From the very first panels of this short comic, we find some of the essential elements of Egyptian-inspired popular culture throughout the ages: untouched tombs, pyramids, secret passages, treasures, curses, and hieroglyphics. All of this is shown with the discovery of a Fourth Dynasty pharaoh’s tomb by two English archaeologists. The attire of both archaeologists is reminiscent of British explorers in Africa in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This introduces us to a colonialist past in which the artefacts discovered in Egypt end up in the hands of European powers, in this case England.

Upon discovering an empty sarcophagus, the explorers activate a door that leads to a room with an ark, whose inscriptions warn of the danger of opening it.

The ark and other objects from this pharaoh's pyramid are then taken to London, to the Museum of Ethnology, for study. There, strange events occur, such as murders and attacks by a monster that is half mummy and half winged animal. This creature emerged from the ark when the museum director opened it, ignoring the aforementioned warnings. Once again, a man of science is reckless and unleashes a catastrophe that claims him as its first victim. It is striking, however, that the two archaeologists who entered the pyramid and discovered the ark decided not to intervene, stating, "The hieroglyphics warn...! They forbid any mortal to open it. We'd better leave it alone. We'll send it as it is to London." In this case, the discoverers see the ominous nature of the past and decide not to unleash the curse, which alludes to the responsibilities that their discovery could entail. This is an unusual attitude in Egyptian-themed fiction.

Author: Abraham I. Fernández Pichel