Indiana Jones Omnibus, Vol. 1

Indiana Jones Omnibus #1

by William Messner-Loebs, Mike Richardson, Hal Barwood

Known to his university colleagues as the preeminent archaeologist Dr. Henry Jones Jr., the rest of the world knows him by another name--Indiana Jones, greatest adventurer of the twentieth century!

Follow Indy as he travels the globe in a race against the Nazis to recover the world's greatest treasures. From the lost city of Atlantis, to the sacred scrolls of Buddha, to an Incan artifact of legendary power, Indiana Jones will stop at nothing to preserve these prizes from the grasp of Hitler and his allies!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Adventure, Graphic Novels Comics, Historical Fiction, Media Tie In

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

William Francis Messner-Loebs (born William Francis Loebs, Jr.) is an American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wife Nadine's unmarried surnames.

In the 1980s and 1990s he wrote runs of series published by DC Comics, Image Comics, Comico, and other comics publishers, including DC's superhero series Flash and Wonder Woman among others. Additionally he has both written and drawn original creator-owned works, such as Journey: The Adventures of Wolverine MacAlistaire.

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know that hackneyed scene in rom-coms where one half of a broken-up couple presses their face into the sweatshirt or some other garment of clothing (NOT including undergarments here, you pervs) of their lost love in a vain attempt to remember what it’s like to be close to them? It’s obviously an exceedingly poor substitute for being with that person—I mean, they’re basically suffocating themselves with a 50-50 poly-cotton blend—but scent is such a strong memory trigger that, if only for the duration of that inhalation, they can once again experience the joy, romance, excitement, and pleasure of the best that relationship had to offer.

This collection of three different Indiana Jones miniseries is that sweatshirt. For the briefest instant, you can rekindle the spark of excitement you felt when Indy was trying to outrun that bolder or bantering with Daddy Connery (may he rest in peace). But, then you exhale, and you realize that this is but a pale facsimile of those adventurous and halcyon days of yore.

We’ll round up from 2.5 stars.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice comic adaptation of this character. Nice art and writing. Recommended

[Sean Carlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A compilation of three early-nineties pop-cultural antiquities -- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient, Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold: 1 of 4 -- that emulates the movie trilogy's mode of exotic globetrotting without ever, alas, recapturing its thrill of discovery.

But at least these tie-in stories respect the continuity of the then-in-production Young Indiana Jones television series, which is more than Rob MacGregor's series of novels, published at the same time as these Dark Horse comics, managed to do, though that isn't enough to make them worth reading. Unlike the feature films that inspired them, these four-color Indiana Jones adventures don't transcend their pulp-cliffhanger influences to emerge as something truly special or memorable in their own right.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed.

[Marc Pastor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sé que hauria de tenir prou perspectiva per valorar aquestes tres històries en el seu context, però això no treu que m’hagi avorrit força amb unes aventures allargades fins a la sacietat (la de la Xina és interminable), plenes de text redundant i diàlegs esgotadors i dibuixades amb poca gràcia.
Soc molt fan d’Indiana Jones i perdono que les seves aventures en còmoc siguin impròpies de les cinematogràfiques, però no que siguin ensopides.
El tema del masclisme present a gairebé cada pàgina el deixem per un altre dia.

[Elijah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read both Indiana Jones Omnibuses from Dark Horse Comics which collect the Dark Horse Comics stories so now I'm ready to write my reviews! As so many reviewers have done, I will individually critique each story in this volume.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
- The comic book adaptation of the acclaimed game is a bit disappointing. Firstly, the plot jumps across too many different locations (New York, then Berlin, then Iceland, then the Azores, then Mexico, then Spain, then Russia, then Monte Carlo, then Morocco, then Greece, and then Crete, concluding back in New York). This makes the story a bit difficult to follow and tiring to read. Second, the banter between Indiana Jones and Sophia Hapgood is also really irritating and tiring to read. Thirdly, the scene where Dr. Uribe's daughter is fawning all over Marcus Brody is really off-putting, offensive, and unnecessary. In fact, why was Dr. Uribe and his daughter a part of this story? They did nothing and served little purpose to the actual plot. Its really unfortunate because the writers of the game's story did a lot of research and work; I think the writer of the adaptation is to blame. The artwork was alright, it served the story. Overall, this was a substandard start to Dark Horse's Indiana Jones stories.

Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient
- This story was the most unenjoyable in this collection, and the second most unenjoyable story in the whole Dark Horse Indiana Jones comics (the worst being The Sargasso Pirates in Vol. 2) in my opinion. As most of the other reviewers have stated, this story had a lot of misogyny, racialist depictions and stereotypes, sexual objectification, and outdated themes (such as a human-sacrificing civilization in the mountains and a non-European sword-wielding boss-level antagonist) . One of the weirdest and most off-putting part of the story was the red-haired Chinese warlord. First of all, he looked out of place in the story (he just looks like a Viking in the middle of China). Second of all, it was quite a racist depiction. I also loathed the part where Indy made fun of an Alaouite boy's name (Khamal). The story was way too long for my liking. Its really unfortunate because the premise was actually quite interesting with Indiana Jones searching for the original writings of Gautama Buddha . Lastly, the title breaks the tradition of Indiana Jones titles ("Indiana Jones and the..."; instead its just "Indiana Jones: Thunder..."), which is a minor criticism.

Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold
- This was by far my favourite story in the volume, possibly my favourite Dark Horse Indiana Jones comic, and why I gave this volume three stars instead of the less it deserves. The artwork was quite decent, matching the tone of Indiana Jones quite well in my opinion. In fact, the artwork in this story was possibly the best artwork in the whole collection. The story was also quite entertaining, with an ending reminiscent of the fourth movie. My only complaints were that I didn't think much of the artefact (The Incan Arms of Gold) that was central to the plot of the story, and Indiana Jones was presented as slightly chauvinistic towards the main female character.

The Omnibus Collection:
- I love Dark Horse Comics omnibus formats. However, the Indiana Jones Omnibuses are by far the most disappointing because they lack cover galleries. Some of the cover illustrations are good, others aren't that great, nevertheless this omnibus feels incomplete without all of the cover illustrations. It also makes it hard to know when to take a break while reading a story without knowing when a chapter begins and ends.

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Indiana Jones Omnibus Volume 1 contains three Indiana Jones adventures from Dark Horse comics, with varying degrees of quality.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is poor. It tried so hard to seem like an Indiana Jones adventure, that it forgot to [u:]be[/u:] an Indiana Jones adventure. It isn't an auspicious beginning for the Omnibus, but since it is the most famous of Indy's comic book (and video game) adventures, it is the obvious choice.

Indiana Jones and the Thunder in the Orient is even more racist than your usual Indiana Jones adventure. Indy spews out "Japs" whenever he's faced with the buck-toothed, bespectacled "Nipponese Army;" the Serpent Lady, a "great" Chinese leader, is the most Caucasian looking Asian woman I have ever seen, and we need to be reminded repeatedly of her incredible beauty, which seems to be the result of her apparent occidentalism more than anything else; moreover, there is a consistent chauvinism towards "others" and "half-breeds" that saturates the entire tale. Come to think of it...all that makes it a pretty straight forward and typical Indiana Jones adventure.

Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold is the shortest entry in the Omnibus Volume 1, but it is also the best, which isn't saying much. The story is simple, the cast of characters is small, Indy is more like himself than in the other graphic novels collected here, the action takes up way more space than the explication (a very good thing), and the less detailed artwork really suits the gritty feel of Indy, but it's still disappointing for true Indy fans. It is pretty sad that Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold is the best of a bad collection. I was hoping for a whole lot more. But, hey, at least my son liked it.

[Du4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten all about Dark Horse's forays into the INDIANA JONES mythos until I saw this omnibus solicited. This was a GREAT reminder how much fun this adventure adaptation was back in the day.

There are three tales collected within. THE FATE OF ATLANTIS is actually the most uneven of them even though it's the most popular one (adapted from a Lucasfilm PC game). With three writers on the 4-issue series, that's no surprise. There is a lot of corny dialogue and some inconsistent storytelling here and there (and some plain stupid, nonsensical scenes). But all in all, it's still fun. Especially when some batshit crazy ideas start popping up.

THUNDER IN THE ORIENT is a much better story, written & illustrated by Dan Barry, an artist whose work I know very little of aside from his INDY work. Barry is a very classic artist, and his approach reminds me a lot of something I'd see in old classic EC Comics. His facial renderings aren't so great (tough to tell Indy is supposed to be Harrison Ford at times) though.

The final story, THE ARMS OF GOLD, is a complete departure and features some very esoteric artwork that you'll either love or hate. I personally enjoyed this story the most, but mileage may vary.

