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In 1932, an excavation in Cairo, Egypt has uncovered the tomb of an ancient princess. She is quickly spirited away from her resting place to be displayed in a British museum. The museum fills with people who want to view the mummy’s sarcophagus and the men in charge of the dig stand by proudly. What they don’t know is that the unearthing of Ankh-es-en-amun has had a powerful effect on two individuals: a young woman named Helen who already feels a second presence in her mind, and Ardeth Bey, aka the mummy Imhotep.

So far in the first two issues of Universal Monsters: The Mummy, writer Faith Erin Hicks is crafting a good recreation of the classic 1932 horror film. Helen in the lead role is wrestling with her Egyptian-British ancestry and the voice in her head that clearly has its own opinions. Meanwhile, Imhotep is a menacing figure who has primarily stayed on the periphery as he waits for the moment to be reunited with his lost love.

Hicks and Lee Loughridge provide the art for this issue, giving it a muted color palette to match the somber tone. They are telling Helen’s story through her emotions, and establishing how dangerous Imhotep is by keeping him largely in shadow like a predator coiling for attack.

-Amanda Sheriff