Good afternoon,
We're halfway through the week! Time for me to recap the thirty-third issue of Marvel's The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. The cover depicted Indy battling skeleton warriors while an unnamed man and woman stood in the background. The tale was titled "Magic, Murder and the Weather!" The issue had a cover date of January 1986.
Doctor Jones had just arrived at Croydon Aerodrome in England when he was questioned by Scotland Yard detectives Clyde and Percy. They knew that the professor was there to find Amanda Knight, a professional thief who had stolen an amulet from the National Museum at Marshall College in Connecticut (as shown in the previous issue).
Knight was a British citizen, and the detectives wouldn't allow the archaeologist to tromp all over their nation in search of her if there were no charges against her that could be verified. They advised Indy to take a holiday. None of them knew that Knight was meeting her contact on an island in the Orkneys, just north of Scotland.
She supplied the shadowed figure with the amulet she'd purloined and added that she was unable to find the tablet she'd been told about. Her mysterious benefactor was angered by the news, stating that the tablet had to be destroyed because if anyone else found one of the tablets and learned about its legend, it could spell the end of the seven sorcerers and their towers.
A few days later, Indiana was guided toward a boarding house on Estray Island. He stopped at the local watering hole before checking in, and soon learned that archaeologists weren't welcome there. Jones was surprised to hear that his old rival Belloq (whom we remember from Raiders of the Lost Ark) had once visited but found nothing.
Jones was then greeted by Ian Soames, keeper of the local lighthouse. He welcomed the guest and sent him on his way. Outside the tavern, townspeople expressed their disdain. Soames tried to convince them that the American knew nothing about their secret and that he wasn't a significant concern.
Indy made it to his room and thought that the bottle of Scotch that Soames had gifted him would make a nice present for his board trustee, Tavistock. He peered out the window and saw several citizens wielding shovels and heading toward the moors. Jones decided to follow them until he was struck with a dowsing rod by an old man.
The resident accused Indiana of theft, but ceased his ranting when his stick was taken from him. Something had clearly scared the white-haired man, and Jones wanted to know the cause. However, he decided it could wait. The man said that the lines could be traced by someone who knew how to use a dowsing rod correctly.
Indiana returned to his room and talked to Soames over breakfast the next morning. Soames told him that the man he'd encountered the night before was named Angus, and he was thought to be a crazy old witch who lived on the beach. Indy didn't take everything he'd just been told as truth, but was still curious enough to want to know more.
He returned to the area later in the day and gave the dowsing rod back to Angus. The old man was thrilled, but started to panic when he felt that evil was afoot. He walked off with the dowsing rod and explained leylines to his guest. He said they were hidden lines spread across the planet that ancient people knew of and constructed places of worship where the lines crossed, like the one they had just reached.
Angus was spooked once more and ran off. Indiana had almost begun to believe his words, and he saw a light in the near distance that sent him running to the cliffside. The light had been reflected from the front propeller of a plane. Inside the cockpit was an ID card with Knight's photo.
It seemed apparent that the locals were trying to keep Knight's whereabouts a secret, so he retired to his room that evening. Jones drew the attention of a few residents, who started a scuffle with the American. Indy was tossed out a window, and his attackers started searching for him. Indiana grabbed one of their shotguns and made a beeline for the lighthouse.
A piercing scream came from the building before Jones entered. He soon found a trapdoor that led him to Knight, who was bound and gagged, tied to a chair. Indiana removed the gag. Knight confessed that she'd given the amulet she'd stolen to the sorcerer and begged for help. Indy was initially hesitant, but had a change of heart and released her.
Knight threw the chair at Jones before running off. Indiana followed her and found the sorcerer, who revealed himself as Soames. He tossed the amulet to Indy, but Jones wasn't about to leave without the girl. Soames admitted that he was a spiritual brother of the wizard in Iran (shown in issue #28), one of the legendary seven sorcerers from the seven towers.
Soames had the eye of Shamash. He'd given Indiana a fake amulet, and it seemed that the old tales were true. The winds whipped around the chamber, and the bodies of warriors long dead started to rise from the earth Jones and his companions stood on.
It's obvious to me that writer Linda Grant didn't fully understand Indiana Jones' background. The stories she crafted usually dealt with supernatural items or plots that weren't related to the kinds of things that fans of his movies were typically accustomed to. It didn't seem like Marvel cared very much either, probably since they were planning to cancel the book anyway. I understand why people lost interest. If you're not going to stick to the main character's core concepts, diehard fans will find something else to occupy their time with.
Knight had potential, but the mystic nature of Soames just didn't sit right with me. I would have preferred a tale that delved into the history of artifacts that more people knew about, or even something that was just made up but could be convincing enough to persuade readers of its possibility. Penciler Steve Ditko was good at stories like this that involve magic, but once again, his artwork seemed rather dated for the 1980s. I know that fans were clamoring for Marion Ravenwood's return, but the book was cancelled before that could happen.
Tomorrow I'll recap the thirty-fourth and final issue of this ongoing series. We'll find out what happened to Indy and Amanda, and learn a bit more about Soames' true intentions. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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