The Mummy Walks Again In Skybound's Next Universal Horror Comic Revival [Exclusive]

/Film can confirm that "Universal Monsters: The Mummy" — a reimagining of 1932's "The Mummy" starring Boris Karloff — is rising up and shambling into comic shops next year.

This new mini-series is the fourth and latest horror comic partnership between Skybound Entertainment & Image Comics and Universal Products and Experiences. Since 2023, Skybound has been publishing a "Universal Monsters" thematic series that lets horror comic superstars reimagine the Universal Monsters across four issue mini-series. In keeping with the branding, the stories and monsters are styled specifically after the original 1930s Universal Horror iterations (i.e. James Whale and Boris Karloff's "Frankenstein," Tod Browning and Bela Lugosi's "Dracula," etc.).

The first Skybound "Universal Monsters" comic was "Dracula" by writer James Tynion IV and artist Martin Simmonds. Next was "The Creature From The Black Lagoon Lives" by Dan Watters, Ram V, and artist Matthew Roberts." "Frankenstein" (written and drawn by Michael Walsh) wrapped up this past November and so "The Mummy" is the logical next choice.

"Universal Monsters: The Mummy" will be written and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks, who is partnering with colorist Lee Loughridge. Hicks is a two time Eisner Award winner (think the comic Oscars), taking home the Best Publication for Kids award in 2014 (for "The Adventures of Superhero Girl") and 2019 (for "The Nameless City"). "Avatar: The Last Airbender" fans might also be familiar with Hicks, who has written and drawn several "Avatar" comics over at Dark Horse. Explaining why she chose to take on "The Mummy," Hicks said (via a press release):

"What I enjoy the most about 'The Mummy' is the romance underlying all the horror. A mortal man defies ancient gods to bring his dead lover back to life and pays the ultimate price, transformed thousands of years later into a walking specter of death. The Mummy is intrinsically a tragic figure driven by his own pain and loss, his understandable human emotions twisted into acts. It's been a thrill to tell this story from the point of view of Helen, the modern incarnation of The Mummy's long dead love, and illustrate her growing awareness of the heartbroken horror that is lurking in the shadows of early 20th century Egypt. I hope fans of all versions of 'The Mummy' enjoy my take on this romantically horrifying (or horrifyingly romantic) story."

Skybound has shared the first four pages of "Universal Monsters: The Mummy" issue #1 and the full catalogue of the issue's covers. See the covers below and the preview pages in the next slide.

Cover A by Faith Erin Hicks:

Skybound Entertainment

Cover B by Joshua Middleton:

Skybound Entertainment

Cover C by Guillem March (connecting variant, 1:10 incentive):

Skybound Entertainment

Cover D by Joshua Middleton, a black-and-white variant of Middleton's cover B (1:25 incentive):

Skybound Entertainment

Cover E by Martin Simmonds (1:50 incentive):

Skybound Entertainment

Cover F by Gabriel Rodriguez (1:75 incentive), with a foil variant for Cover G (1:100 incentive):

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Cover H, the blank sketch variant:

Skybound Entertainment

The synopsis for "Universal Monsters: The Mummy" reads as follows:

"Helen Grosvenor is a woman born to two worlds and belonging in neither, forever haunted by a cursed encounter as a child. When unknown voices bring her back to an Egyptian dig site from her past, Helen will unknowingly play an unexpected role in the rise of a monster known only as...THE MUMMY!"

Based on that description, these first four pages depict that "cursed encounter." They open with an establishing shot of the Egyptian city Thebes in 1912, when Helen is a child. (If I was a betting man, I would venture the comic will jump forward to 1932, and an adult Helen, from here.)

Skybound Entertainment

The second page makes Helen's deal clear right off; her mother is Egyptian, but her father is English (and the explorer leading the dig site). This makes her a child of both the colonizer and the colonized, and it seems this split heritage will define her character throughout the book.

Skybound Entertainment

Skybound Entertainment

The fourth page, a double-spread title page, jumps to another part of the encampment; an Englishman is looking over maps while the Mummy's opened sarcophagus rests behind him. The Mummy is barely glimpsed from a shadowy distance, but based on Hicks' cover, he's drawn with Karloff's likeness. Speaking of, Hicks' definitive style is on full display here, and Loughridge's golden coloring makes Egypt truly look like "a land so hot it suffocates to take a breath."

Skybound Entertainment

The Mummy is not my favorite of the Universal Monsters, but he is the one who scared me the most as a child. The idea of something evil resting within a golden faced sarcophagus always put me at unease. Granted, for my generation, this story is most well known for 1999's "The Mummy" — a movie that is less horror, more "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Can Hicks make the Mummy truly scary again and still capture the romantic spirit of Imhotep? We'll soon see.

"Universal Monsters: The Mummy" will be available in print and from digital retailers on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.