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Tomb Raider: The Series #1-4
Tomb Raider, Vol. 1: Saga of the Medusa Mask
Collecting Tomb Raider issues #1-#4 this trade paperback collection brings the action and adventure of the video game sensation to comics! Written by award winning writer and artist Dan Jurgens (Superman, Common Grounds) and industry superstar artist Andy Park (X-Men, Witchblade) this trade paperback brings the adventures of this film and video game heroine to the world of comics!
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Dan Jurgens
2,245 books285 followersDan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 26, 2019
For most people, memories of Tomb Raider recall the PS pixelated avatar of Lara Croft and her far more bodied representation a la Angelina Jolee in the 2001 feature length. Surprisingly enough, the initial germ of which was actually born in the comic book format back in the mid 90’s. This is where it all began as did my very first foray into the Tomb Raider series.
Upending many critical presumptions of yours truly (which have only depreciated with well over a years worth of comic reviews under my belt) the very first offering in the Lara Croft mythos retains its pleasant lustre some two decades down the road. In fact, seemingly coated with a thick, yet easily penetrable, veneer of mint-like freshness, its intrinsic charm keeps its appeal buoyantly fresh for a modern audience. Decrying its simplistically apparent appeal of T ‘n’ A, Tomb Raider has far more to offer than it visuals.
While clearly derived from the 20th’ century adventures serials of yore and its most obvious and successful incarnation of the 70’s, Indiana Jones, the world of Tomb Raider is for more than a simple copy paste of operation. Not content to merely trade the masculine for the feminine, a strong heaping of Batman influence is as obvious as it is well cured first, and sweetly inserted next. While replete with a breadth of family derived wealth, a butler, and a fatal family related tragedy to bring it all together, Croft veers not toward the path of vengeance but that of personal growth and individual challenge.
Again, taking what it likes and remodulating what it wants, a decidedly existential tale spools forth across environs that are as oriental as they are exciting to peel through. As such, Tomb Raider never revels its its ostensible sexual appeal nor does it merely follow trodden paths of the roads traveled of which its happily sampled already. Instead, we’re constantly amused by a story that is as charming as it is to read years down the road.
In fact with only a small dose of Suspended Belief™, any failures or over-the-top comic book derived action, within can easily be glossed over by its surprisingly length and breadth success. Most notably its tangible humanity. Well reflecting another superior offering of the comic book sphere, though probably not influenced by since they were released the same year, Lara Croft’s strong tether to humanity well reflect that of Garth Ennis’ magnum opus, Preacher. Even though we might be in a world with freaky powers and other supernaturals, we continually find ourselves tethered into something that is as accessible as it is believable. Never relying on flimsy externals what was built in to last, was truly built to last.
Lovable above as below, the very first Lara Croft comic, remains an eminently fresh read some two decades down the road.
Upending many critical presumptions of yours truly (which have only depreciated with well over a years worth of comic reviews under my belt) the very first offering in the Lara Croft mythos retains its pleasant lustre some two decades down the road. In fact, seemingly coated with a thick, yet easily penetrable, veneer of mint-like freshness, its intrinsic charm keeps its appeal buoyantly fresh for a modern audience. Decrying its simplistically apparent appeal of T ‘n’ A, Tomb Raider has far more to offer than it visuals.
While clearly derived from the 20th’ century adventures serials of yore and its most obvious and successful incarnation of the 70’s, Indiana Jones, the world of Tomb Raider is for more than a simple copy paste of operation. Not content to merely trade the masculine for the feminine, a strong heaping of Batman influence is as obvious as it is well cured first, and sweetly inserted next. While replete with a breadth of family derived wealth, a butler, and a fatal family related tragedy to bring it all together, Croft veers not toward the path of vengeance but that of personal growth and individual challenge.
Again, taking what it likes and remodulating what it wants, a decidedly existential tale spools forth across environs that are as oriental as they are exciting to peel through. As such, Tomb Raider never revels its its ostensible sexual appeal nor does it merely follow trodden paths of the roads traveled of which its happily sampled already. Instead, we’re constantly amused by a story that is as charming as it is to read years down the road.
In fact with only a small dose of Suspended Belief™, any failures or over-the-top comic book derived action, within can easily be glossed over by its surprisingly length and breadth success. Most notably its tangible humanity. Well reflecting another superior offering of the comic book sphere, though probably not influenced by since they were released the same year, Lara Croft’s strong tether to humanity well reflect that of Garth Ennis’ magnum opus, Preacher. Even though we might be in a world with freaky powers and other supernaturals, we continually find ourselves tethered into something that is as accessible as it is believable. Never relying on flimsy externals what was built in to last, was truly built to last.
Lovable above as below, the very first Lara Croft comic, remains an eminently fresh read some two decades down the road.
February 23, 2021
Barely readable.
Classic 90s artwork were every single female is sexy with poses that's just not natural nor what a human being would pose like when talking standing crouching climbing or even shooting guns like Lara.
Of course Lara is sexy but that's just too much when you're having her in every single pose on every single panel.
Other than that, the artwork is fine.
Story.
