Tomb Raider (comics)

The Tomb Raider comic book series are based on the video game franchise Tomb Raider, currently produced by Crystal Dynamics (formerly by Core Design), which features the character of Lara Croft. The original series of comics, which were released between 1999 and 2005, were published by Top Cow and were primarily based on the games released by Core Design. In 2014, following the reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise, the series was revived and is currently being published by Dark Horse Comics. The new timeline of events is based upon the rebooted iteration of Lara Croft and her adventures.

Tomb Raider
Cover art for the first issue of the rebooted Tomb Raider comic series (2014)
First appearanceTomb Raider/Witchblade #1 (December 1997)
Publication information
PublisherTop Cow
(1999-2005)
Dark Horse Comics
(2014-Present)
FormatsOriginal material for the series has been published as a set of ongoing series, limited series, and one-shot comics.
Genre
  • Action/adventure
Number of issues51 (plus #½)
Reprints
Collected editions
Tomb Raider CompendiumISBN 1-58240-803-3

Publication history

The series, which ran from 1999 to 2005 (in which the fiftieth and final issue was released), consisted of monthly issues published by Top Cow Productions, who secured the rights to producing comics after a long struggle. Preceding this series, French publisher Glenat got the green light from Eidos France to produce a comic series called Dark Eons based on the Tomb Raider games, which was taken off the market shortly after. Besides the monthly series, a parallel 12-part series called Journeys, which ran from 2001 to 2003, was also published.

The comics are primarily based on the same continuity as the games by Core Design, in which Lara's plane crashes when she is twenty-one years old (rather than the latter games by Crystal Dynamics, the plane crash happening when she was only nine years old), but the exact details are changed. In the comic, Lara is accompanied by both her parents and her fiancé, the plane trip taken to celebrate her impending marriage (in the game series, Lara's plane is chartered to take on a skiing holiday). Writers Dan Jurgens, John Nay Riber, and James Bonny worked on the series, which also featured the art of Andy Park, Michael Turner, Billy Tan, and Adam Hughes, amongst others.

There are one shots occasionally released and talk of the comic being reintroduced to tie into the Tomb Raider: Legend edited continuity. There have also been frequent crossovers with other Top Cow publications such as Fathom, The Darkness, Magdalena, and Witchblade. The debut issue of Tomb Raider was the number one-selling comic book of 1999.[1]

In late 2006, Top Cow released the Tomb Raider Compendium. This was a large, single volume, collected edition of the Tomb Raider comic series; a hardcover version followed in 2008. The book encompasses all 50 issues (well over 1000 pages), as well as a cover gallery featuring select covers, most of them done by Adam Hughes. It is a full-size, full-color reproduction of all fifty issues on high-quality paper. This collection, however, does not include the various specials, minis, and one-shots from the series. This would probably explain why the compendium has "Volume One" written on the side.

Bandai Entertainment also published a "tankōbon" set of volumes, which reprints older stories in black-and-white in a smaller book.[2]

Tomb Raider comics were announced to return in late 2007;[3] however, this was delayed due to licensing issues.[4]

In 2014, Dark Horse Comics began publishing a new series of comics, set between the 2013 reboot and its sequel, Gail Simone wrote the first six issues, before collaborating with Rhianna Pratchett for the next arc, before Pratchett took over for the rest of the series.

In 2016, another series started to bridge the gap between Rise of the Tomb Raider and the next game in the series, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Publications

Primary series

  • Tomb Raider, Starring Lara Croft vol. 1 (1999-2005) changed to Lara Croft, Tomb Raider with issue #25 in 2002 due to the release of the movie of the same name in 2001 was the first ongoing series featuring the character published by Top Cow Productions. It ran for 50 issues with Tomb Raider #0 and #1/2.
  • Tomb Raider vol. 2 (2014-2015) was the second ongoing series published by Dark Horse Comics. It ran for 18 issues; written by Gail Simone and Rhianna Pratchett.
  • Tomb Raider vol. 3 (2016-2017) was the third ongoing series published by Dark Horse Comics. It ran for 12 issues; written by Mariko Tamaki.

Limited series

  • Tomb Raider, Starring Lara Croft: Journeys (2001-2003) 12-issue limited series; written by Fiona Kai Avery; penciled by Drew Johnson, Gerardo Sandoval, Drew Green, Carlos Mota, Manny Clark, and Mun Kao Tan; inks by Jay Leisten and Marlo Alquiza; colors by J.D. Smith, Tyson Wengler, and Brian Buccelato
  • Tomb Raider: Survivor's Crusade (2017) 4-issue limited series; written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, penciled by Ashley A. Woods
  • Tomb Raider: Inferno (2018) 4-issue limited series; written by Jackson Lanzing, penciled by PJ Holden

