Entry #6: "The Professor's Daughter"

Sfar, Joann & Emmanuel Guibert. The Professor's Daughter. New York: First Second, 1997.

Genre: Graphic Novel (originally written in French)

Author Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joann_Sfar

Illustrator Info: http://lambiek.net/artists/g/guibert_emman.htm

Subjects & Themes: Egyptology; Victorian London; museums & mummies; archaeology & antiquity; cultural elitism, gender inequality, & social hierarchies; murder, madness, & mayhem; timeless (& unlikely) love; transformation; beating the odds; and, the living dead.

Reading Reaction: Thought the illustrations were pretty cool, alternating between panels of muted tones in black & white, and those that were colorfully vivid. As for the story, however, what can I say? Silly beyond compare. It wasn't what I expected at all (was hoping for something a bit more historically rich) with enlivening details of Ancient Egypt...Alas, The Profesor's Daughter, considered by many critics to be a modern classic within the genre, is pure fantastical escapism. If you've ever seen the movie, The Mummy, you get my drift. Such just doesn't suit my mood today.

Read-a-Likes (additional cheese, if you please,w/ a dash of (mostly) historic noir):

1. Dead High Yearbook by Ivan Velez (2007).
2. The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips (2004).
3. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (2005).
4. The Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (2006).
5. Violin: A Novel by Anne Rice (1997).
6. Well Bred & Dead: A High Society Mystery (2007).

Related Reads (graphic novels for the slightly more aged reader):

1. A Contract with God by Will Eisner (2006).
2. Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman (1993).
3. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (2004).
4. The Rabbit's Cat by Joann Sfar (2007).
5. Sardine in Outer Space by Joann Sfar & Emmanuel Guibert (2006).
6. Vampire Loves by Joann Sfar (2006).

Musical Accompaniment: Possum Kingdom by the Toadies (an intriguing enticement regarding the precarious promise of eternal life...)