Silly and dumb, and I think the "writer" tried hard to write the most cringeworthy plot and dialogue that's ever being written. That Chase dude is cringy as fuck and needs to be removed from the story like.. yesterday. I don't know if the writer wanted to make him funny with the pick up lines he was throwing at Lara or annoying or if he just doesn't know how to write men. He succeeded in writing the most annoying character throughout the volume. That's for sure.
The plot was mediocre at best but I wasn't expecting to read the Odyssey here so whatever.
Just sad that Lara is being treated like garbage.
Anyway, would I recommend this? Nope. Unless like me you're going through every medium chronologically about Lara Croft.
See ya in the next one!
Classic 90s artwork were every single female is sexy with poses that's just not natural nor what a human being would pose like when talking standing crouching climbing or even shooting guns like Lara.
Of course Lara is sexy but that's just too much when you're having her in every single pose on every single panel.
Other than that, the artwork is fine.
Story.
Silly and dumb, and I think the "writer" tried hard to write the most cringeworthy plot and dialogue that's ever being written. That Chase dude is cringy as fuck and needs to be removed from the story like.. yesterday. I don't know if the writer wanted to make him funny with the pick up lines he was throwing at Lara or annoying or if he just doesn't know how to write men. He succeeded in writing the most annoying character throughout the volume. That's for sure.
The plot was mediocre at best but I wasn't expecting to read the Odyssey here so whatever.
Just sad that Lara is being treated like garbage.
Anyway, would I recommend this? Nope. Unless like me you're going through every medium chronologically about Lara Croft.
See ya in the next one!
September 23, 2025
Lara Croft made a successful jumps from comic books to games and a larger than life successful movie series starring Angelina Jolie before it sank with its latter offering starring Alicia Vikander. Now the series seems to be rebooting again.
The games have been successful but the comic strips featuring the British archaeologist who is a pinch of Indiana Jones with a tang of Bruce Wayne in her approach.
The adventure here is fine as is the overall art but toeing the line of the company after Tomb Raider 1 version of the game the overt sexualisation of Lara is very upfront with every frame focusing on her rather than her abilities.
The story is fine for a graphic novel.
The games have been successful but the comic strips featuring the British archaeologist who is a pinch of Indiana Jones with a tang of Bruce Wayne in her approach.
The adventure here is fine as is the overall art but toeing the line of the company after Tomb Raider 1 version of the game the overt sexualisation of Lara is very upfront with every frame focusing on her rather than her abilities.
The story is fine for a graphic novel.
May 25, 2020
Stuck in a reading slump? Nothing like some tomb raider to help out
September 6, 2020
There are couple of really good bits this book but overall this is just fast paced silly adventure with predictable plot twists and super sexy 90s art and hair.
January 23, 2023
Honestly, a 2.5
Finally entering the world of Tomb Raider in comic book form. As usual, I don't have the graphic novel, I have these as individual issues, so I'm not sure if this includes issue zero or the Tomb Raider (Top Cow) #0.5 issue. I'll review those separately. Now, before we get into the comic, we have to build some expectations around who is publishing this thing and the era in which it was created. Top Cow was the first publisher of Tomb Raider, but they had been rather intimately involved with Image comics back in the day. Now, comic books have always rather had the whole "everyone is beautiful" kind of aspect to them, so it's nothing new for it being in the 90's. However, Image and others, probably inspired by the likes of Frank Frazetta, famous for the Conan Barbarian art style, set out to draw things a bit more accurately and less of the 80's fairly cartoonish style. For me, I think Image at the time it was made was a little grittier than what Marvel was publishing at the time, and Marvel was a more intense version of DC in some ways. DC even split off and made a more mature imprint with Vertigo and there are some excellent stories from that line. So, growing up, Gen 13 and Spawn were my mainstays as a kid growing up. It's not surprise to see the art of Tomb Raider fall in line with what we saw with early Gen 13 and Top Cows other titles like Witchblade and Aphrodite IX.
Lara Crofts image of the busty adventurer would certainly turn heads and find a home in the realms of Top Cows catalog of comics. It rather did make sense, with the Image/Top Cow style being more about everything being sexy and as far as the game developer was concerned, it was probably what was in line with their ideas at the time. Bringing her to the big screen with Angelina Jolie certainly helped, but as far as characters go did these original Top Cow efforts hold up over the years? In my opinion, not really. Don't get me wrong, I still really like Andy Park's art and rendition of her along with everyone else he drew in the comics, but I find far more problems with the original story than Parks unrealistic constantly sexy poses mid-gun fight. Which, art wise, honestly, I'm fine with, because it being a comic and all.
My problem here was solidified with my problems in the 1/2 issue. To me, and maybe I missed something in reading about the early games, but to me, Lara Croft is supposed to be an academic power house on par with Indiana Jones. On top of that, she is no nonsense and very self sufficient. Naturally, I expect a bit of that "female version of Indiana Jones," it would be difficult to make an adventure/archaeology type story without the reference. Look at the world of Uncharted! Very good, but also, you can't ignore the Indiana Jones! And with Indiana Jones you can't ignore Allan Quatermain! I digress, my point here is that Lara, to me is supposed to be a very strong female lead. Sexy, yes, of course, but also an academic powerhouse. She speaks many languages, is very well versed in history and antiquities etc. In the end... this is not what we got.