My biggest complaint about these omnibii (which prevents me from giving it a higher rating) is the value for the price. This volume contains about 12-14 issues of product and there's not even a cover gallery, which sucks because great painters like Dave Dorman did AWESOME covers for these comics when they originally came out. Plus, there is NO supplementary material. Indiana Jones stories are RIPE for historical supplements, similar to the special features they included on the YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES DVDs. However, NONE of that is present here, and despite the slick, clean presentation of the paperback... it's still about $25. Buyer beware.

[J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

So. boring. The nonstop action is completely mind-numbing, if that makes any sense. Constant gunfights, intrigue, and inconsequential/unexplained changes of location make this just a mess of ....stuff happening. But nothing I could ever care about, and no reason why I should.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This omnibus, published in 2008, collects together three “long-out-of-print” stories (originally published individually) and does it very well, with excellent reproductions and glorious colour. The first story, “Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis”, written by William Messner-Loebs, Dan Barry and Mike Richardson with art by Barry, is based on the LucasArts game developed by Hal Barwood. Enjoyable enough, with great illustrations, it’s far too busy for its own good (our heroes are constantly zipping from one country to the next) though it does introduce the excellent Sophia Hapgood, a fellow archaeologist who more than stands up to Indy. “Thunder in the Orient”, written by Dan Barry, drawn by Barry and Dan Spiegle, involves the search for the sacred scrolls of Buddha (and once again features Sophia (and is all the better for it). “Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold”, written by Lee Marrs, drawn by Leo Durañona, details Indy’s search for an Incan artefact of legendary power and has a great female lead too. All three were decent enough stories, the artwork in the last trying least hard to capture Harrison Ford and if you like Indiana Jones and high adventure, the volume is well worth a read.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of Indiana Jones craving some extra adventures not involving aliens, these comics are solid. All around it is a fun collection and like a true nerd I put on my Indiana Jones soundtrack when I read these.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is uneven and needed an extra issue to flesh out the details, but when it is good, it is awesome. Sophia is a great female companion because she is different from the rest, a trend I like in my Indy adventures. The Nazis work here as well and don't feel shoe-horned into the story.

Indiana Jones and the Thunder in the Orient is long-winded, confusing, and filled with stereotypes. The references to "The Man Who Would Be King" fall utterly flat. One character is called "the Serpent Lady." I'd like to say it has its moments, but really there are not enough of them, although I howled with laughter when Indy rebuked the Serpent Lady's sexual advances. The Japanese feel like the Russians in Crystal Skull: cheap Nazi replacements instead of unique threats.

Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold is often seen as poorly drawn, but I rather liked the artwork. The story is the tightest in the bunch and Indiana Jones seems more like himself: crafty, charismatic, droll, and prone to great errors. The bad guys are more three-dimensional than what Indy fans are used to outside Belloq and Elsa. As with the rest, some plot details seem lost and the very end is rather weak.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok this was the fulfilment of a long standing wish of mine - so don't judge me (ok not too much at least). The Indiana Jones movies are some of my all time favourite films, as they sum up to me all the mystery and thrill of hollywood meeds pulp adventure - so when I saw there were comics which continued Indiana's adventures I was thrilled and eager to read them. Yes they are expensive, their artwork varying in quality and the story lines sadly lack at times - the three standalone stories in this volume are all great fun and still have the ability to take me back to the first time I saw Raiders of the lost Ark. So thats one off my reading bucket list I guess.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good bunch of Indiana Jones stories. A mixture of fun storylines, nice graphics and visits from old friends make for good reading time exploring Indy's further archaeological adventures.

I always enjoy time spent with Indy in any way, shape or form.

[Ahdom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was a blast from the past. I remember playing this game on PC way back in the day. I was struggling to remember the plot before diving into this and the comic did very little to bring much of it back to mind. Indy discovers the secrets of Atlantis and races to stop the Nazi's from gaining a deadly weapon. This adventure had some very "Indy moments", but largely fell flat as a story. I think much of that was due to all the puddle jumping the characters went through. It just had too much going on.

Indiana Jones and the Thunder in the Orient was a step in the right direction, as Indiana Jones finds himself in an adventure to uncover the mysteries around Buddha's scrolls. Here we see the return of Sophia Hapgood from Fate of Atlantis and Infernal Machine fame. (Both fun Indy games) It was also nice to see Brody in this one. I liked this story much more, but it runs a little flat over all. Nothing to thrilling, just hitting the beats.

Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold is the shortest story, but my favorite by far. This series had the best artwork of them all and the best story. Indiana Jones is yet again visiting Peru in search of an Incan artifact containing great power. This one just packs the most punch.

