 |
Indiana Jones
"Thunder in the Orient" Part 4
Indiana Jones: Thunder in the
Orient #4
Dark
Horse Comics
Story, Pencils, & Ink
Finishes: Dan Barry
Inks: Andy Mushynsky
Lettering & Colors: Gail Beckett
Cover: Hugh Fleming
December 1993
|
Has Indy and Sophie's expedition
inadvertently discovered the mythical lost city of Shangri-La in
the Himalayas?
Notes from the Indiana Jones chronology
Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient is a 6-issue
mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics in 1993-94. The story
takes place in October
1938.
Notes from
The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones
The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones is a 2008 publication
that
purports to be Indy's journal as seen throughout The
Young Indiana Chronicles
TV series
and the big screen Indiana
Jones movies. The publication is also annotated with notes
from a functionary of the
Federal Security
Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation, the successor
agency of the Soviet Union's KGB security agency. The KGB relieved Indy of his
journal in 1957 during the events of Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The notations imply the journal was released to other
governments by the FSB in the early 21st Century. However, some
bookend segments of The
Young Indiana Chronicles
depict Old Indy still in
possession of the journal in 1992. The discrepancy has never
been resolved.
The journal as published does not mention the events of this
issue,
going from entries shortly after the events of The
Last Crusade in
June 1938 to those of The
Fate of Atlantis in
May 1939. Almost a year gap seemingly left un-journaled.
Characters appearing or mentioned in this issue
General Masashi Kyojo
spy
Indiana Jones
Khamal
Sophia Hapgood
Sherpas
Chanri-Ha citizens
Dr.
Patar Kali
Tsongpen
Chanri-Ha slaves
Lotus Flower/Serpent Lady
Gurkhas
Didja Notice?
Trekking into the Himalayas, the expedition discovers a city
that Indy compares to James Hilton's Shangri-La. This refers
to the fictitious lost Himalayan city in Hilton's 1933 novel
Lost Horizon. Indy and Marion Ravenwood discovered
another Himalayan city that was compared to Shangri-La
(Ra-Lundi) in
"The City of Yesterday's Forever". The city found here
is called Chanri-Ha, and Indy is led to believe that Hilton
himself discovered it and based his novel on it.
On page 3, a Chanri-Ha warrior shouts, "Yama! Die!" In
Buddhism, Yama is normally the god associated with death.
On page 8, Kahmal asks Indy, "Are you not mocking Allah,
effendi?" "Allah" is the Arabic word for "God".
Effendi is a title of respect in the Middle East.
The
Chanri-Ha denizens think that Khamal is the reincarnation of
both Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, who visited the
city in the ancient past. Genghis Khan was previously
mentioned in
"Thunder in the Orient" Part
2. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was a Macedonian
king who ruled one of the largest empires of the ancient
world and was never defeated in battle.
In Chanri-Ha, the expedition learns that another shrine with
potential clues to the location of the Buddha Covenant lies
in Szechuan,
a province in China.
Sophie decides to start calling the slave she's rescued
Lotus Flower. The lotus, Nelumbo nucifera, is an aquatic
flowering plant that is an important symbol in the Indian
religions, notably Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
The local gods of Chanri-Ha, Olutru and Gembo, appear to be
fictitious deities.
Back to Indiana Jones Episode
Studies
