Comic books review
Omnibus Written/art by various
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Written by George Lucas, John Jackson Miller, David Koepp; Art by Fabio Laguna, Luke Ross
Titan Books paperback
Release date Out now

Further adventures for the archaeologist with a difference...

My introduction to Indiana Jones was the Marvel adaptation of Raiders of the Lost Ark, whose first issue finished with Toht showing the mark of the medallion imprinted on his hand. That issue proved that the Jones boy's natural home was the comic strip – the derring-do and high action suited the strengths of the medium, and there were even certain comic book type short cuts used by Spielberg within the movie itself.

The second omnibus contains five separate stories from the Dark Horse era, which jump about in Indiana Jones' long career, from pre-Temple of Doom to post-Second World War. Their order seems odd – neither chronological by publication nor biographical date.

It's a mixed bag. The two stories that stand out are The Spear of Destiny and The Iron Phoenix. Both are based on cancelled games from LucasArts with the former beginning with a revisiting of the end of The Last Crusade. Although in places the artwork is a bit off, the stories rip by in true Indiana Jones style, and the latter also includes a character who could almost be a dry run for Crystal Skull's Colonel Spalko. Overall, worth picking up for pages 81-274.

The adaptation of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull itself benefits from being able to use actor likenesses, although Shia LaBeouf doesn't come across too well. Indy's noticeably grizzled in appearance here, perhaps more so than in the movie, and there are some nice panels of Karen Allen and John Hurt. The artwork doesn't push the boundaries of comics but does the job properly, allowing the story to breathe where necessary. John Jackson Miller clearly had access to the same script as noveliser James Rollins, with some of the same byplay reinstated and this makes for a good fun reminder of the movie until the DVD arrives later in the year. Owen Morris

VERDICT
Omnibus: 7/10
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: 7/10

Click here to read about the Indiana Jones magazine!

Click here to buy Indiana Jones Omnibus Volume 2 at Forbidden Planet (forbiddenplanet.com)