An animated series was created in 1998 that was two seasons long (52 episodes) and shown on
TFOU TV in
France and in
Quebec on
Radio-Canada. It is airing in 2016 on
Unis.[1]
In 2000 a video game was made for
Game Boy developed by
Dupuis and published by
Ubisoft.
Plot
In the beginning,
Horus the falcon god of light and
Set the god of evil fought to control Egypt. The council of the Gods decided, Set was sent to exile and Horus became the first pharaoh of Egypt. For two thousand years, pharaoh succeeded pharaoh. But Set had plotted his revenge, and deep inside his sinister black
Pyramid of Ombos, Set imprisoned Horus in a magic sarcophagus. From then on, and no longer protected by the god Horus, Egypt was at the mercy of Set and his servant
Aker. So the gods chose Papyrus, a young fisherman who must find the secret entrance to Ombos, free the god Horus and restore peace to Egypt.
Characters
Main characters
Papyrus: originally a young fisherman, Papyrus is the hero of the comic, friend of the daughter of the
Pharaoh, and possessor of a magic
sword which was given to him by the daughter of the god
Sobek; in exchange, he must protect the princess Théti-Chéri from all danger.
Théti-Chéri: daughter of the pharaoh
Merenptah, grand priestess of
Isis, sacred dancer, and heiress to the throne of the
Double Kingdom. While she can be haughty and stubborn, she cares very much for Papyrus.
Regular side characters
The Goddess with the Resplendent Hair (La Déesse au Cheveux Resplendissant): Papyrus' patron deity, a lesser goddess and daughter of
Sobek.
Imhotep: a one-legged boy and apprentice to the architect Amenope who becomes a friend of Papyrus.
Pouin: a short, timid Bedouine dwarf.
Khamelot: Pouin's donkey, who is much smarter and more determined than his master.
Shepti: A young maidservant to Théti-Chéri who becomes a pawn of Sekhmet's mad High Priest in issue 22 (La Prisonnière de Sekhmet). Upon her rescue by Papyrus and Pouin, she and Pouin fall in love and get married.
Phoetus: a small mummy.
Albums
Thirty-three albums have been published so far:
La Momie engloutie (
ISBN2-8001-2721-X,
ISBN2-8001-0598-4 et
ISBN2-8001-2714-7). Papyrus is appointed by Sobek's daughter to rescue Théti-Chéri and her father from a power-hungry traitor at the Pharaoh's side.
Le Maître des trois portes. While trying to discover why the Nile's waters have suddenly gone low, Papyrus and Théti-Chéri discover and become prisoners in a golden underground city ruled by the living mummy of
Menes, who wishes to seize power over Egypt again. In order to escape, Papyrus must discover the secret of the three gates which separate the city from the upper world.
Le Colosse sans visage. Papyrus aids the inhabitants of a city cursed by the gods for the unholy atrocities their past ruler (the titular colossus) has committed. For this well-meant deed, he is cursed by the gods and transformed into a hideous creature, and it is up to Théti-Chéri to appease the gods - even if it means paying the ultimate price.
Le Tombeau de Pharaon
L'Égyptien blanc
Les Quatre Doigts du Dieu Lune
La Vengeance des Ramsès (
ISBN2-8001-2727-9); English translation: The Rameses Revenge (
ISBN978-1905460359). The four colossi of the Temple of Rameses rise against a band of plunderers.
La Métamorphose d'Imhotep (
ISBN2-8001-2728-7); English translation: Imhotep's Transformation (
ISBN978-1905460502): Papyrus must find an antidote for the poisoned Pharaoh while a friend plays the role of the ruler.
Les Larmes du géant (
ISBN2-8001-2729-5): A
Hittite princess arrives at court as a second wife for the Pharaoh, bringing with her the secret of iron. In the temple of Amonhotep III, plotters want to seize power for themselves and build invincible weapons, so they capture the Hittite princess as well as Théti.
La Pyramide noire (
ISBN2-8001-2730-9): Papyrus takes an enchanted Théti to a mage who may be able to heal her.
Le Pharaon maudit(
ISBN2-8001-2731-7): Théti and Papyrus fight against plunderers, six girls who call themselves Daughters of Akhenaton.
L'Obélisque: Amenope, the royal architect, and his assistant Imhotep, despite obstacles but with the help of Papyrus and Théti cut, transport, and erect an
obelisk at
Thebes.
Le Labyrinthe: Papyrus is named ambassador of Egypt by the King of
Minos.