All in all I would say that any real Indiana Jones fan will find things to enjoy about these stories. They read like a serial hero that Indiana Jones sets out to be. The artwork does little to capture the likeness of the characters, but that didn't ruin anything for me.

[BuyMyWayToHeaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This omnibus comes with 3 Indiana Jones stories, the Fate of Atlantis, Thunder In The Orient and Arms of Gold. The first story, Fate of Atlantis, is an adaptation of the video game of the same name but this comic is absolutely terrible. The story is all over the place and never knows when to stay in one place, if doesn't do the great video game it's based on any justice. The only positive is the ending which perfectly captures what you would expect from an Indy film. The second story Thunder in The Orient is far much better and the longest of the 3 stories, Indy is on a chase to find the original covenant of the Buddha before the Imperial Japanese Army does so they can use it to rule Asia, there's lots of action with the only negative being the abrupt ending. And last is the Arms of Gold, which is probably the shortest and is a fun read but definitely needed an extra issue to better explain the story. It's crazy how the worst story out of the 3 in the book had the most satisfying ending. I still recommend this book for any Indy fan, the stories, no matter quality, still managed to scratch my itch for more Indy stories.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection contains Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient, and Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold Complete Set 1-4. These comics do a great job of holding to the spirit and flavor of the original Indiana Jones films, though perhaps with less heart and humor. Despite their action-packed presentations, I found these stories fairly unengaging. I might add that these stories, set in the late 1930s, written in the early 1990s, and read in 2024, come across as noticeably xenophobic, sexist, and stereotyped. Perhaps, I have been spoiled by modern graphic novels.

[Ceejay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This omnibus of Indiana Jones comics from Dark Horse presents three enjoyable stories. The first story is the old "can we discover Atlantis" chesnut. The second story involves a search for original teaching of Buddha, as dictated centuries ago. A search for an Incan artifact is the plot for the third story. The stories are well written, and the art work is great. Guns, fiesty woman, a handy whip, and Indy's wise guy attitude are all here. Well worth reading.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing is going to feel like the films, but it can still be hard to separate these comics from the iconic original trilogy, and judge them on their own merit. They're entertaining enough, with plenty of globe-hopping and lost artifacts. Some of the plots seemed needlessly complicated, but the art was pretty solid throughout.

[David Wimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two stories are excellent (especially the one about Atlantis), but I didn't really care for the third story about the Arms of Gold - and I really didn't like the artwork in that one. Overall this graphic novel was very enjoyable, albeit very expensive because it's out of print and hard to track down.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun quick read! It had a total of 3 stories in it. The forst 2 were great! The third one was a bit under developed and at times didnt make a lot of sense but over all it was still a fun read for Indiana Jones fans! Hoping i can find the next volumes somewhere !

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun graphically illustrated adventures of Indy

[Kelly K · Rating 2 out of 5]

These were just sad even for being written in the early 90's. Can't we modernize Indy a bit, er, a lot from now on?

[Patrick Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some antiquated material here, but they got the tone right at least.

[Zachary King · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up because some Indy is better than no Indy.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of the Indiana Jones comics published by Dark Horse.

Some good, at least one hugely boring - which is something Indiana Jones should never be...

[Toti Majors]

Lots of fun

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three really solid stories that get the tone of movies very well. I was hooked from the start and the action doesn't let up. It feels true to the characters and time period.

[MATTHEW.H hoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

all i can say about this book is it feel like i'm watching the good movies

[Andrew Kubasek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but not great, collection of Indiana Jones comics.

[Aaron V · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Omnibus contains the following 3 stories that I rated individually.

1. "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis" This story was disjointed and just plain bad. Every 10 pages he travels to a different location and gets into what seems to be pointless fights. The artwork was decent but the story was terrible and I had to force my self to finish.
-Overall Rating 1 Star

2. "Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient" My favorite story from the omnibus, just what I was expecting when I picked the collection up. Solid artwork and story that stays true to an Indiana Jones movie that kept me reading. My only qualm was the time the story spends exploring the final temple was abruptly short to the point it felt awkward.
-Overall Rating 3 Stars

3. "Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold" This is the last and shortest story from the omnibus. The art looks more modern and smooth then the previous books. The story is solid, and reads much better then the first, but overall I think Thunder in the Orient was a bit better and more closer to the typical Indiana Jones movie.
-Overall Rating 2 Stars