in issue #32), but Amanda observed its ineffectiveness in moonlight as she tore it from Soames' neck.
As she ran off, the skeleton warriors who'd attacked Jones disappeared back into the ground. A few minutes later, Indiana ran into the hermit Angus once more (they met last issue). He claimed to have sent the undead back to their resting spots. Indy assumed that Soames was using the ley lines to wreak havoc.
The duo returned to Angus' cabin on the beach and soon realized they were not alone. Amanda had been hiding in a trunk. She'd been unable to get to her plane, saying that Soames was preventing her escape. Indiana took the amulet back from her, which was also referred to as the Eye of Shamash, the Sumerian sun god. The eye was supposedly used to eradicate the legendary seven sorcerers by using the sun's power. That gave Indy an idea.
He figured that Soames had no defense against radiation that was produced by light going through the amulet. As he pondered, Knight prepared to slip out, only to find Soames waiting for them just outside the small cabin's door. Indiana used a lantern to project light through the amulet as his foe, damaging the amulet in the process. Soames claimed that only natural light could be used without destroying the Eye of Shamash, and he was determined that his opponents would never see sunlight again.
Angus then rose to the challenge. He was powerful, but not enough to defeat Soames. Indy and Amanda fled on foot, heading toward the town. When they arrived, a man named Sinclair confronted Jones, holding the American's whip in one hand. He and his followers claimed that the professor was looking for the treasures of Mangus Redhand, a Viking pirate who had stolen valuables from Mediterranean ships in the tenth century. Jones recounted the tales told about him, but hadn't thought about that historical figure until just then.
By then, Soames had returned to the town and made accusations against the newcomers. He demonstrated his destructive powers, which allowed Jones and Knight to escape and reach the lighthouse. The two then quarreled about what to do next. Amanda wanted to depart via her plane, but Indy asserted that the lighthouse should be destroyed. She reluctantly agreed, right before more skeleton soldiers popped up from underground.
The duo ran up to the lighthouse's tower and were safe for a short while. Indiana tossed the amulet out the window and had Amanda point the tower's beacon toward it. The light shone on the icon and caused Soames and his forces to weaken. The beam also started to damage the building, which began to collapse. Jones reached for his trusty whip and flung them to safety before the top portion of the lighthouse fell apart.
Soames had made one last incantation before the destruction. The next morning, Jones awoke on the beach, with Amanda standing over him, holding the amulet in one hand. They argued once more before Knight left for her plane. Indy was left with the cracked amulet, wondering what happened to Soames. As he walked away, we saw a skeleton dressed in what appeared to be Soames' garb lying amidst the rubble.
As you can likely guess, I wasn't very impressed with this storyline. It ended without accomplishing very much, and the title's cancellation left several plot threads dangling. I wondered what happened to Angus. Indy and Amanda heard a piercing scream as they ran to the village, but we don't know the old man's final fate. This was another example of a Marvel book that struggled to find continuity and regular readership when it changed writers and artists frequently. No writer/penciler/inker combo stayed on this series for more than three issues in a row. Comic book fans want to immerse themselves in stories that appeal to them and relate well to the main and supporting characters. There were many new characters introduced during this title's run, but far too often, the more memorable ones were forgotten as soon as a new writer and/or artist jumped on board. At least, that's my observation. You may have differing opinions on the matter. Feel free to let me know what you think.
Tomorrow, I'll begin my recap of Marvel's adaptation of the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This was chronicled in a Marvel Super Special and a four-part limited series, and they were the first Indiana Jones comics published in three years. I'll cover the first part in my next blog post. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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