I will say, the first issue in this series was rather promising. However, it has other issues with the bordering on racism "why Iran is bad" etc. No way this would get published today with that script. However, we are introduced to Lara mid-heist of a rare artefact that was originally stolen from Israel. Even though this came first, the movies gave a bit of a team atmosphere with Lara working with a couple other key people with her in the lead. The comic has that a bit with her working with the family body guard as back-up. After a narrow escape we are featured to a series of panels on Lara's yacht in a sexy bathing suite... because of course. However, despite being in this swimsuit she has also scheduled a meeting with a shadowy figure who wants her to hunt down a priceless artifact. She accepts and we are off to hunt for the Medusa Mask!
As far as artifact adventure stories go, this part of the comic was pretty well done. It was a cool hunt through history. It only sort of suffers from wanting to be a more epic journey than the writer had time for. Jurgens had to cram it all into four issues and wrap the story up in time to start the next one. The four issue length story format is pretty common in comics, Dark Horse publishes a huge amount of the Aliens and Predator comics in four issue blocks, so I'm not surprise to see it employed here. We journey with Lara and face danger in the high seas and eventually wind our way into the hidden areas of Nepal. Once again, a lot of derisive comments are made by the characters about how "terrible Nepal" is as a place to just exist in. It really just makes the characters come off as assholes, to be honest, which is probably in line with a stuffy British demeanor, but doesn't really fit the whole "well travelled, seasoned artifact hunter" vibes they're supposed to give off. Yes, even her body guard Compton is supposed to be ex-Military.
Ok, the overall craft of the story concept was fine. The real problem I had with this was how helpless Lara came off half the time. Her ex-boyfriend Chase Carver shows up, he was Gerard Butler's character in the movie, I believe. And Butler did a good job of it and I'm glad he didn't play Chase like this guy. In any event, Chase shows up to save Lara from an attack, which is fine... but it was pretty much almost every time after that Lara couldn't do things without the man saving her. It was just ridiculous. To add insult to injury Chase forces himself on her and kisses her when the first meet, she tells him not to do that again, which, to his credit, he doesn't. But then he just proceeds to hit on her in literally every line of his dialogue. Trying to impress her with how "long he can last" and other annoying crap. It's just overwhelming. If this is what beautiful women have to put up with on the regular, no wonder they're completely tired of this nonsense. It's overwhelming and I by the end of this comic I just felt outright bad for Lara. It's one thing, as a writing aspect to throw in a couple "hit on the hot girl" lines, but this is like nearly every dialogue between the too. It's daunting to put up with as a reader.
In the end, the overall concept of the story was a cool idea and a cool adventure plot... but the character development is sorely lacking at this point. Lara needs to be able to function without a mans help. I'm not saying don't have her have a team, but let's at least have some semblance of equal skill sets or complimentary skill sets! Angelina and Gerard pulled this off to a certain degree in the films I think.
Finally entering the world of Tomb Raider in comic book form. As usual, I don't have the graphic novel, I have these as individual issues, so I'm not sure if this includes issue zero or the Tomb Raider (Top Cow) #0.5 issue. I'll review those separately. Now, before we get into the comic, we have to build some expectations around who is publishing this thing and the era in which it was created. Top Cow was the first publisher of Tomb Raider, but they had been rather intimately involved with Image comics back in the day. Now, comic books have always rather had the whole "everyone is beautiful" kind of aspect to them, so it's nothing new for it being in the 90's. However, Image and others, probably inspired by the likes of Frank Frazetta, famous for the Conan Barbarian art style, set out to draw things a bit more accurately and less of the 80's fairly cartoonish style. For me, I think Image at the time it was made was a little grittier than what Marvel was publishing at the time, and Marvel was a more intense version of DC in some ways. DC even split off and made a more mature imprint with Vertigo and there are some excellent stories from that line. So, growing up, Gen 13 and Spawn were my mainstays as a kid growing up. It's not surprise to see the art of Tomb Raider fall in line with what we saw with early Gen 13 and Top Cows other titles like Witchblade and Aphrodite IX.
Lara Crofts image of the busty adventurer would certainly turn heads and find a home in the realms of Top Cows catalog of comics. It rather did make sense, with the Image/Top Cow style being more about everything being sexy and as far as the game developer was concerned, it was probably what was in line with their ideas at the time. Bringing her to the big screen with Angelina Jolie certainly helped, but as far as characters go did these original Top Cow efforts hold up over the years? In my opinion, not really. Don't get me wrong, I still really like Andy Park's art and rendition of her along with everyone else he drew in the comics, but I find far more problems with the original story than Parks unrealistic constantly sexy poses mid-gun fight. Which, art wise, honestly, I'm fine with, because it being a comic and all.
My problem here was solidified with my problems in the 1/2 issue. To me, and maybe I missed something in reading about the early games, but to me, Lara Croft is supposed to be an academic power house on par with Indiana Jones. On top of that, she is no nonsense and very self sufficient. Naturally, I expect a bit of that "female version of Indiana Jones," it would be difficult to make an adventure/archaeology type story without the reference. Look at the world of Uncharted! Very good, but also, you can't ignore the Indiana Jones! And with Indiana Jones you can't ignore Allan Quatermain! I digress, my point here is that Lara, to me is supposed to be a very strong female lead. Sexy, yes, of course, but also an academic powerhouse. She speaks many languages, is very well versed in history and antiquities etc. In the end... this is not what we got.
