B&M - Mistério Grande Pirâmide 1

Blake et Mortimer #4

by Various

Philip Mortimer decidiu passar férias no Cairo com Nasir, o seu fiel empregado. Encontra-se com o velho amigo Ahmed Rassim Bey, conservador do Museu das Antiguidades Egípcias, que lhe dá a oportunidade de satisfazer a sua paixão pela egiptologia. O professor convida-o a ajudar a decifrar as suas últimas papiros provenientes do invólucro de uma múmia da época ptolemaica. O seu entusiasmo é tal que nem dá atenção às suspeitas de Nasir que, desde a sua chegada ao aeroporto, tem a impressão de que são seguidos por um misterioso Lincoln preto. Mortimer mergulha na investigação e fica estupefacto ao descobrir que um dos fragmentos parece ter sido escrito por Manethon, o único historiador egípcio conhecido cuja obra se encontrava desaparecida há dois mil anos. A surpresa é total quando Mortimer e Bey se apercebem de que o fragmento em questão fala da "câmara de Hórus", a mítica cripta na qual estariam guardados tesouros incalculáveis...
Blake e Mortimer N.º 4

Genres: Comics, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Adventure, France, Egypt

56 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1954

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Hossein · Rating 4 out of 5]

دومین کتاب از سری بلیک و مورتیمر که در دو جلده و به نظرم از جلد اول زیباتره.

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

It does look and feel like the Tintin books, doesn't it? And that's marvelous! This brings back the glow of youth, and opening a Tintin book for the first time. On the downside, it isn't Tintin, but it's not bad. Not bad at all. This is the second Mortimer & Blake book I've read (I'm reading them in Cinebook sequence, where it is printed as book 2).

The Mystery of the Great Pyramid is reminiscent of both Tintin and Indiana Jones. Double whammy! The art, of course, is impeccable. I just love the European style. Like other reviewers have already mentioned, these books are a lot more "wordy" than the Tintin books (Doctor Mortimer is, after all, a physicist), and as such more leisurely paced. At 56 pages each they're also a bit longer, if I recall correctly. This is book 1 of 2 (The Mystery of the Great Pyramid is concluded in The Adventures of Blake & Mortimer: The Mystery of the Great Pyramid Part 2). The plot and storytelling is actually elaborate enough to be well suited to the non-graphic medium. In fact, that is probably the only real negative here. That and the fact that the print is often quite small.

But hey, if you like the European works like Tintin, Asterix, Iznogoud & Lucky Luke you might want to give this a try. It's not new, it's been around a while, but it's been reprinted lately. Don't miss out!

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the late 70s I discovered The Adventures of Tintin, and quickly set about acquiring and reading all the available books. Because they were a finite resource, every time I started a new Tintin book, I would try to extend the reading of it. While it would have been nothing to devour the whole book in one sitting, I would attempt to take a few days to read through a new one. (I rarely succeeded.)

Eventually, of course, I came to the end of the series, and would never again read a new one.

Sadness.

Since then, I've had recurring dreams of discovering new, unknown Tintin books. I probably have them on the average of twice a year. These are always very happy dreams, mainly because they seem entirely plausible.

I don't remember when I first saw "The Adventures of Blake and Mortimer" on Amazon, but was instantly entranced by the cover art for the books. Drawn in the same "clear line" style as Tintin, they looked like those undiscovered Tintin books from my dreams.

I recently discovered that the creator, E.P. Jacobs, also collaborated with Hergé on some of the early and middle-period Tintin books.

So I had to get one.

English translations of the first three Blake and Mortimer books are not available in the U.S. (I think they're long out of print, actually), but several others are. So I ordered the fourth -- The Mystery of the Great Pyramid, Part 1 (1950) -- and it just arrived this week. My excitement was exactly the same as I experienced in my recurring dreams. I failed at extending the reading, and plowed through it in two sittings.

So, how is it?

Well, it's wordy. Very wordy. The "narrator" (that dude who provides the little "Meanwhile . . . " boxes at the top of a panel) often states the very, very obvious. And the English translation is sometimes a bit odd in places.

Also, the writing is tiny, and hard on my old eyes. Reading glasses required.

It does feel very much like a Tintin adventure. And, in fact, looks like a Tintin adventure. If I didn't know better (and come to think of it, I don't) I would assume that these books are drawn by the same person who illustrated Tintin. (My kids noticed that immediately.) But there's a lot more talking, and the story unfolds at a much more leisurely pace than you get with Tintin. At least, in this particular story. It's possible that all the action and adventure happens in Part 2.

