Writer: John Jackson Miller (from screenplay by David Koep)
Illustrators: Luke Ross; Cliff Richards (pencils); Fabio Laguna; Eber Ferreira (inks)
Publisher: Titan Books
As a huge Indiana Jones fan I was very excited to get a copy of this graphic novel as a freebie recently from an event we attended.
I devoured it in one sitting and felt even more let down by the graphic novel than I did by the movie. There was nothing wrong with the artwork which was excellent, the colours were true to the movie and the franchise, but to be honest, it just didn't spark.
The story takes the big set pieces from the movie and puts it into graphic novel form and it just doesn't work. If I hadn't seen the movie I probably wouldn't have followed the confusing storyline. Now - be nice here: I'm talking about the graphic novel and not the movie, which although pretty dire, had some merit.
We can't blame the Mr. Miller, the writer, because how exactly do you cram an action packed 2 hour movie into less than say 100 pages of graphic novel? It just won't work. Also, he had to obviously stick to the script and to be fair, he does it admirably, but there just was no lift in your spirit that you get when you read something really good.
The story feels flat and unpleasant and as a fan I thought it just didn't work on a variety of levels. There was no impact and Indy himself is a stock adventurer, as is the villain of the piece, Irina Spalko, who is nothing more than a cold-war puppet and decidedly one dimensional.
As a graphic novel reader, I thought that had I been the one to sell this storyline to a buddy to read, I'd be fired from the friendship on the spot.
This is definitely not a graphic novel I'd recommend, not even if you were a fan of the movies (pre or post Crystal Skull) or the Indy omnibusses. Omnibussi? *blinks*
And it makes me a little sad as I feel quite let down by it because I wanted to love it. But no. Not going to happen.
My verdict is: I am so glad I didn't buy it.
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