I will say, the first issue in this series was rather promising. However, it has other issues with the bordering on racism "why Iran is bad" etc. No way this would get published today with that script. However, we are introduced to Lara mid-heist of a rare artefact that was originally stolen from Israel. Even though this came first, the movies gave a bit of a team atmosphere with Lara working with a couple other key people with her in the lead. The comic has that a bit with her working with the family body guard as back-up. After a narrow escape we are featured to a series of panels on Lara's yacht in a sexy bathing suite... because of course. However, despite being in this swimsuit she has also scheduled a meeting with a shadowy figure who wants her to hunt down a priceless artifact. She accepts and we are off to hunt for the Medusa Mask!
As far as artifact adventure stories go, this part of the comic was pretty well done. It was a cool hunt through history. It only sort of suffers from wanting to be a more epic journey than the writer had time for. Jurgens had to cram it all into four issues and wrap the story up in time to start the next one. The four issue length story format is pretty common in comics, Dark Horse publishes a huge amount of the Aliens and Predator comics in four issue blocks, so I'm not surprise to see it employed here. We journey with Lara and face danger in the high seas and eventually wind our way into the hidden areas of Nepal. Once again, a lot of derisive comments are made by the characters about how "terrible Nepal" is as a place to just exist in. It really just makes the characters come off as assholes, to be honest, which is probably in line with a stuffy British demeanor, but doesn't really fit the whole "well travelled, seasoned artifact hunter" vibes they're supposed to give off. Yes, even her body guard Compton is supposed to be ex-Military.
Ok, the overall craft of the story concept was fine. The real problem I had with this was how helpless Lara came off half the time. Her ex-boyfriend Chase Carver shows up, he was Gerard Butler's character in the movie, I believe. And Butler did a good job of it and I'm glad he didn't play Chase like this guy. In any event, Chase shows up to save Lara from an attack, which is fine... but it was pretty much almost every time after that Lara couldn't do things without the man saving her. It was just ridiculous. To add insult to injury Chase forces himself on her and kisses her when the first meet, she tells him not to do that again, which, to his credit, he doesn't. But then he just proceeds to hit on her in literally every line of his dialogue. Trying to impress her with how "long he can last" and other annoying crap. It's just overwhelming. If this is what beautiful women have to put up with on the regular, no wonder they're completely tired of this nonsense. It's overwhelming and I by the end of this comic I just felt outright bad for Lara. It's one thing, as a writing aspect to throw in a couple "hit on the hot girl" lines, but this is like nearly every dialogue between the too. It's daunting to put up with as a reader.
In the end, the overall concept of the story was a cool idea and a cool adventure plot... but the character development is sorely lacking at this point. Lara needs to be able to function without a mans help. I'm not saying don't have her have a team, but let's at least have some semblance of equal skill sets or complimentary skill sets! Angelina and Gerard pulled this off to a certain degree in the films I think.
September 13, 2015
Review of Lara Croft Tomb Raider 0, .5, 1-6.
I grew up playing computer games when Tomb Raider was released. It was too hard for my young self, so I didn't play anything past the original. I saw the movies in the theaters and loved them, and I've played the new video games. The characterization in the new video game is the best I've ever experienced in any game. Lara is vulnerable, intelligent, likable, and we get to see her grow into the badass we know and love. All of that made me want to try the new series of comics that follows the video game, as well as dip into the old one (this one) which I was told follows more of the movie Lara.
You can see my initial thoughts in the comments below, issue 0 was a good start with only a few question marks being raised, like her use of American slang which seemed really out of character. Issue .5 and 1 were even worse with the writing. It felt like I was reading a man's point of view. It just didn't feel like any Lara I knew. Her past painted her as even more unlikable, and I just didn't like much about.
Then we have Carter, who says darlin and red entirely too much. Their banter is not fun and doesn't add to the comic, it just felt forced and annoyed me. One liner city from there. That takes me up to issue 5 and 6 with the dinosaurs.
Hey look, a new character, and an enjoyable one. Brings me back to playing the game with Lara's archeological team. Interesting landscape and plot, enjoyable art, a little less banter. Not a bad double issue, and far less boobs.
About the boobs and skin everywhere...I've read some Witchblade so I'm not a stranger to this type of art. It's not an immediate turn off if the writing and story is interesting, Lara didn't wear a ton of clothes in the games so I'm expecting it, but painting her as a dumb bimbo with comments about how her apparel wasn't climate appropriate in her origin story yet the same outfit is now appropriate just didn't make sense. The first few issues may have just been trying to show as much as possible to draw in a certain audience, but it was really unnecessary. By the interviews and the tone, and the ads for other comics with half naked chicks (it's not me referring to them that way by the way, that was the way the interviewer referred to the characters in an article in one issue) I'm definitely not the intended audience. Yet, I'm not the intended audience for a lot of video games and movies and still find them well written and enjoyable. The first few issues of this are not at all. If I hadn't already had a high standard for the character I probably would have marked this as low and moved on, but come on, this is a decently well established character you are using, show her some respect.
