Written by: De Gieter
Illustrations: De Gieter
Coloring: Véronique Grobet
Publisher: Dupuis
Papyrus #33 Farao Papyrus – Comic Book Review
Let’s go back in time, to about 1225 B.C. Pharaoh Merenptah, son of Ramses II reigns Egypt. There is a lot of tension, not only coming from outside the borders, but also from within, making life dangerous for the pharaoh and his family. Papyrus, an ordinary boy, is given a magic sword by the gods, and saves the pharaoh’s daughter Lief-Er-Theti. Ever since then he guards and protects her. It’s the setup for the many adventures to come.
In this 33rd issue, Pouin’s wife is tired of him always being so lazy and sends him off to the market. Reluctantly he does as he is told, but lucky for him, he passes ‘The Crocodile’s Tail’, his favorite tavern, and decides to go and have a quick drink. There, a mysterious man wearing a big cape approaches him. He says he knows a secret about Pouin’s friend Papyrus, but it’s important that it stays a secret. Of course, when Pouin finally comes home, his wife wants to know what he has been up to all this time, and he tells her the secret he just heard. It’s only to be expected that in no time, the whole town knows about it. Meanwhile Papyrus is having a nice time outside of the city, not knowing anything about the rumor that has been spread. When he is seized by two guards, who received orders to take him straight to the pharaoh, he just thinks it’s an innocent joke of Theti, the pharaoh’s daughter, with whom he had a fallout the day before. Soon he’ll find out that it’s serious business though, when he gets banished from the court. Still not knowing what’s going on, he tries to prove his innocence, but nothing helps. Lucky for him, Theti, Imhotep and Pouin believe him, and try to stop the bad guys, who spread the rumor in the first place.
The story moves at a steady pace. There is always some action going on, which is in the beginning not always that clear, due to the fact that the reader is left in the dark about the rumor just as long as Papyrus himself. From the start it is quite clear that the only objective of the man with the cape was to spread a rumor that would harm Papyrus. Although that doesn’t turn out to be exactly true, the truth doesn’t lie far from it. Anyway, the story progresses in quite a predictable manner, as the only mystery is the obvious question of what the rumor might be.
Lucien De Gieter’s drawings are pure, drawn in thin black lines. Although the background isn’t usually that detailed, this doesn’t really detract from the story and creates a possibility to use a bright color scheme.
Conclusion
Farao Papyrus, the newest addition to the Papyrus series, has a rather basic story line, with quite a few items that are a tad predictable. For adults, this might be a bit of a disappointment. Nonetheless, children will definitely be able to appreciate this new release, as there is some action, some gossip and some mystery. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but a nice way for kids to spend their free time.
Papyrus #33 Farao Papyrus - Comic Book Review,
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