Entry 6: The Fate of Atlantis (Comic)

Indy Timeline: 1939

In 1992, LucasArts released Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis for the PC and a handful of other platforms.  Utilizing the same engine that powered such classics as Monkey Island and LOOM, I was thrilled when I got my hands on this game for the Amiga shortly after the release.  It was a spectacular gaming experience- great story telling, classic Indiana Jones vibe, interesting characters and puzzles.  This entry is NOT a review of this game, however (that review will come on another day).  It is a review of the Dark Horse comic of the same name, released a year earlier in a four-part series.

The Fate of Atlantis comic was derived and adapted from the story written by Hal Barwood for the computer game, involves the same characters, and follows a similar plotline.  However, the comic is far less polished and as a result, inferior to the computer game.

Right out of the gate, the comic wins points with the basic premise (from Barwood).  Indiana Jones links up with a former fling (the fiery red-headed archeologist turned mystic, Sophia Hapgood) in a race against the Nazis to rediscover Atlantis and unlock the powers within.  Set in 1939, the events in Atlantis come shortly after the chronology of Last Crusade.  WHY WASN'T THIS INDIANA JONES IV?  THEY COULD HAVE DONE THIS MOVIE IN 1992 WITH A YOUNG HARRISON FORD!!!  WHY WHY WHY?

Sorry.

Anyway, the premise is great - it balances classic canon characters like Indy and Marcus with new friends, villains, and an interesting love interest.  So what’s the problem?

To begin, I was not a fan of most of the artwork in the comic.  Indy is drawn as tall and lanky with a slight hunch.  His face is sharp, angular and gaunt, which makes him look like an old man who bears no resemblance to Harrison Ford.  Many of the drawings make “Indy” look like a crotchety old kook.  Given that this is set right after “Crusade” chronologically, that makes no sense at all. 

The writing of the story is not much better.  The dialogue is stilted and jumps all over the place.  It makes sense MOST of the time, but not always, and the attempts at humor often fall flat.  There is little development of the characters and most sentences are short and simple.  “Look over there!”  “Oh no!”  “A Nazi stooge!”  “We should go to Atlantis!”  (“Watchmen” this is NOT.) 

The story also seems to suffer from travel ADD.  The characters can’t sit still and are in a different country on seemingly every page of the comic.  The story bounces from New York to Germany to Iceland to the Azores to Mexico to Spain to the USSR to Monaco, to Morocco, to Crete, to Thera (Greece) to Atlantis and then back to New York.  Normally the travel aspect of an Indy story is great, but too much is crammed in here and a lot of the stops seem excessive and unnecessary.  We aren’t given enough time in any one location to take it in and enjoy it before moving on.  Instead it just seems like an excuse to put Indy in the snow/in a desert/under water/in a plane/etc. 

In the end, the comic is OK, but I am disappointed because I think it could be great.  If it were longer and written better, it could have been a fantastic addition to the Indy canon.  Instead, it feels like a “lite” version of the more atmospheric and better developed story presented in the game. 

Indy Rating: 6/10