I grew up playing computer games when Tomb Raider was released. It was too hard for my young self, so I didn't play anything past the original. I saw the movies in the theaters and loved them, and I've played the new video games. The characterization in the new video game is the best I've ever experienced in any game. Lara is vulnerable, intelligent, likable, and we get to see her grow into the badass we know and love. All of that made me want to try the new series of comics that follows the video game, as well as dip into the old one (this one) which I was told follows more of the movie Lara.
You can see my initial thoughts in the comments below, issue 0 was a good start with only a few question marks being raised, like her use of American slang which seemed really out of character. Issue .5 and 1 were even worse with the writing. It felt like I was reading a man's point of view. It just didn't feel like any Lara I knew. Her past painted her as even more unlikable, and I just didn't like much about.
Then we have Carter, who says darlin and red entirely too much. Their banter is not fun and doesn't add to the comic, it just felt forced and annoyed me. One liner city from there. That takes me up to issue 5 and 6 with the dinosaurs.
Hey look, a new character, and an enjoyable one. Brings me back to playing the game with Lara's archeological team. Interesting landscape and plot, enjoyable art, a little less banter. Not a bad double issue, and far less boobs.
About the boobs and skin everywhere...I've read some Witchblade so I'm not a stranger to this type of art. It's not an immediate turn off if the writing and story is interesting, Lara didn't wear a ton of clothes in the games so I'm expecting it, but painting her as a dumb bimbo with comments about how her apparel wasn't climate appropriate in her origin story yet the same outfit is now appropriate just didn't make sense. The first few issues may have just been trying to show as much as possible to draw in a certain audience, but it was really unnecessary. By the interviews and the tone, and the ads for other comics with half naked chicks (it's not me referring to them that way by the way, that was the way the interviewer referred to the characters in an article in one issue) I'm definitely not the intended audience. Yet, I'm not the intended audience for a lot of video games and movies and still find them well written and enjoyable. The first few issues of this are not at all. If I hadn't already had a high standard for the character I probably would have marked this as low and moved on, but come on, this is a decently well established character you are using, show her some respect.
September 26, 2020
Read for the 2020 N.E.W.T.s
MUGGLE STUDIES: Read a comic
Grade awarded: A
I never really read this kind of graphic novels but this was a good introduction.
As it spans only 5 volumes, and each is rather short, it didn't really allow a large space for the story to develop, but it was definitely enjoyable and the final plot twist left me shook.
MUGGLE STUDIES: Read a comic
Grade awarded: A
I never really read this kind of graphic novels but this was a good introduction.
As it spans only 5 volumes, and each is rather short, it didn't really allow a large space for the story to develop, but it was definitely enjoyable and the final plot twist left me shook.
May 1, 2020
This is a compellation of the first five Lara Croft comics. I was not a fan of Compton turning bad and trying to do away with Lara. It just didn't stick with canon, but hey I guess the comic guys had approval to do it. It was well drawn, and wonderfully accurate to what we think Lara and Tomb Raider should be. Absolutely loved the interplay with Chase Carver.
November 2, 2015
Tuctová mainstreamová blbina
July 7, 2024
Gelesen als deutsche Einzelhefte im Jahr 2000. Ein Sammelausgabe gab hierzulande nicht. Meine Kritik damals, leicht überarbeitet:
Lara Croft kann man als Nochkommin von Indiana Jones betrachten. Bald hat sie den Mann mit Hut beerbt und wird in genauso vielen Medien präsent sein.
Aus der kultigen Spielfigur ist jetzt eine Comic-Figur geworden. Im Comic macht sie dasselbe wie im Computerspiel, nämlich Schätze suchen.
Hier in diesem Minizyklus geht es um die Maske der Medusa:
Das Comic-Team um Dan Jurgens inszeniert für sie einen eindrucksvollen Einstieg: Sie lassen sie im Mittleren Osten auftauchen und sich mit islamischen Kämpfern um eine wertvolle,historische Halskette schlagen.
Nach diesen erfolgreichen Unternehmen empfängt sie auch ihrer Yacht einen Klienten. Lara ist eine reiche Frau, ein vererbtes Vermögen ist ihr eigen. Der traurige Hintergrund ihres Reichtums. Ihre Eltern und ihr Verlobter sind bei einem Flugzeugabsturz ums Leben gekommen. Als väterlicher Freund steht ihr Hartford Compton, der Buttler der Familie zu Seite. Nebenbei bemerkt, Lara Croft ist Untertanin ihre Majestät, Königin von Großbritannien.
Dieser Klient ist ein alter Bekannter der Familie – und ein Unsympath. Er will die Maske der Medusa, ein legendäres Stück antiker Goldschmiedekunst, um das sich Sagen ranken. Lara willigt ein und verlangt einen ungewöhnlichen Preis, den der Leser jedoch erst zum Schluss sieht. Gleich am ersten Ort der Suche, beim Wrack einer gesunkenen spanischen Galeone, will man ihr ans Leben. Man versenkt sogar ihre Yacht. Eine Spur führt zu Chase Carver, einem Konkurrenten und Ex-Lover von Lara. Sie reisen ihm in den Nepal nach. Dort geraten sie wieder in einen Hinterhalt, und Compton wird von einem Pfeil der vermummten Assassinen niedergestreckt.