The pacing is a bit whiplash-inducing. There are long passages of talking, and mysterious conversations with unseen persons on telephones, and information about Egyptian historical figures and tombs and you try to keep it all straight. And then suddenly it's people shooting at each other and knocking each other on the head for God knows what reason. Because a lot of characters all look similar and are all wearing fezzes, I found myself relying on the shapes of their noses to tell them apart.

Professor Mortimer (Colonel Blake appears only near the end of this volume) is apparently as brave and stolid as Tintin. He's Indiana Jones if Indiana Jones decided to stay in his tweeds the whole time. The recurring villain has (at this point in the story) no motivation other than being bad. Though I was surprised at the subtle depths given to some of the minor characters.

I'll refrain from drawing this out any further. My recurring dreams of finding new Tintin books have, in a way, come true, and I am definitely going to order more of these books.

E. P. Jacobs wrote the first 11 Blake and Mortimer books before he died, but the series was continued by others, with the most recent (and 20th) volume appearing in 2010. And from the looks of them and some reviews I've tracked down, they're right in line with Jacobs' own stories. So it appears that even if I manage to work my way to The Curse of the Thirty Denarii, Part 2, I still may not have come to the end.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Après la guerre imaginaire, cette histoire-ci nous entraîne dans une autre source de mythes inépuisable : les mystères des pharaons. Et ce premier tome exploite aussi bien les pharaons que l'égypte "moderne" (même si celle qui est décrite ici est le royaume d'égypte ... pas vraiment indépendant). C'est donc une réussite à la fois par l'ampleur du récit et par la minutie de l'intrigue.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially sought out this title because it was Egyptian themed and was in the artistic style of ligne claire, developed by Herge with his popular series, The Adventures of Tintin.

Our hero, Dr. Mortimer arrives in Cairo to visit a colleague and quickly becomes embroiled in a mystery stemming from the translation of an ancient papyrus. Jacobs builds a fascinating story in which he incorporates a number of historical facts about the ancient civilization.

In addition to being well written, Jacobs illustrates The Mystery of the Great Pyramid with locations around Cairo and the Giza Plateau that are realistic. For instance, when Mortimer takes a ride round the pyramids and looks up the side of the Great Pyramid, Jacobs captures the power and allure of the seventh wonder of the ancient world.

I'm anxious to read the second part and find out what happens.

[Marcel Uljee · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Snel draait hij zich om en uit een kreet van verbazing. In het licht van zijn zaklantaarn herkent hij het gezicht van zijn onverzoenlijke vijand.’ (p. 19)

[Pedro Bello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ora bolas
Não reparei que a história está em vários volumes.
Não sou grande fã de ler a prestações.
Ja não me apetece ler mais hoje e quando pegar novamente na história espero lembrar- me desta,

[Helmut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viel Text erdrückt etwas die Stimmung

Dieser Band war mein erster Kontakt mit der "Blake & Mortimer"-Reihe. Ich fühle mich sehr stark angezogen von der Art der Zeichnungen - Hergés Einfluss ist mehr als deutlich spürbar. Die Figuren agieren vor äußerst klar und detailliert ausgearbeitenen Hintergründen, historisch wie technisch akkurat recherchiert und wiedergegeben.
Während aber mein persönliches Vergleichswerk, Hergés Les Cigares Du Pharaon, vor Atmosphäre nur so sprüht, geht diese hier vergleichsweise etwas unter. Es ist mehr die Spionagegeschichte, die Polizeiarbeit und die Verschwörung, die hier im Vordergrund steht. Die teilweise enormen Textmassen, die eng geschrieben bis zu dreiviertel eines Panels einnehmen und die Zeichnungen an den Rand pressen, tun ihr übriges dazu.
Trotzdem gefällt es mir - eine interessante Geschichte baut sich (zugegebenermaßen stellenweise etwas langatmig) auf, und man wird den zweiten Band dieses Zweiteilers garantiert nicht auslassen können.

Empfehlenswert für alle, die Hergés Zeichenstil mochten und mehr in dieser Art suchen; sowie für alle, die eine dichte Abenteuergeschichte in Comicform suchen.

Die französische Ausgabe der "Blake & Mortimer"-Edition ist im üblichen franko-belgischen Format - größer als A4, dicker Karton als Deckel, hochwertiges Papier und makellose Druck- und Farbwiedergabe. Da die Geschichte recht textlastig ist, sollten Französischanfänger eventuell erst mal probelesen, ob das nicht zu komplex ist.

