Written by: Peter Van Gucht
Illustrations: Luc Morjaeu
Publisher: Standaard Uitgeverij
Suske en Wiske #340 Mami Wata – Comic Book Review
Over sixty years ago, three explorers traveled deep into the African jungle. After a long journey, they finally reached the sanctuary of Mami Wata, the goddess of water. Inside the sanctuary, they found a big statue of the goddess, but also three little statues, representing the children of Mami Wata. The three men decide to each take one statue home with them, as a souvenir from their journey into the African jungle, but what they don’t realize is that they are leaving the goddess quite unhappy and even revengeful.
Back in this day and age, Suske, Wiske and Lambik are browsing an antiques market when Wiske finds a beautiful bangle in the shape of a snake, that she immediately buys to give to Suske as a present. He’s very happy with it, and puts it on his arm right away. The next day it’s aunt Sidonia’s birthday, and Wiske and Sidonia are decorating the house when suddenly Suske rushes downstairs. There has been a break in in his room. Nothing appears to be stolen, and the burglar doesn’t seem to have gone any further than Suske’s room. He did leave behind some nasty marks, as if a claw scratched the surface of the bed and the floor.
Aunt Sidonia calls the police, but they won’t be there for quite a while, as they have a more important case to look into first. Suske and Wiske then decide to go for a walk while waiting for the police. When they see a police car outside a house, they go in, only to find out that the same burglar that broke into their home also broke in here, leaving the same claw marks. The only thing that’s missing is a small African statue that belonged to the house owner’s grandfather, who brought it home after exploring the African jungle. The man remembers a story that his grandfather once told him, about a monster in leopard skin trying to steal that same statue, wearing a snake bangle. Maybe everything that’s happening is not just a coincidence, but all connected to what happened sixty years ago.
The story itself is quite amusing and fun to read, with a nice flow all the way through. While the plot is already quite obvious very early on, the story is still interesting enough for you to get going. What’s more interesting are the illustrations, as they even made it into Belgian newspapers, be it for quite an unexpected reason.
Mami Wata is the second album since the makeover the series underwent. Suske and Wiske have grown, but the illustrations too it seems, as there are even naked breasts in this album. Before you get too shocked about it, it’s just the goddess Mami Wata herself, who doesn’t wear her top. In the whole atmosphere and costume that is created, it isn’t offensive in the slightest, despite the criticism the illustrators got for it.
Conclusion
Suske en Wiske #340 Mami Wata shows an adventure that is actually quite fun to read, despite it being a tad predictable. The commotion that was caused because of the breasts shown in the album is in our opinion just pulled out of context and exaggerated. The album shows a fun adventure, and no more than that.
Suske en Wiske #340 Mami Wata - Comic Book Review,
No Comments