Nach diesem Cliffhanger taucht der Gesuchte just an diesem Ort auf. Es stellt sich heraus, dass er immer noch gerne wieder bei Lara landen möchte. Mit ihm kommt eine Prise Humor in das Abenteuer. Die beiden kabbeln sich. Auch Ironie würzt die Action. Gemeinsam folgen sie Spuren aus Sagen und Dokumenten und finden ein Tor. Als sie es öffnen, stürzen sie in einen Abgrund.
Im dritten haben sie sich dann gerettet und können die Höhle erkunden. Sie finden tatsächlich die Maske: Auf einem Felsbrocken, der von schweren Eisenketten über einer brennenden See gehalten wird, sitzt ein Gerippe, das das Objekt der Begierde trägt . Lara lässt sich nicht von diesen unheimlichen und gefährlichen Arrangement abschrecken, nimmt die Herausforderung sogleich an. Aber das schlimmste hat sie damit noch nicht überstanden, das Abenteuer hält noch eine unvorhergesehene Wendung bereit. Aber man kann ihre Fans beruhigen. Sie wird danach noch weitere Abenteuer erleben - in ihrer ganzen prächtigen Unversehrtheit.
Über drei Hefte hat sich dieses erste Abenteuer erstreckt und dem Autor gelingt es mit jedem Heft zu steigern. Der erste Teil war reines (fast dröges) Abenteuergarn, im zweiten Heft kam Humor, Ironie und auch Tragik dazu, und der dritte war noch dichter, weil sich herausstellt, dass alle Figuren miteinander in Beziehung stehen und durch die Wendung neue Facetten zeigen. Nicht zuletzt kommt noch das Phantastische in den Eigenschaften der Maske hinzu.
An diesem Action-Comic haben Könner gearbeitet. Jurgensen ist der Mann, der Superman sterben ließ. Das ganze ist im detailreichen, realistischen amerikanischen Comic-Stil gezeichnet, den ich mal als den Kurznasenstil bezeichnen möchte. Die Farbgebung ist äußert gelungen, so dass man gerne drin blättert - nicht nur wegen Lara selbst.
Lara Crofts Körpermaße sind im Comic etwas realistischer dimensioniert. Sonst hat sich ihr Outfit jedoch kaum verändert. Alle anderen Attribute ihrer Erscheinung sind da - bei Veränderungen hätte Lizenzgeber EIDOS sicher etwas dagegen gehabt. Meistens wird sie nur knapp bekleidet gezeichnet. Im Hochgebirge ist sie natürlich witterungsbedingt stärker verhüllt. Die beiden Pistolen sind meistens auch zu sehen, wenn gleich sie sie wenig einsetzt, was man auch positiv vermerken muss.
Das Comic ist edel aufgemacht. Das Cover von Bd. 1 besitzt Relief-Prägung und die Seiten, bei denen die Panels bis zur Papierkante gingen, bestehen aus Hochglanzpapier.
Was mich sehr störte, ist das im zweiten Band eine Art Prolog zur neuen Comic Reihe „Soulreaver“ fast die Hälfte des Heftes ausfüllte. Dafür gab es zwei Lara Croft Poster zum Herausnehmen.
Auch im dritten Heft gibt es eine Kostbrobe eines neuen Comics zum Spiel diesmal „Witchblade“. Dies gefielt mir noch weniger wie „Soulreaver“, weil die Figuren wesentlich schlechter gezeichnet und die Geschichte wenig reizvoll.
In Heft zwei und drei sind auch Leserbriefe abgedruckt.
Comics zu Computerspielen liegen im Trend, auch scheinen die Stoffe düsterer und gewaltträchtiger zu werden, wenn man sich die neuen Labels von Egmont-Ehapa anschaut. Ob sie sich langfristig neben dem moderaten Tomb Raider etablieren können, ist eine andere Frage.
Zum Komplex Artefakte/Archäologie und Phantastik gibt es noch viel zu sagen oder besser zu schreiben.
Lara Croft kann man als Nochkommin von Indiana Jones betrachten. Bald hat sie den Mann mit Hut beerbt und wird in genauso vielen Medien präsent sein.
Aus der kultigen Spielfigur ist jetzt eine Comic-Figur geworden. Im Comic macht sie dasselbe wie im Computerspiel, nämlich Schätze suchen.
Hier in diesem Minizyklus geht es um die Maske der Medusa:
Das Comic-Team um Dan Jurgens inszeniert für sie einen eindrucksvollen Einstieg: Sie lassen sie im Mittleren Osten auftauchen und sich mit islamischen Kämpfern um eine wertvolle,historische Halskette schlagen.
