Published on November 4th, 2016 | by Richard Boom

Review: The Mummy #1

I love the medium of comic books. Through this medium we can enjoy new stories from TV and Movies that we grew up with such as the Six Million Dollar Man and Star Trek. We can continue enjoying shows that were cancelled way to soon, like Penny Dreadful and we can explore worlds in ways that not even the best sci-fi and fantasy films can bring us to. One of the saddest days in my younger era was when Hammer films closed shop for good. No one did horror like Hammer. Oh, we still had AIP and Roger Corman churning out horror titles periodically, but they weren’t the same. Hammer had a visual flair and style that the others just didn’t deliver. And now, Hammer is back! They have teamed up with Titan Comics to bring us their old line of Horror titles and we’ll start with the Mummy #1.

The story opens with Princess Nebetah arriving at a temple seeking help from the god of the underworld, Osiris. Her spells didn’t go as planned and the god Anubis arrives seeking her help. Along with other Egyptian deities, Nebetah and Anubis are about to embark on a great project when we cut to present day London where Mather and Clarence are dressed as the Egyptian deities. Then we jump thirty years into the future and a kidnapping of young ladies which leads to sex trafficking. There’s a lot crammed into issue number one.

Peter Milligan brings us a tale that is ambitious and immediately covers thousands of years in the first issue. It’s a hectic pace and I love how he’ all over the place with this story. You can tell from the first issue that he’s got all bases covered and the character’s interaction is well handled. When we reach the scene where we’re introduced to the sex traffickers, one of their lady prisoners becomes a bit feisty and her captors must subdue her. They are tackling her when they notice the mark of Kharis on the back of her neck. They realize the prize they have and bring her to the Egyptian cult.

Ronilson Freire brings the characters to vivid life with his unique style. I love how he fleshes out ancient Egypt then brings the characters into the modern world. His rendition of Egyptian rituals brings the reader into the world of the Egyptian cult that is depicted in this issue and his panels move the story along at the same hectic pace that Milligan’s story needs. They make a great team.

The cover:

This cover is drawn in the same hectic pace as the story and should draw the comic book surfer into its fast-paced world. We see the mummy, the princess and sex trafficking victim all moving in unison. In the background is the temple with a skull on top of it and maggots are crawling out of the skull to give it an extra creepy feel.

In Conclusion:

The hectic pace of the story makes this an easy read while at the same time drawing the reader into this unsavory world and makes you wonder what the connection between ancient Egypt and a sex slave operation is. What does Princess Nebetah have in common with a victim in a modern-day cartel? Why is this average victim pushed into the world of an Egyptian cult? Just when you thought the story was going to make sense another monkey wrench is thrown into the equation. To be continued.

The Mummy #1

Writer: Peter Milligan

Art: Ronilson Freire

Colors: Ming Sen

Letters: Simon Bowland

Publisher: Titan/Hammer Comics

Publication date: November 2016

Tags: Peter Milligan, Ronilson Freire, THE MUMMY

About the Author

Richard Boom Richard is the driving force behind Comics for Sinners. His love and admiration for female comic book characters is virtually unparalleled, which immediately explains his biggest 'sin': his Hot Mummy fetish. This sketchbook theme is philogynistic in nature and even the source of his WIP comic book series "The Sisterhood".