[Richard Tremblay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ça sent le renfermé tellement c'est vieux.

Le dessin est beau mais l'histoire est binque trop truffée de coïncidences. Beaucoup de dialogues pas toujours utiles, mais bon, ça c'est la marque de la série.

Quand 'vintage' rime avec baillement.

[George Hamilton-jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragged a little. Slight copy editing issues, but some of Jacobs' mannerisms haven't aged well either.

[Nickname · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meno avvincente de "Il segreto dell'Espadon" ma i trucchi escogitati per la storia sono stati pienamente azzeccati e poi è ambientata tra i misteri d'Egitto.

[Alistair · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cliff-hanger ending.
Has Blake been assassinated?
Will Mortimer save tha day?

These and other mysteries will have to wait until volume 2 :)

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too wordy for a visual story. The titular mystery is pretty boring, too.

[Gigli · Rating 3 out of 5]

»»» A compra:
Uma incursão no mundo de Blake e Mortimer que me pareceu bem quando dei com os dois volumes à venda num alfarrabista.

»»» A aventura:
O Dr. Mortimer chega ao Cairo para visitar o museu de antiguidades local a convite do conservador do museu, que pretende obter a opinião de Mortimer sobre um fragmento de papiro recentemente encontrado.
A menção à câmara de Hórus, referida noutros artefactos mas nunca encontrada, leva Mortimer e o conservador a tentar desvendar os seus mistérios, começando pela sua localização.
As pistas sucedem-se, mas as dificuldades aumentam com os golpes de um misterioso grupo de homens envolvidos em tráfico e que parecem tentar impedir os nossos heróis de alcançar os segredos da câmara.
No final deste primeiro volume o Capitão Blake viaja para o Cairo a pedido do colega Dr. Mortimer, mas este ato de apoio ao amigo revelar-se-á fatal para um deles.

»»» Sentimento final:
O início de uma boa aventura, onde os mistérios do antigo Egipto se fundem com vilões do mundo “moderno”, com excelente representação de locais do Egipto e da época, meados do século XX.
O que tirou alguma velocidade a esta aventura, para mim, foi os balões/falas (não sei qual o termo correto) em cada vinheta serem muito longos, tornando a leitura um pouco maçuda para uma banda-desenhada (agora que me lembro já tinha lido uma outra BD do mesmo autor, sem ser Blake & Mortimer, e creio que senti o mesmo problema).

»»» Nota final (capa e outras considerações):
--- [Capa] – Muito boa, com aura de mistério por todos os lados, só acaba datada pelos tipos de letra usados nos títulos, próprios da altura da edição que comprei, mas que hoje me parecem pouco dinâmicos e desinteressantes.
--- [Desenho] – O traço, tipo o do Tintin, é limpo e muito focado, sem grandes floreados, mas bastante agradável, com vinhetas bem preenchidas e que nos permite sempre facilmente saber o que está representado.

»»» Uma espreitadela:

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second volume of the current sequence, although it is set prior to the first volume. It forms part of a pair concerning adventures around the Great Pyramid of Giza. This volume concerns the discovery and interpretation of the Papyrus of Manethon, which describes the location of the Chamber of Horus (which is the subject of the next volume). Needless to say, there are some villains who are also after the secret and the drama revolves around the uncovering of the secret whilst preventing the other team from making any progress. It involves a great deal of skulduggery, but it's all at a fairly gentle pace.

The main focus is upon Mortimer. Blake is disposed of by an assassination attempt in Greece when on the way to Egypt. There are a set of mysterious characters who aren't fully introduced to us in this volume, but whose purpose we can readily guess. We are introduced to Olrik, a villain who is likely to recur in future volumes. The volume ends in a rather unsatisfactory way. It doesn't have closure. That is provided in the next volume.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels even more Tintin this time around, due to the heavy globe-trotting aspect to it.

I do think this drags as a read, and EPJ's cartooning is hampered by the verbose script. I absolutely adore the color choices and panel layouts - each page is truly worthy of taking the time to soak in the artwork. But everything is overexplained to the point of tedium.

The plot itself was quite interesting and surprisingly elaborate. Mortimer finds himself investigating the translation of an ancient papyrus (I must have missed why a physicist would be engaged in this kind of academic pursuit) and it leads him into conflict with an old foe along the way. Surprisingly, Blake does not make an appearance for much of the book, making this feel more like a solo venture for Mortimer. Despite the dragging nature of the script, the final third of this story actually presents some interesting twists that require the reader to continue on to Part 2 of the story.