Nach diesen erfolgreichen Unternehmen empfängt sie auch ihrer Yacht einen Klienten. Lara ist eine reiche Frau, ein vererbtes Vermögen ist ihr eigen. Der traurige Hintergrund ihres Reichtums. Ihre Eltern und ihr Verlobter sind bei einem Flugzeugabsturz ums Leben gekommen. Als väterlicher Freund steht ihr Hartford Compton, der Buttler der Familie zu Seite. Nebenbei bemerkt, Lara Croft ist Untertanin ihre Majestät, Königin von Großbritannien.
Dieser Klient ist ein alter Bekannter der Familie – und ein Unsympath. Er will die Maske der Medusa, ein legendäres Stück antiker Goldschmiedekunst, um das sich Sagen ranken. Lara willigt ein und verlangt einen ungewöhnlichen Preis, den der Leser jedoch erst zum Schluss sieht. Gleich am ersten Ort der Suche, beim Wrack einer gesunkenen spanischen Galeone, will man ihr ans Leben. Man versenkt sogar ihre Yacht. Eine Spur führt zu Chase Carver, einem Konkurrenten und Ex-Lover von Lara. Sie reisen ihm in den Nepal nach. Dort geraten sie wieder in einen Hinterhalt, und Compton wird von einem Pfeil der vermummten Assassinen niedergestreckt.
Nach diesem Cliffhanger taucht der Gesuchte just an diesem Ort auf. Es stellt sich heraus, dass er immer noch gerne wieder bei Lara landen möchte. Mit ihm kommt eine Prise Humor in das Abenteuer. Die beiden kabbeln sich. Auch Ironie würzt die Action. Gemeinsam folgen sie Spuren aus Sagen und Dokumenten und finden ein Tor. Als sie es öffnen, stürzen sie in einen Abgrund.
Im dritten haben sie sich dann gerettet und können die Höhle erkunden. Sie finden tatsächlich die Maske: Auf einem Felsbrocken, der von schweren Eisenketten über einer brennenden See gehalten wird, sitzt ein Gerippe, das das Objekt der Begierde trägt . Lara lässt sich nicht von diesen unheimlichen und gefährlichen Arrangement abschrecken, nimmt die Herausforderung sogleich an. Aber das schlimmste hat sie damit noch nicht überstanden, das Abenteuer hält noch eine unvorhergesehene Wendung bereit. Aber man kann ihre Fans beruhigen. Sie wird danach noch weitere Abenteuer erleben - in ihrer ganzen prächtigen Unversehrtheit.
Über drei Hefte hat sich dieses erste Abenteuer erstreckt und dem Autor gelingt es mit jedem Heft zu steigern. Der erste Teil war reines (fast dröges) Abenteuergarn, im zweiten Heft kam Humor, Ironie und auch Tragik dazu, und der dritte war noch dichter, weil sich herausstellt, dass alle Figuren miteinander in Beziehung stehen und durch die Wendung neue Facetten zeigen. Nicht zuletzt kommt noch das Phantastische in den Eigenschaften der Maske hinzu.
An diesem Action-Comic haben Könner gearbeitet. Jurgensen ist der Mann, der Superman sterben ließ. Das ganze ist im detailreichen, realistischen amerikanischen Comic-Stil gezeichnet, den ich mal als den Kurznasenstil bezeichnen möchte. Die Farbgebung ist äußert gelungen, so dass man gerne drin blättert - nicht nur wegen Lara selbst.
Lara Crofts Körpermaße sind im Comic etwas realistischer dimensioniert. Sonst hat sich ihr Outfit jedoch kaum verändert. Alle anderen Attribute ihrer Erscheinung sind da - bei Veränderungen hätte Lizenzgeber EIDOS sicher etwas dagegen gehabt. Meistens wird sie nur knapp bekleidet gezeichnet. Im Hochgebirge ist sie natürlich witterungsbedingt stärker verhüllt. Die beiden Pistolen sind meistens auch zu sehen, wenn gleich sie sie wenig einsetzt, was man auch positiv vermerken muss.
Das Comic ist edel aufgemacht. Das Cover von Bd. 1 besitzt Relief-Prägung und die Seiten, bei denen die Panels bis zur Papierkante gingen, bestehen aus Hochglanzpapier.
Was mich sehr störte, ist das im zweiten Band eine Art Prolog zur neuen Comic Reihe „Soulreaver“ fast die Hälfte des Heftes ausfüllte. Dafür gab es zwei Lara Croft Poster zum Herausnehmen.
Auch im dritten Heft gibt es eine Kostbrobe eines neuen Comics zum Spiel diesmal „Witchblade“. Dies gefielt mir noch weniger wie „Soulreaver“, weil die Figuren wesentlich schlechter gezeichnet und die Geschichte wenig reizvoll.
In Heft zwei und drei sind auch Leserbriefe abgedruckt.
Comics zu Computerspielen liegen im Trend, auch scheinen die Stoffe düsterer und gewaltträchtiger zu werden, wenn man sich die neuen Labels von Egmont-Ehapa anschaut. Ob sie sich langfristig neben dem moderaten Tomb Raider etablieren können, ist eine andere Frage.
Zum Komplex Artefakte/Archäologie und Phantastik gibt es noch viel zu sagen oder besser zu schreiben.
December 14, 2024
Tomb Raider.
Yeah Lara Croft from year 2000.
I remember on winter times when received this special paperback.
