Tomb Raider the new 2014 comic series: What to expect

Here’s something you may not be aware of if you are a recent inductee to the Tomb Raider craze. Between 1999 and 2005 there ran a monthly Tomb Raider comic book series which kept the continuity of the original Core Design video games in which her plane crashes at age twenty-one, but changing some circumstances slightly.

The debut issue was a huge seller and the series featured artwork from Andy Park, Michael Turner and the pin-up comic legend Adam Hughes. After fifty issues it finished, but continued to sell so well that several compendiums had to be released. Back in 2007 there was talk of a second series, but it was rapidly delayed indefinitely when the company was faced with licensing issues. But now we hear straight from San Diego Comic Con that there will in fact be a new comic book series featuring the newly reborn heroine, Lara Croft, in a continuation from the rebooted game.

Although the 2013 Tomb Raider game failed to meet Square Enix’s financial expectations, it still did an exceedingly good job at successfully reviving the franchise – something that companies have been trying for years in several forms, including music video appearances, potential films which never came to fruition and online incarnations such as the popular Tomb Raider slot games. The new comic book series (pictured below), which is set for a February 2014 release, will continue on from where the recent game started and will largely be written by Gail Simone who is most famous for her work on Batgirl, Deadpool and Birds of Prey and is well known as a particularly adept writer of female characters. Taking place only weeks after the end of the first game, it will lead directly into the sequel game which has no release date as of yet; a move which has become increasingly popular in the last few years as evidenced by the Batman Arkham Asylum/City games and their tie-in comic series, and the Comic Con announcement of an Assassin’s Creed graphic novel.

The new comic book series should see Croft’s continuing evolution from an upper-class British schoolgirl to the “badass woman” Gail Simone sees her as. While the game was set on an insolated island, the comic will take place in various locales across the globe and will showcase Croft as an explorer capable of ruthlessness who is searching for answers. As a direct part of the Tomb Raider canon, these comics are bound to be a must-read for fans of the series and its sexy protagonist – although it seems strange that no artist has been announced as of yet. For now, many are comfortable in the knowledge that comic legend Gail Simone, who is also a huge fan of video games and specifically the Tomb Raider series, will be doing our favourite heroine justice.