[Green Jazz Blues · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to treat this two volume adventure in one review to cover both.
Stories that revolve around Egyptology are monotonously the same theme: Hidden treasures in pyramids or ancient curses or something to do with Egyptian priests, etc. and this one is no exception.
I found that although this is one of the most interesting accounts in that genre, the mystical element was weird and unreal and not very scientific in my view. Of all the Blake & Mortimer books I've read so far, (I've not read them all yet) this one I regard as the most disappointing.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the claire ligne style of Hergé, and a slightly more adult thriller, then this is for you. The characters are well-drawn, in every sense, and the plot exciting. There is a lot more text than in the Tintin albums, but if you love to read as well as look at pictures, that shouldn't be a problem. I was delighted to discover Blake & Mortimer, and I will be collecting the rest of the series.

[Fátima Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

. Faço revisão ao conjunto dos dois volumes, e só posso dizer que já conheço de cor cada quadradinho, cada frase do diálogo, e ainda vou reler. Sem ser muito fã de banda desenhada, não posso deixar de apreciar EP Jacobs, que apenas tem HErgé com quem ombrear. E a verdade é que não gosto de todos os seus livros, de forma nenhuma. Mas este duplo album é simplesmente mágico e faz-nos entrar no antigo Egipto e não querer sair dele!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the Great War from the first three books, the follow up would have to get readers stuck in. And indeed it does. Jacobs knows what he's doing with the investigative tone of his story telling, when even the simple beats of the story are interesting enough to make it an engrossing read.

This is good part 1 of 2, though there are still quite "colonial" aspects to a Belgian writing a story about life in Egypt in the 1950s...

[Milley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the tintin style drawing. There were scenes such as falling down the stairs that seemed like copies of the tintin books. However the story needed more. As others have said, these missed the humour of Tintin. The first book dragged on and on with the back and forth with the assistant. The second book a bit better and there was action in the latter part.

[Stephen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just atrocious. Don’t be fooled by the visual and thematic resemblance to Tintin, the story and writing are amateurish beyond belief, not to mention tedious. It’s incredible how every panel is narrated with text explaining exactly what’s represented in the drawing. Why bother? This was a chore to finish.

[Al Capwned · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that I got a bit tired by the many explanation comic bubbles, despite the fact that the story is good enough. First time I read a Blake and Mortimer comic book. The style is similar to that of Hergé and the so called "ligne claire".

[Macu Delage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una aventura arqueológica al más puro estilo de Tintín pero más serio. Los datos históricos y arqueológicos que aporta me han parecido sublimes, además de reflejar muy bien el ámbito de la egiptología a mediados del siglo XX.

[ℳatthieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le récit s'articule autour de l'oeuvre de l’historien (prêtre) Manéthon sur l'histoire d'Egypte rédigé vers le IIIème siècle avant notre ère. On lui doit la division en trente dynasties. Le document a disparu, mais quelques fragments nous sont parvenus.

J'aime bien le texte avec ses vieilles expressions de siècle dernier. Ya salam !
Il y a un petit côté éducatif et histoire bien intéressant. J'avais dû le lire en étant ado, mais outre quelques vagues souvenirs, j'avais tout oublié.

Petit bémol concernant la police de caractère du texte qui est peu lisible (et sans accents).

[Julius Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Tintin then you'll most likely like these too.
A downside is the story arc crosses over volumes rather than being complete within single book.
Nice artwork/illustration.
Some of the text jars in current times/ears.

[Simon Chipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The art is very good as always, but the story is less engaging a mystery than Yellow M and has a leisurely pace. Having Blake and Mortimer separated for the whole of this volume adds to this.

[Juhani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hyvä, että näitä Blake & Mortimereja taas suomennetaan. Tinttimäinen sarjakuva piirrostyyliltään ja tarinakin ok tai ainakin 2,5 tähteä. Puhekuplat oli tekstattu ärsyttävän pienellä ja ohuella fontilla kun kertojan puhe taasen oli selkeää ja luettavaa tekstiä omissa ruuduissaan.

[César · Rating 3 out of 5]

3'5

[Harrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mijn exemplaar heet "het geheim van de grote pyramide", uitgegeven in 1974. Maar die versie vond ik niet op goodreads.