Going into this issue, I realized I not only did not care about the resolution, I didn’t even remember all the terms for the Atlantis artifacts. It has something to do with these little pearls of energy. They have a silly name.
Barry takes over writing completely this issue and it feels a little smoother. Maybe because there aren’t any attempts at anything or even hints Barry might attempt something. The comic is more secure in its status as complete nonsense.
At some point, around halfway in, the true problem with Atlantis becomes clear. It’s a video game adaptation. A video game where the player is an active participant, now turned into a comic book where the reader is passive. But that base story is still geared toward active instead of passive.
It’s also way too full of content–and never the most interesting parts.
Unsurprisingly I suppose, it fails.
D
CREDITS
Writers, William Messner-Loebs and Dan Barry; artist and colorist, Barry; letterer, Gail Beckett; editor, Mike Richardson; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.
This third issue is the pits. Well, maybe not. Fate of Atlantis has been steadily sinking (sorry, had to do it) since the first page of the first issue. There’s no reason to think the last issue won’t be even worse than this one.
I can’t tell if Barry helping with the script is making things better or worse. Probably worse, since this issue is a breakneck race around the world for artifacts from Atlantis without any texture whatsoever.
It’s very hard not to think William Messner-Loebs is just cashing a paycheck with Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. There are some incredible logic holes. First and foremost, Messner-Loebs can’t write Indy’s interaction with the female sidekick. Or, more accurately, her interaction with him. He severely damages her business and reputation and she just forgives him because he’s cute.
