When I was in the third grade, Marvel’s 1982 adaptation of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) might have been the most beloved comic book in my collection.  And that’s saying a lot — there were a couple of issues of “Sgt. Rock” that I probably would have killed to protect.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” was a quite decent adaptation of what I still revere as my favorite movie of all time (though it’s probably tied for that distinction with a certain unpopular film that I will not name here).  It makes sense that the book was so well crafted — this Internet thingamajig tells me that it was scripted by none other than comics great Walter Simonson.

I’m a little confused by some of what I’m reading online … yes, this was originally published as a three-issue arc.  (I had a couple of those.)  But it was also released as a complete book (with the cover art that you see below).

Postscript — I learned a couple of years ago that Marvel also released a two-issue adaptation of “Blade Runner” (1982) the same year.  The artwork looks pitch perfect.  Sooner or later, I need to get my hands on that.