Cigars of the Pharaoh

The monstrous and ancient Egypt in comic-books and cartoons

George Richards

Monstrous Antiquities: Archaeology and the Uncanny in Popular Culture

Institute of Archaeology, University College London

3 November 2013

Outline

1. Main themes

2. Background to the texts

3. The dream sequence in Cigars of the Pharaoh

4. The Sphinx in Silver Age American comic-books

5. Mumm-Ra in ThunderCats

6. Conclusions

7. Questions and comments

Main themes

1. Magical powers

– Alien powers (superhero comics / ThunderCats)

– Unexplained forces vs. narcotic-fuelled hallucination (Tintin)

2. Unexplained sophistication of ancient Egypt

– Religious (ThunderCats) vs. alien (superhero) vs. artificial (Tintin)

– Above all, not ancient Egypt

3. Artistic interpretation of ancient Egypt for comics / cartoons

– Animal-headed gods, the visual style of hieroglyphs

– Creative interpretation of hieroglyphs: far from realistic, hieroglyphs are used in their purely superficial form and/or invented

TintinAdventures of Tintin written and drawn by Georges Remi (nom de plume: Hergé)

Serialised comic strip in Le petit vingtième, children's supplement to Belgian newspaper; later re-published as albums (books)

Tintin is a boy reporter, who investigates various cases accompanied by his dog, a white terrier called Snowy

Cigars of the Pharaoh: story of Tintin investigating an organisation of narcotics traffickers (narcotics smuggled in cigars, hence title)

First published in Le petit vingtième in black and white in 1932-1934 (re-published, colour, 1955)

Egypt sequence:

– Tintin, on holiday on a liner to India, meets an eccentric Egyptologist, Sophocles Sarcophagus, on board.

– Wrongly suspected of smuggling narcotics and under cabin arrest, escapes when the liner docks at Port Said.

– Encounters Sarcophagus and joins trip to discover the lost tomb of the pharaoh Kih-Oskh.

Tintin

Classic example of “strange” effects of Egypt

Unexplained

Amenability of ancient Egyptian art to comic-books / cartoon (graphic art)

Throne of

Tutankhamun

Tintin

2 examples of “magical

powers” / “supernatural forces”

Silver Age superhero comics“Golden Age” of American comic-books ran from their first publication in the late

1930s (viz, Superman's debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938) until the early 1950s

“Silver Age” ran from mid-1950s (viz, first publication of a successful rebooted superhero, Flash, in Showcase #4 in 1956) until c. 1970

American comic-books fragmented into sub-genres, especially science-fiction

In this lecture, we consider the following Silver Age comic-books:

– Mystery in Space 1:36 (1957)

– Action Comics 1:240 (1958)

– Strange Tales 1:70 (1959)

– Wonder Woman 1:113 (1960)

– Fantastic Four 1:19 (1963)

The Sphinx in comic-books

The Great Sphinx of Giza is still subject to speculation as to its origins:

– Limited evidence to support the conventional wisdom (Khafra / Chephren)

Instantly recognisable as:

– ancient

– mysterious (“Riddle of the Sphinx”, unexplained origins)

– powerful (by its age, size, and lion symbolism)

Perfect for sci-fi / mystery writing

Earlier Golden Age comic-books tended to use the Sphinx merely as part of the background, bringing a sense of antiquity / mystery / power

Master Comics 1:66 (1946)

Green Lantern 1:14 (1945)

The Sphinx in comic-books

Unlike Golden Age, Silver Age American comic-books brought the Sphinx directly into the story-line

A more sci-fi, fantastical approach

The origins of the Sphinx commonly given as:

– alien technology

– an alien life-form

“Superpowers” of the Sphinx include:

– lasers / rays

– flight

– size

Magical powers

Writers have long afforded magical properties to ancient Egypt – e.g., the sorcerers of Pharaoh's court who sparred with Moses in the Book of Exodus

In comic-books, “magical powers” have been translated into sci-fi as “advanced forces”:

death rays

time travel

flight

Alien origins

Blending antiquity with aliens – similar to the “ancient astronaut” theory associated with fringe Egyptology / pyramidology

Sphinx is foreign and ancient:

– made by alien race

– Sphinx is itself an alien life-form

Strange Tales 1:70 (1959)

Strange Tales 1:70 (1959)

Early Silver Age comic

Less experimental / creative

Sphinx inhabited by an ancient spirit

Mystery in Space 1:36 (1957)

Action Comics 1:240 (1958)

Wonder Woman 1:113 (1960)

Fantastic Four 1:19 (1963)

Fantastic Four 1:19

Case study: – special powers

– suitability of ancient Egypt for comic-book art

ThunderCats

ThunderCats is a television series animated in Japan that first ran on American television between 1985 and 1989.

The ThunderCats are a race of alien humanoid cats exiled across Space when their planet dies, and led by Lion-O, their prince

Arriving on Third Earth, the ThunderCats encounter Mumm-Ra, high priest of the Ancient Spirits of Evil and a native of Third Earth

Name is clear reference to mummies and the ancient Egyptian god Ra

Mumm-Ra

“Black Pyramid” – Mumm-Ra's home

Inhabits a sarcophagus in a hall decorated with statues of animal-headed gods

Mumm-Ra

“Magical” / supernatural powers

Derived from Spirits of Evil

Electromagnetic?

Transforms “mummified” Mumm-Ra into powerful villain

Conclusions

Little regard to accuracy (perhaps unsurprisingly)

But little need to veer too far from the imaginative / colourful fantasy of ancient Egyptian cosmology and art

Trend towards scientific / sci-fi explanations for origins of complex ancient Egyptian culture

Commonality – always portrayed as evil

Questions