The Lucasfilm Publishing panel at San Diego Comic-Con was, not too surprisingly, filled with announcements about upcoming Star Wars projects from Marvel. Unexpectedly, however, the panel also revealed that Indiana Jones would be getting his first Marvel Comics series in over three decades.
Marvel Comics editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski revealed Indiana Jones and the Sword of Pandemonium during the July 24 panel. The comic will be a limited five-issue series from multi-Eisner-Award-winning writer Jason Aaron and artist Aaron Kuder. Aaron is best known for his seminal yearslong Thor saga that included the creation of Gorr the God Butcher and the introduction of Jane Foster as the wielder of Mjölnir. His work also includes an acclaimed run in Star Wars comics, Wolverine and the X-Men, and the creator-owned series Southern Bastards. Kuder's interior artwork has been featured in Action Comics, Daredevil, and The Fantastic Four, among others.
Marvel said that this new series will kick off an all-new era of comic book adventures for Indy, suggesting more to come if sales justify it. Here's the official synopsis of the limited series:
In the wake of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy's most notorious villains, including the impossible return of an archenemy, seek a terrifying new source of power to recoup their loss—one that's fallen into the hands of his former companion, Marion Ravenwood. Now, Indiana Jones has to race to the far corners of the globe in search of a biblical weapon, embarking on an epic quest that will put both his archeology skills and skepticism of the supernatural to the ultimate test!
In an official news release, Marvel also noted that this next chapter of Indiana Jones comics will be set alongside the original films. That is at least true of Sword of Pandemonium. One interesting aspect of the synopsis is the reference to Marion Ravenwood as Indy's former companion. The pair appear to be on good terms after Raiders of the Lost Ark; the synopsis raises the question of what might disrupt that relationship. Marvel previously published The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones in the 1980s, which was also set around the timeframe of the original films. It is unknown if Sword of Pandemonium will acknowledge that series as canonical to the new adventure or ignore it completely.
Indiana Jones and the Sword of Pandemonium is set to be released this December.