One-shots

  • Tomb Raider/Witchblade (1997) by writer and penciler Michael Turner, inks by Joe Weems V, colors by J.D. Smith
  • Witchblade/Tomb Raider (1998) by writer Michael Turner and Bill O'Neil, pencils by Michael Turner, inks by Joe Weems V, colors by J.D. Smith
  • Witchblade/Tomb Raider #1/2 (2000) by writer Michael Turner and Bill O'Neil, pencils by Ken Cha, inks by Andy Owens, colors by Matt Nelson
  • Tomb Raider: Origins (2000) by writer Dan Jurgens; pencils by Mark Pajarillo; inks by Danny Miki
  • Tomb Raider/The Darkness Special (2001) by writer David Wohl, art by Billy Tan, colors by Steve Firchow
  • Tomb Raider: The Greatest Treasure of All (2002) by writer Dan Jurgens; art by Joe Jusko
  • Tomb Raider: Epiphany (2003) by writer Dan Jurgens; pencils by Darryl Banks; inks by Al Vey
  • Tomb Raider: Scarface’s Treasure (2003) by writer Geoff Johns, art by Mark Texeira, colors by Beth Sotelo
  • Tomb Raider: Takeover (2004) by writer James Bonny; pencils by Scott Benefiel; inks by Jasen Rodriguez
  • Tomb Raider: Arabian Nights (2004) by writer Fiona Kai Avery; art by Billy Tan
  • Tomb Raider: Cover Gallery (2006) featuring art of: Marc Silvestri, Adam Hughes, Michael Turner and more
  • Tomb Raider: The Beginning (2013) by writer Rhianna Pratchett; pencils by Andrea Mutti and Nicolás Daniel Selma

Collected editions

Tomb Raider Series Trades

# Title Material Collected Pages Publication Date ISBN
Vol. 1
1 Saga of the Medusa Mask Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #1-4 112 January 2001 978-1582401645
2 Mystic Artifacts Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #5-10 136 May 2001 978-1582402024
3 Chasing Shangri La Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #11-15 128 September 2002 978-1582402673
4 Pieces of Zero Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #16-17 and #19-20 96 August 2003 978-1840234022
Tomb Raider/Witchblade: Trouble Seekers Tomb Raider/Witchblade; Witchblade/Tomb Raider; Witchblade/Tomb Raider #1/2 80 January 2003 978-1582402796
Vol. 2
1 Season of the Witch Tomb Raider (2014-2015) #1-6 152 November 2014 978-1616554910
2 Secrets and Lies Tomb Raider (2014-2015) #7-12 144 May 2015 978-1616556396
3 Queen of Serpents Tomb Raider (2014-2015) #13-18 144 November 2015 978-1616558185
Vol. 3
1 Spore Tomb Raider (2016-2017) #1-6 144 November 2016 978-1506700106
2 Choice and Sacrafice Tomb Raider (2016-2017) #7-12 144 May 2017 978-1506701622
3 Survivor's Crusade Tomb Raider: Survivor's Crusade (2017) #1-4 104 August 2018 978-1506701936
4 Inferno Tomb Raider: Inferno (2018) #1-4 104 January 2019 978-1506705033

Tomb Raider Compendium Edition

# Title Material Collected Pages Publication Date ISBN
Tomb Raider Compendium Edition Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #1-50 408 December 2006 978-1582406374

Tomb Raider Tankōbon

# Title Material Collected Pages Publication Date ISBN
1 Tomb Raider Tankōbon 1 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #1-10 236 May 2006 978-1594096662
2 Tomb Raider Tankōbon 2 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #11-20 220 October 2006 978-1594096679
3 Tomb Raider Tankōbon 3 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #21-30 220 February 2007 978-1594096686
4 Tomb Raider Tankōbon 4 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #31-40 220 June 2007 978-1594096693
5 Tomb Raider Tankōbon 5 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #41-50 220 November 2007 978-1594096709

Tomb Raider Archives

# Title Material Collected Pages Publication Date ISBN
1 Tomb Raider Archives Book 1 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #1-15 408 December 2016 978-1506703329
2 Tomb Raider Archives Book 2 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #16-24 and #26-34 464 June 2017 978-1506703527
3 Tomb Raider Archives Book 3 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #35-50 424 October 2017 978-1506703534
4 Tomb Raider Archives Book 4 Tomb Raider (1999-2005) #0 and #1/2; Tomb Raider, Starring Lara Croft: Journeys #1-12; Tomb Raider: Origins; Tomb Raider: The Greatest Treasure of All; Tomb Raider: Epiphany; Tomb Raider: Takeover; Tomb Raider: Arabian Nights 484 April 2018 978-1506703541

Tomb Raider Library Edition

# Title Material Collected Pages Publication Date ISBN
1 Tomb Raider Library Edition 1 Tomb Raider (2014-2015) #1-18; Tomb Raider: The Beginning (2013) 487 March 2018 978-1616559601

Tomb Raider Omnibus

# Title Material Collected Pages Publication Date ISBN
1 Tomb Raider Omnibus Book 1 Tomb Raider (2014-2015) #1-18; Tomb Raider: The Beginning (2013) 472 August 2019 978-1506714219
2 Tomb Raider Omnibus Book 2 Tomb Raider (2016-2017) #1-12; Tomb Raider: Survivor's Crusade (2017) #1-4; Tomb Raider: Inferno (2018) #1-4 472 January 2020 978-1506714226
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References
  1. "Top Comics by Year". Comichron. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  2. "Bandai to Publish Top Cow Titles in Manga Format (press release)". Newsarama. February 14, 2006. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009.
  3. "Tomb Raider Comics Back in Q3 2007!". Tomb Raider Comics. February 5, 2007.
  4. "New Tomb Raider Comics Series Delayed". Tomb Raider Comics. October 20, 2007.

Interviews
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