With Indiana Jones 5 marking the final time Harrison Ford will don the fedora and leather jacket, you might think this is the end of the franchise. You’d be wrong. As studios are prone to doing these days, Disney and LucasFilm are looking to keep things going even without Ford. It’s been heavily rumored that Phoebe Waller-Bridge will star in her own spinoff movies, and now it’s been confirmed that a Disney Plus show is in development.
What the series will be about is still widely unknown. Instead of a film franchise, Waller-Bridge could be starring in the Disney Plus spinoff. However, it also could be something closer to the 1990s show, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. We’ll have to wait and see what juicy gossip comes from the news.
Thanks to all the attention on Dr. Jones and his whipping ways, the announcement should push collectors towards his early comic book appearances. Here are three for you to watch in the coming months.
MARVEL COMICS SUPER SPECIAL #18
The first time readers saw Indiana Jones grace the pages of a comic, it was in 1981’s Marvel Comics Super Special #18. This was common for the time as Marvel utilized several anthology-style titles to test the market with various ideas. The Super Specials are becoming more popular with collectors because these featured many music and movie tie-ins, which would mark the first appearances of many popular celebrities and characters.
These are a little harder to find than the other two comics on today’s list, but they’re not exactly rare, so never fear. There hasn’t been a graded 9.8 to trade hands online since 2020 when one sold for $216. That was a huge drop compared to the $800 sale in 2019.
More recently, a graded 9.6 sold for $335 on November 8, which was a mighty increase compared to the previous sale of $159 in March. We’ll have to keep an eye on this grade to see if that $335 becomes a trend or is merely an outlier.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK #1
After fans saw Ford in action in Super Special #18, they soon got the full story with the movie adaptation of Raiders of the Lost Ark. This comic is often thought of as Indiana Jones’ first appearance in a comic, but it was predated by the Super Special. Still, owning the first issue of Raiders is a good investment because it remains such a popular movie. With the prospect of Indiana Jones 5 and the Disney Plus series revitalizing the fan base, many buyers will make this their go-to collectible.
Graded at a 9.8, this issue has been holding steady in the $300+ range. The 30-day fair market value sits at $318, but November 8 saw a copy shoot to $379.
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF INDIANA JONES #1
With a character who was basically a superhero archaeologist (no normal human could pull off all those stunts with a whip), it was only fitting that Marvel gave him his own starring role in a spinoff series. This came as welcome news for Indiana Jones fans who were still clamoring for more fedora-wearing action after Raiders of the Lost Ark overtook the box office. Who knows? Some of these stories could be adapted for the Disney Plus series, depending on what direction LucasFilm decides to go.
This has been a popular item for Jones fans. For the past 12 months, it’s averaged $153, but that mark has dipped to $118 in recent weeks. The most recent sale was for $70 on October 25.
A FRANCHISE THAT WILL NEVER DIE…EVEN IF IT’S PAST TIME
The rumor is that test audiences were not impressed with Indiana Jones 5. Considering it’s a James Mangold film, the same guy who brought us perhaps the best superhero movie ever made with Logan, that is a disappointment. Still, Disney has time to right the ship, and test screenings are not always the best indication of a film. Still, when the star of your action-adventure movie is 80, the expectations can’t be too high.
Are you excited? Let us know in the comments!