L'Île Cyclope (
ISBN2-8001-2734-1): Théti goes to rejoin Papyrus in
Crete with the mummy of the son of Minos. Papyrus sets off again, finally finding and rescuing the princess on a fantastic island.
L'Enfant hiéroglyphe: Imhotep, the successor of Amenope, is saved from a fire by Papyrus. The parchment that established the plans of Amenope for the new temple were saved. But the workers strike, and Imhotep is accused of sacrilege. Théti and Papyrus discover those responsible for the strike.
Le Seigneur des crocodiles (
ISBN2-8001-2736-8): Captured by Libyan nomads, Papyrus and Théti escape into the desert where they meet a blind mage who asks Papyrus to give him his eyes.
Toutânkhamon, le Pharaon assassiné (
ISBN2-8001-2737-6); English translation Tutankhamun(
ISBN978-1-905460-84-7): While beset and framed by graverobbers plundering the
Valley of the Kings, Papyrus meets the spirit of
Ankhesenpaaton, the wife of
Tutankhamen, who seeks his help in reuniting her with her beloved husband, just as Papyrus' ancestor has done so many years ago.
L'Œil de Rê (
ISBN2-8001-2194-7): During the feast of Opet, Amenmes, one of the sons of Rameses II disputes the throne of the Pharaoh Merenptah.
Les Momies maléfiques (
ISBN2-8001-2739-2); English translation The Evil Mummies (
ISBN978-1-84918-027-6): In the chambers of the temple of Montouhotep, ten bodies of archers of Seqenenre Taa II, dead in combat, are mummified in haste. Meanwhile, Théti's expedition enters the desert but forgets to render homage to
Seth.
Le Talisman de la grande pyramide (
ISBN2-8001-2591-8): Wanting to discover the origin of the screams heard at the foot of the Great Pyramid each night, Papyrus angers the god
Anubis.
La Prisonnière de Sekhmet (
ISBN2-8001-2765-1); English translation Sekhmet's Captive (
ISBN978-1800440395}: The goddess
Sekhmet is upset: the ancient Great Priest of her temple has conceived a diabolical plan in which Princess Théti, the only one capable of calming this divinity, plays a central role.
Le Cheval de Troie (
ISBN2-8001-2940-9): Papyrus and Théti arrive in
Troy, ruined and occupied by thieves searching in vain for the treasure of King Priam.
La main pourpre (
ISBN2-8001-3095-4): Papyrus and Théti find the "purple hand" in Tyre, along with victims of the leaders of the city.
Le Pharaon fou (
ISBN2-8001-3229-9): After having escaped from the soldiers of Tyre, Papyrus and Théti find that Pouin has become the king of Dor. After having convinced him to return to Egypt, Papyrus meets a curious character named
Moses who
is leaving Egypt with his tribe.
Le Masque d'Horus (
ISBN2-8001-3354-6): The queen sends Papyrus on a secret mission: to find Théti's younger brother, who was taken by the priests of the temple of Kom Ombo.
La Fureur des Dieux (
ISBN2-8001-2721-X): Rameses II the younger hunts a bull in the company of his father, Sethi I.
Les Enfants d'Isis: For his services to Egypt, Papyrus is granted land and an estate, but the Pharao has a darker, ulterior motive for his generosity. He means to separate Papyrus and Théti, who have come to love each other, so that he can arrange a more prestigious marriage of his daughter with a prince of
Mitanni.
L'Île de la reine morte
L'Oracle
L'Or de Pharaon
Le taureau de Montou
Papyrus Pharaon
Translations
English
Since November 2007,
Cinebook Ltd has been publishing Papyrus in English.[2] Seven albums have so far been released:
The Rameses Revenge, November 2007,
ISBN978-1-905460-35-9. (translation of the 7th volume)
Imhotep's Transformation, April 2008,
ISBN978-1-905460-50-2 (translation of the 8th volume)
The Evil Mummies, April 2010,
ISBN978-1-84918-027-6 (translation of the 19th volume)
The Anger of the Great Sphinx, June 2012,
ISBN978-1-84918-115-0 (translation of the 20th volume)
The Amulet of the Great Pyramid, June 2015,
ISBN978-1849182409 (translation of the 21st volume)
Sekhmet's Captive, March 2022,
ISBN978-1800440395 (translation of the 22nd volume)
Spanish
In 2020 Dolmen Editorial started publishing integrals of the series in Spanish. As for 2024 it has published 8 volumes containing 24 albums of the series Papyrus.
The volumes published by Dolmen Editorial are: