Didja Notice?

 

Two weeks after arriving in Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, Indy finds himself in the Gibson Desert in the state called Western Australia. This is an actual desert in the country, the fifth largest in the nation.

 

On page 2, as he flees the spears of angry aborigines, Indy reflects on his mission in Australia to find evidence that the Arnhem Cult did not die out when modern civilization arrived, but fled to the western desert and survived there for a time until the harsh conditions eliminated them. The Arnhem Cult is fictitious, presumably named here for Arnhem Land, a historical region of the Northern Territory, itself named after the ship of Dutch East India Company captain Willem Joosten van Colster, who landed there in 1623.

 

This issue introduces a new adversary for Indy in Ben Ali Ayoob, who will also appear in the "The Cuban Connection" storyline.

 

Ayoob admits to Indy that the rock art in his fanciful cave dwelling is genuine "Quinkam Era" art. He presumably means Quinkan rock art, a type of Australian Aboriginal rock art depicting mythological beings called Quinkans.

 

The troop of Arabs that work for Ayoob are said to be Ismailis. The description of the Ismailis as the Middle Eastern equivalent of the Japanese ninjas is exaggerated hyperbole at best. The Ismailis are simply a Shia Muslim community of around 12–15 million people who live in countries the world over, including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Australia. Ayoob seems to be mixing the overall faith with the Order of Assassins, a Nizari Isma'ili order from 1090-1275 AD.

 

Ayoob asks Indy if he is familiar with the story of the Fourth Nail, and Indy responds in the affirmative, saying it is the legend that there was a fourth nail meant to be used in the execution of Jesus besides the two in the hands and one in the feet; a fourth nail to administer a death blow to the heart, but a wandering gypsy stole the fourth nail, delaying Jesus' death, and ever since, God has forgiven gypsies for petty crimes as a reward for helping his son. This is an actual legend, but is demonstrably false, since the Romanies, who came to be known in the West as "gypsies", did not leave their native India until the 11th Century, long, long, long after Christ's crucifixion in Jerusalem. Also, death in this manner is not a standard part of Roman crucifixion.

 

On page 9, Ayoob tells Indy he has reason to believe that the nail is currently in the possession of a phuri dai in the north of Spain. A phuri dai is a senior woman of a band of Romani, in charge of the welfare of the women and children.

 

When Ayoob tries to hire Indy to retrieve the nail, Indy tells him he already has a work arrangement with the National Museum and he's not for hire. The National Museum is the fictitious American museum for which Indy's old friend Marcus Brody is the current curator.

 

    On page 11, Marcus has offered Marion an unrevealed (for the moment) job at the National Museum, since she's been without steady employment since her new nightclub burned down, but she seems reluctant to take it. Her club, the Raven's Nest, burned down shortly after opening night in "Club Nightmare". While, as Marcus says, she's been without steady employment since, it is suggested that she wrote an article for the New York Times in "Africa Screams".

    "Swords and Spikes" reveals that that Marcus' job offer to Marion was that of public relations officer for the National Museum, where she is seen to have accepted it.

 

Page 12 finds Indy in Barcelona, Spain, on the trail of the phuri dai. He was previously in Barcelona in "Espionage Escapades" and Curse of the Invincible Ruby.

 

The narration in panel 2 of page 12 states that Don Quixote called Barcelona "The haven of strangers, the refuge of the distressed." This is from the 1605 Spanish novel Don Quixote (full title The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes.

 

Indy reflects on his last meeting with Torino "more than three years ago" when the pair of them fleeced a shady importer out of some illegal statues. This is a yet unchronicled adventure.

 

On page 12 (and elsewhere) señor is Spanish for "sir".

 

On page 13, Torino is referred to as a Gitano and Torino refers to his gambling victims as "boorish Paisanos." Gitano is an exonym for an ethnic group of the Iberian peninsula of Spain. Paisano is a Spanish term used for a fellow countryman.

 

On page 14, compañeros is Spanish for "companions".

 

On page 15, Torino says "Caramba!" This is a Spanish interjection, basically meaning "Gee!"

 

On page 16, the beefy Spaniard refers to Indy as gringo. This refers to any English-speaking foreigner in a Spanish-speaking country.

 

On page 18, policia is Spanish for "police".

 

    On page 21, Indy finds himself in the stock pen of a bullfighting ring and reads a dusty poster on the wall: ENORME CORRIDA DE TOROS, DEL LUNE 8 DE SEPTIEMBRE. This translates as HUGE BULLFIGHT ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 (though LUNE here should actually be LUNES for "Monday"). It must be quite an old poster, as the last time a Monday fell on September 8 up to 1936 was in 1930.

    The name of the bullfighter on the poster is partially obscured by Indy's hand, but is something like Carlos Saladaña.

 

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