I was a kid who played in that time great pc game from Core Design : TOMB RAIDER CHRONICLES and TOMB RAIDER THE LAST REVELATION.
Reading about Lara during winter times...it makes me always happy.
As fan of Tomb Raider. I had to have everything from goddess Lara.
I was very happy when got this amazing special paperback into my hands.
I love always old stories from original series Lara Croft Tomb Raider and this one it´s very special for me.
Searching for Medusa Mask, great artefact.
So I wish to have one real for next collection of Tomb Raider.
I can only recommend it for fans LARA CROFT : TOMB RAIDER
Get & Enjoy this special Lara Paperback.
Great story.
Great pictures, illustrations.
Great story for making movie.
So just perfect paperback...
Yeah Lara Croft from year 2000.
I remember on winter times when received this special paperback.
I was a kid who played in that time great pc game from Core Design : TOMB RAIDER CHRONICLES and TOMB RAIDER THE LAST REVELATION.
Reading about Lara during winter times...it makes me always happy.
As fan of Tomb Raider. I had to have everything from goddess Lara.
I was very happy when got this amazing special paperback into my hands.
I love always old stories from original series Lara Croft Tomb Raider and this one it´s very special for me.
Searching for Medusa Mask, great artefact.
So I wish to have one real for next collection of Tomb Raider.
I can only recommend it for fans LARA CROFT : TOMB RAIDER
Get & Enjoy this special Lara Paperback.
Great story.
Great pictures, illustrations.
Great story for making movie.
So just perfect paperback...
August 13, 2022
Releasing around the peak of the Tomb Raider/ Lara Croft hype these Top Cow produced comics are a non canonical approach to the First Lady of gaming.
The story here is solid - Lara is hired to find the unfindable treasure but hi-jinx ensue.
From the introduction of Lara to her capabilities these comics are well written with great art work. Andy Park delivers a solid Lara - athletic looking without being a stick, a large but not laughable cleavage and a good face.
What more can you ask for?
3/5.
The story here is solid - Lara is hired to find the unfindable treasure but hi-jinx ensue.
From the introduction of Lara to her capabilities these comics are well written with great art work. Andy Park delivers a solid Lara - athletic looking without being a stick, a large but not laughable cleavage and a good face.
What more can you ask for?
3/5.
March 8, 2021
Tomb Raider Vol 1: Saga of the Medusa Mask By Dan Jurgens
Series: Yes
Format: Softcover
Stars: 5
Recommend: Yes
Would Reread: Yes
Classic Lara in all her glory!!
Loved the art and had a great story.
Overall just a really fun read.
I give honest reviews and all my opinions are my own.
For more of my reviews go to Heavenly High Seas Books
https://heavenlyhighseasbooks.blogspo...
Series: Yes
Format: Softcover
Stars: 5
Recommend: Yes
Would Reread: Yes
Classic Lara in all her glory!!
Loved the art and had a great story.
Overall just a really fun read.
I give honest reviews and all my opinions are my own.
For more of my reviews go to Heavenly High Seas Books
https://heavenlyhighseasbooks.blogspo...
December 11, 2018
The artwork in this graphic novel was amazing and incredibly realistic (even with, you know, Lara Croft's giant boobs). The story, however, was just okay. It was exciting enough, but the "shocking" reveals all seemed just a little too convenient.
January 18, 2021
This is the first time I am reading a tomb raider graphic novel. It is full of action, adventure, adrenaline etc. It's never short of excitement. It had an epic plot twist.
March 30, 2025
Great colorful art. Lara's first full story outside PS1 era graphics. Beautiful.
Story does its own thing, no real ties to games. Smart decision.
Story does its own thing, no real ties to games. Smart decision.
July 7, 2025
Super fun 90s read with gorgeous 90s Top Cow art. How can you lose?
September 3, 2025
Chase Carver is super cringey. The rest isn't too bad though, better than I expected. Still it's early 2000s Top Cow so keep your expectations low.
May 30, 2021
That's the Lara Croft I know, as in the comics says "The complete package! Gorgeous, talented and deadly." It was a generic Lara Croft adventure that I remember from my childhood. An usual pattern of a Tomb Raider plot goes on like that: Lara takes a job that getting a powerfull and mysterios artifact, go to middle east, far east or latin america, during the adventure she uses her gadgets, shoots things a lot, solves the mysteries and survives from traps and, of course, fights with power hungry villians and recover the artifact that they steal from her. It was good to revisit Lara Croft's universe though. I enjoyed the comic. Drawings is amazing as well.
May 21, 2015
Action, Adventure, and Humor, this book has it all including a surprise ending. The story is fun and fast paced with wonderful art.
You do not have to know anything about the video game character Lara Croft to enjoy this book. Highly recommended!
You do not have to know anything about the video game character Lara Croft to enjoy this book. Highly recommended!
August 27, 2008
Really beautiful comics book!
April 13, 2015
the story was great . this comic is part of the 4 part series and i must say myself it was a intresting story . lara croft finding the medusa mask
March 11, 2024
Comment ça m’a réactivé des souvenirs
February 5, 2009
i really liked it.I think the game is fun too, although i already beat it.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews