Dark Horse Announces New "Classic" Tomb Raider Comic

Tomb Raider fans will once again find themselves straddling parallel universes later this year when Dark Horse Comics launches a new series featuring "classic" Lara Croft. The five-issue miniseries, titled Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen, will debut October 7, just a month before Rise of the Tomb Raider, the newest game in the rebooted series, releases on Xbox consoles.

I've put "classic" in quotes here, since Frozen Omen is not actually set in the original Tomb Raider timeline created by Core Design, but rather in the same world as the Crystal Dynamics games Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. So fans can expect the same kind of action-packed adventure featured in those games. Our heroine once again teams up with Osiris sidekick Carter Bell in a race to recover a set of ancient ivory artifacts. Needless to say, there's also an evil doomsday cult bent on using the artifacts to unleash global devastation.

Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen #1 cover by Jean-Sébastien Rossbach.
Pre-order at Things From Another World

In a recent interview with Polygon, series writer Corinna Bechko expressed enthusiasm for the project and its main character. "Lara is incredibly fun to write. She doesn't suffer fools, she's smart, and she's talented. She's always ready for action, but she's not afraid to think through a problem either. And she doesn't ever wait around for someone else to save her. There's a lot of satisfaction in writing a character like that."

Illustrator Randy Green also has a direct line to the spirit of classic Croft, having previously worked on several issues in the original Top Cow Tomb Raider series.

Randy Green's exclusive cover variant for Tomb Raider issue #21 produced for Pittsburgh Comic Con 2002.

Despite focusing most of their efforts these days on Rise of the Tomb Raider, the game developers still seem committed to bringing fans more old-school raiding. "We're excited to continue our partnership with Dark Horse on a new Lara Croft comic," said Rich Briggs, Brand Director at Crystal Dynamics. "This globe-trotting series is filled with the dual gun-wielding action and confident flair that nostalgic Lara Croft fans will love. It's a great companion to the existing Tomb Raider comics, and offers fans another way to go on a high-octane adventure with Lara."

Visit Things From Another World to pre-order issues #1 and #2.