Marvel Super Special #18: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Sept. 1981--It ain't the years, it's the mileage!

I remember excitedly buying Marvel's adaptation of Raiders of the Lost Ark off the stands in 1981, though I found it in single-issue form, where it was released as a three-issue mini-series. At the time, I didn't care how or if the comic was different than the movie (with one small exception, which we'll get to), I was just so excited to be able "carry around" one of my favorite movies wherever I went. I guess that's what iPhones are for now.

Anyway, this adaptation is by Walt Simonson (writing, not drawing, oddly enough), John Buscema, and Klaus Janson. They make a fine enough team, and the likenesses are pretty good. It's interesting seeing Indy's thoughts, which of course don't exist in the movie, but are a necessity at some points in this version.

I imagine condensing such a jam-packed movie like Raiders into comics form (and not have it be a 200-page book) was no easy task, and occasionally the art does get overwhelmed by all the dialogue needed:

The action scenes are, of course, executed well, though the small differences here and there made me chuckle, like with the scene where Marion tells Indy he has a partner in his quest for the ark:

...I guess "I'm your God damn partner!" just wasn't going to fly in a Comics Code-approved comic (although, as a magazine, Marvel Super Special wasn't submitted to the Code). Too bad, since that's probably my favorite scene, and Karen Allen's final line is so perfect: "And I'll tell you exactly what. I'm your partner!" just doesn't have the same oomph.

There's only one full-page shot in the book (again, I'm betting because space was so limited), but it's a perfect moment, when Belloch decides to throw Marion over--literally:

The one scene that really stuck out at me when I was a kid was when Indy climbs onto the Nazi sub. The movie simply cuts to the sub making its way to the Nazi base, with no mention of exactly how Indy made it, too. Thanks to Marvel, we know: he lashed himself to the periscope:

(This scene was, in fact, filmed, and you can learn more about it here)

Unfortunately, there's no "bonus material" in this book, like interviews or photo features on the movie. There is a nice enough pin-up on the inside cover, from what looks like Belloch's POV:

Indiana Jones ended up becoming a star of his own Marvel comic, so this adaptation (and the one for Temple of Doom, which we'll get to) must have shown Powers That Were that Indy worked as a comic book star. While this particular adaptation is nothing all that amazing, it is a nice keepsake of the movie, and that's good enough!