Universal Monsters: The Mummy #2 Review

 

Writer & Artist: Faith Erin Hicks

Colorist: Lee Loughridge

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Cover Artists: Faith Erin Hicks & Lee Loughridge; Ryan Sook; Guillem March; Michael Walsh; Stjepan Sejic

Designer: Jillian Crab

Editor: Alex Antone

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 23, 2025

 

Helen grew up in Thebes with her British father and Egyptian mother. She played with Egyptian children when she was a child. When her father sent her to a British school, the differences between Helen and her Egyptian friends grew apparent. In her teens, Helen disdained her fellow Brits and yearned for acceptance from her Egyptian peers. So, to protect her reputation, her father forbade Helen from seeing Essam, Iahmesu, and the other Egyptian teens.

 

As Helen grew, a spirit observed her. The woman cannot remember her name. She does not understand her place in the scheme of things. Yet she is drawn to Helen like metal to a magnet. When one of her father’s workers opens a scroll and speaks forbidden words, the spirit slips into Helen’s body. It befriends her, but Helen retains control of her body. How will Helen’s life change when she travels to Cairo in 1932? Let’s grab our picks and shovels, leap into Universal Monsters: The Mummy #2, and find out!

 

Story

Neither Helen nor the spirit wants to attend the evening gala. But she is grateful to Dr Mueller for giving her a reprieve from her mother's badgering. The museum is celebrating the discovery of an ancient Egyptian princess. So, Helen forces her spirit friend to endure a dull evening as recompense for her host's generosity.

 

In Faith Erin Hicks’ story, her contemporaries in Cairo regard Helen as strange. Like Iahmesu, Helen seems too different to befriend. But Helen is inured to people keeping their distance by now. So, when she meets Frank Whemple, Helen is surprised to discover she likes him. Helen may not adore him as she did Essam. Still, they share intriguing similarities. Her parents' world revolves around etiquette, status, and sexual prejudice. Frank inhabits that world. Yet, unlike her parents, Frank values her opinion.

 

In Universal Monsters: The Mummy #2, the mummy that awakened when an archeologist read from an ancient scroll returns. For the first time since the night it slipped into Helen’s body, the ancient spirit inside Helen will yearn for her former life. And as she seeks to reclaim her past, two steadfast companions will vie for control.

 

Art

Helen reads a newspaper as she rides in a chauffeur-driven car. Despite her elegant dress, fur stole, and praise for a spectacular discovery, Helen exhibits none of the happiness she felt when Essam smiled at her. After ascending the steps of the imposing museum, she walks past people, statues, and displays. Helen's eyes widen when she beholds the facial features portrayed in a mummy case.

 

Lee Loughridge applies limited colors to Faith Erin Hicks’ art in Universal Monsters: The Mummy #2. The color of the mummy case changes from beige to brown when Helen perceives a resemblance to her tanned features. Amid the purple and gray surroundings, Helen’s red dress shines. Her blazing green eyes link her with the green darkness outside. They also tie her to Frank's father, who wears a green suit and helped unearth the mummy at her father's dig in 1921.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou incants uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons. The letters grow bold for inflection and raised voices. Smaller, lowercase words indicate lowered voices. Blue words in pale blue cloudy balloons convey the ancient spirit that is Helen’s constant companion. Sound effects enhance manic laughter, banging fists, and screaming in Universal Monsters: The Mummy #2. Thanks to Image Comics, Skybound, and Universal for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

After her isolated youth, Helen fears a husband who will dominate her life. When she meets a British archeologist, Helen wonders if she could love the easygoing man. But Helen cannot claim sole ownership of her body, and the broken spirit inside her senses a chance for completeness. Respect for cultural differences, the battle between education and religion, and undying love enchant like music from a Thebes' nightclub in Universal Monsters: The Mummy #2.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more available covers see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1 Review

 

Writer & Artist: Faith Erin Hicks

Colorist: Lee Loughridge

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Cover Artists: Faith Erin Hicks & Lee Loughridge; Joshua Middleton; Guillem March; Martin Simmonds; Gabriel Rodriguez; Skottie Young; Peter Smith; Clayton Crain

Designer: Jillian Crab

Editor: Alex Antone

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: March 26, 2025

 

One day, Helen’s mother takes her to her father’s archeological dig. The seven-year-old sees the relentless pace of the excavations and the callous way her father disregards accidents. Helen doesn't understand why people must work so hard beneath the blazing sun. But her father’s hunger for history proves infectious. How might picking up a piece of broken pottery influence Helen’s life? Let’s grab our picks and shovels, leap into Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1, and find out!

 

Story

The girl becomes a teen. Yet she still calls Thebes home. The ancient capital of Egypt hums with life. People from other countries visit to tour its historic sites. Once, pharaohs ruled Egypt as gods. In 1921, the British dominated the Cradle of Civilization. Their families form the cultural elite, while the natives are the servant class. Helen wasn’t aware of this social divide when she played with the children of her father’s workers. But now, it separates her from the teens she identifies with.

 

In Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1, Helen hates the British school she attends. She disdains her fellow students' airs and graces. Egyptian teens hum with vitality by comparison. Although her parents disapprove, she hangs out with them. Her childhood friend Iahmesu accuses her of slumming. But Essam returns her interest. Helen may only be sixteen, but she's not too young to fall in love.

 

In Faith Erin Hicks’s story, Helen dwells in the eye of a storm. One of her father’s archeologists ignores instructions when he opens a box. Once he sees a scroll, he can't resist translating it. But words have power. His incantation not only revives the past but awakens something inside Helen. Perhaps it was there all along. Or maybe it entered her nine years ago when she picked up the broken shard of pottery lying in the sand.

 

Art

Faith Erin Hicks portrays the grandeur of Thebes in Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1. The ancient ruins and monuments greet visitors sailing along the Nile. Young Helen frowns as she clutches her mother's hand and walks beneath a servant's umbrella. When Helen gazes up with questioning eyes, her mother's eyelids cover hers. The Egyptian woman smiles when observing her British husband overseeing the excavation in his suit and fedora. Despite the hand on her shoulder, Helen looks worried as she watches the straining equipment.

 

Lee Loughridge paints the evening purple, blue, green, and peach. Helen sits with the locals on an Egyptian rooftop. Iahmesu sits primly, wearing earrings, three necklaces, and a scarf over her hair. Helen's posture is more relaxed, and she smiles more readily than on that hot day nine years ago. When she and her friends visit a nightclub, orange, magenta, and yellow fill the background as Helen and Essam dance. Later, they run off to the green excavations. She and Essam share smiles as they hold hands while standing upon a blue dune. Essam’s fez looks more tan than red beneath the glowing moon. Still, fezzes are cool.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou incants uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons. The letters grow bold for inflection and raised voices. Smaller, lowercase words indicate lowered voices. Words also inhabit colored narrative boxes or hover in the air. Music notes flow along ethereal streams. Giant words fill a jagged river dividing an archeologist’s yellow and brown office from Helen’s blue-and-green moonlight idyll. Blue words inhabit pale blue cloudy balloons. Yet they belong to more than one person in Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1. Thanks to Image Comics, Skybound, and Universal for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Helen belongs to two worlds. While she despises her British heritage, she tries to meet her father's expectations. Helen hungers for acceptance among her childhood friends. Yet Helen thinks nothing of withdrawing the favors she grants. Nor does Helen worry about getting her friends into trouble. When an unsuspecting archeologist awakens an ancient entity, Helen discovers why she doesn't belong in Universal Monsters: The Mummy #1.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.