Tomb Raider Archives Volume 2 Hardcover – June 27, 2017

This is the second volume of a four volume collection of the old Tomb Raider comics originally published by Top Cow from 1999 to 2005 and now being republished by Dark Horse in beautiful over-sized hardbacks. This book is a monster with about 460 full-cover, glossy pages that measure about 8 x 12 inches. The size and quality of the pages really accent the exquisite coloring of the comic by making the hues more vivid and bold with a scintillating brilliance. The binding is expertly woven and looks likely to hold up well through multiple readings. The cover and spine are also high-quality although I do not like the cover art as much as the first volume's. This volume is also significantly larger than the first even though it curiously does not appear to be too many pages longer. The stories are similar to those in the first volume and feature exploration by Lara into exotic and supernatural realms, although the plots are perhaps more extramundane than previous story arcs. My only issue is that some of the stories pull heavily from Lara's appearances in crossovers with Witchblade that do not appear in this volume and it is kind of hard to fill in the gaps without reading those crossovers. Overall, however, this volume is a must-buy for any collector of Lara Croft memorabilia, fans of the Tomb Raider games (especially the early ones), and readers of the original Top Cow comics.

Love this book,after getting vol.1 I thought I am going to get the whole set,and I am not disappointed,I have 2 of the comics that are in these books but was unable to find the others,the artwork is amazing,the binding is first class and they use high quality glossy paper,overall these are awesome books and every bit as nice as vol.1

Wow! What a deal. The artwork is incredible. The story is great. The quality of the books in this series is unbelievable. The books seem to weigh a ton. Definitely good looking addition to any fan's collection.

Some people bitch that this is exactly what it says it is. Copies of the original series by Top Cow for Tomb Raider. None of the specials where she was in other comics but her line directly. I got exactly what I expected and they are great coffee table books since the actual comic I own I keep other places.

Loved the fast shipping,did not care for the damage ,bent 1inch deep, front rt. corner,from the shipping. But all in all I'm satisfied.

Thicker than vol.1 and has an amazing quality.

The Good: The hard cover and binding is sturdy and the pages are thick so the book is heavy. The oversize printing literally has the action jumping out of the pages. The art work is fantastic and the color is stunning. Great eye candy.The Bad: Like in volume one of this Archive series, everything good about the edition is in the visuals. The stories are not something to write home about. While volume one stayed grounded in myths and legends, volume completely went off the reservation and went deep in fantastical magic and fantasy. Time travel, demons and even resurrection was involved. Perhaps the biggest issue I had with this edition is that this archive only reprinted issues 16 - 24 and 26 - 34. It is missing issues 25 which is part of the Witchblade/Lara Croft cross over. Issues 26 and beyond deals with the aftermath of that cross over. The biggest impact being that Lara Croft had died in the crossover. Thus, this edition felt incomplete. Would have been great if this edition inlcuded the cross over story arc. Another annoying issue is that different writers gave Lara Croft different love interest without resolving the previous love interest (such as what happened to Tsang?) and also different supporting characters (such as what happened to Ms. Hovan?). As a result, the stories feel disjointed and not one smooth continuum.

I posted this in a comment down below, but felt it needed be included as a full review with pictures Some of the artwork featured in this series from Andy Park, Adam Hughes and not to mention the late Michael Turner is worth the price of admission alone. It's just a showcase of the whimsical, unapologetic and self-indulgent late '90's style that is sure not to disappoint. I will admit that Jurgen's writing (dialogue in particular at some points) leaves some to be desired, but overall does a great job--especially in the earlier books. However Andy Park's artwork provides one of the best characterizations, all on its own, regardless of any writing it is accompanied by. Outside of the original games his artwork is the closest I've seen in any medium that captures and expands on the original character and her personality.I own three out of four of these books and I have to say that Dark Horse does a great job with their hardbacks, especially for the price. Thick glossy pages, huge prints inside and tough spines. Not to mention seeing the artwork in this large format is quite the treat. This is all true as long as they are in print because once they are out of print you are paying 3 to 4 times over the original price. Hence why I have yet to pick up the first Vol. of this run. Hopefully DH does a second run on these.

Super

This is a fab book. Volume 2 is great with great storys and illustrations. I didn't realise how big and heavy it is.. Definitely got my money's worth. Can't wait to get volume 3 :)

Loved it

This book is huge. Many story's in it. It's very heavy so more a coffee table book than a backpack one.

Je donne la note de 4/5 car pour ce deuxième volume (comme pour le premier) je l'ai reçu avec le haut de la tranche un peu enfoncé.Toutefois j'ai aprécié le soin apporté à l'emballage ainsi que le délai de livraison respecté.Je recommande cette ouvrage pour tout les fans de Tomb Raider qui on gardé la nostalgie de leur enfance.