Titan Comics recently announced a partnership with Hammer Horror to produce a series of comics based on their films. The first book out of the gate is “The Mummy,” a sequel of sorts of the 1959 Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee film of the same name. The book operates in the same universe as the film, but doesn’t reference it all that much, making it both an easy jump on point for newcomers, as well as an interesting continuation of the story for long time fans. Keep reading for our spoiler-free review.
Written by Peter Milligan
Illustrated by Ronilson FreireFor 2000 years the Sect of Anubis have prolonged their life spans through human sacrifice and the enslavement of an Egyptian High Priestess cursed to walk the afterlife for all eternity.
On one night every 30 years the Sect must offer up a human vessel to house the spirit of the priestess Nebetah so that they can kill her and drink her blood, thus granting them immortality.
But this year they have chosen the wrong vessel and she’s not going willingly…
I’m a huge fan of Hammer’s horror films, so this book was one I’ve been very excited about. I wasn’t sure how connected to the film the book would be, as the story is relatively self-contained. I thought, perhaps, it would pick up after the film’s finale, with Kharis (the titular mummy) rising from the quagmire he sank into. The book doesn’t do that, instead simply starting a story that has small ties to the film, but doesn’t rely on it for anything other than a general setting.
Peter Milligan starts the story with the ‘Sect of Anubis’ searching for a woman with whom to initiate ‘palimpsest,’ a process in which a woman, one who bears the ‘Mark of Kharis,’ is put through a process in which she becomes a vessel for the spirit of the priestess Nebetah. This process appears to have been attempted many times, with less than successful results. The latest woman they kidnap for this task is Angelina, a Middle Eastern refugee, living in Belgium. She bears the marking – a pyramid shape on the back of her neck – and begins the process of being prepared for palimpsest.
As the process of her mummification begins, Angelina is trapped between her body and mind and that of Nebetah. She is being tracked, both by those who began her transformation, and by those who seek to save her from the process. This is one area where the issue is a little vague: we don’t really know who her proposed saviors are or what their mission is. I’m sure we will get more of that in future issues, but the series would benefit from a slightly more expository first issue.
I don’t like that I feel that way, because I find first issues usually incredibly boring when they rely on a lot of exposition, but this issue has a few confusing moments. The opening sequence, for instance, seems to switch locales and, possibly, millennia, with little or no explanation. Sure, we see the British folks coming out of the museum in the current day, but Nebetah’s first appearance seems to be clearly happening in Ancient Egypt, unless the museum has a fiery red sky inside of it. Similarly, if we knew exactly why the Sect of Anubis wants a new Nebetah (or Iris, which she is sometimes called, confusingly again), it would add some intrigue. Or, even why the opposition forces want them to stop. Or, really, anything.
What we get here is very entertaining, but these don’t appear to be questions left purposely vague, but rather gaps in storytelling that shouldn’t really be there. Milligan is a master storyteller, and this seems beneath his considerable talents.
He isn’t done many favors by Ronilson Freire, whose work is fine from a draftsman point of view, but lacks either the originality to stand out or the commitment to the source material to make it feel apiece with the Hammer film. Freire’s work is not exactly groundbreaking here and, though pleasant, isn’t much to write home about. The layouts and pencils are par for the course for these sort of licensed books, and feel a bit dated – this seems like a licensed book from 1996, instead of 2016, visually. While Hammer films were known for having a fair amount of sex, the attempts to show off a little skin here feel gratuitous, if not true to the Hammer style of the time. Of course, times have changed, and the need for Angelina’s low-cut top, and the super buff bodies of all the Sect members seem a little outdated.
Continued belowThe art is never distracting, but it doesn’t really add to the story all that much. Milligan’s story, though vague, has a lot of intriguing possibilities, but everything feels a little flat due to the visuals. Part of the beauty of Hammer films are how visually unique they are, and this comic feels anything but. The films blended stylization and realism, to create films that had their own flair and flavor. I know that mixture is hard to get across in a comic, but it appears that was never even attempted. A more muted palette would have gone a long way, but colorist Ming Sen goes the opposite way. Sure, Sen’s work matches Freire’s in tone, but neither matches the source material.
Overall, the book sets up an interesting plot that, hopefully, gets expanded upon in future months. What I don’t understand, however, is why this is the story that Hammer and Titan decided to lead with. As I mentioned in my opening, there is precious little here that ties back to the 1959 film, either in story or tone. If they have the Hammer name attached, that should be reflected in the book. It isn’t, and that’s a major miss. While this is a fun enough comic, it is a sharp example of expectations never living up to the product itself.
Final Verdict: 5.8 – This could be the start of something interesting, but more than likely is just the latest attempt to monetize a nostalgia market.
