Ancient Egypt has been a hot bead for many stories since the first mummy was uncovered in the 19th Century. While the stories therein all have a lot in common, some can be enjoyable if they are fun and interesting reads. “Rocket Robinson and the Pharoh’s Fortune” by SeanO’Neill is one of these fun stories.
During the height of Egyptomania, Ronald “Rocket†Robinson has moved to Cairo with his dad and monkey pal Screech. It is here that Rocket that bumps into a strange man with an eyepatch who drops a piece a paper with hieroglyphics that jumpstarts an adventure that would lead Rocket and new friend, a gypsy named Nuri, on a wild treasure hunt.
While not a creative plot, this comic is enjoyable and fun to read. Rocket is a great character and is a lot of fun to follow along. Nuri is also well written and you do want to see more of her as well as see her and Rocket succeed.
The villains are the typical YA villains in this story: some rich European who’s seeking Egyptian treasure finds a map through seedy means and hires Egyptian goons, one is a coward and the other is a huge, muscle-bound brute. They do the typical kidnapping, falling over their own feat and monologuing instead of killing the main lead. They’re the weakest part of the comic. However, they do the job of being an obstacle for the main leads and are harmless. They’re not the worst things ever, they’re just there.
The artwork looks like a Saturday morning cartoon which is great considering this story basically is an episode you’d see in a Saturday morning cartoon. It does a fine job of showing the action and even many fun and scary moments. While not needing to be detailed, O’Neill does make Cairo feel alive.
“Rocket Robinson and the Pharoh’s Fortune” is a fun YA comic with great characters despite the same old enemies. Rocket and Nuri are fun characters to read about which is the main reason to read this comic.
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