Indiana Jones et le Secret de la Pyramide (English: Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Pyramid) is a French-language, hardcover comic book by Claude Moliterni and Giancarlo Alessandrini. It was released by Bagheera in 1993.
A second edition (with an alternate cover) was published for distribution in Shell gas stations in Canada for L'été des BD!! Une Collection Shell, and a softcover release was part of a promotion for car manufacturer Renault.
Publisher's summary[]
Original French[]
Chez Ibrahim, antiquaire cairote gagnant sa vie en mettant à jour des sépultures puis en "vendant le tuyau" à des archéologues, Indiana Jones se laisse tenter par des informations sur une momie à découvrir après laquelle le professeur Mortimer est parti sans jamais plus donner de nouvelles. Mais alors qu’Ibrahim commençait à donner des précisions, il fut assassiné au nez et à la barbe de son interlocuteur !
Sorti de l'échoppe avec un minimum de renseignements découverts sur place, Jones va partir dans le désert accompagné de son amie Marya Smirnova. Mais très vite, ils vont se rendre compte que Von Stark[sic] est derrière eux, animé par l'envie de s'approprier toute découverte d'importance, quitte à jouer de la gâchette...
Ce n’est pas sur le premier site où ils se rendront que Jones et Smirnova découvriront ce qu'ils cherchent. Non, ce sera plus loin, dans le désert, et en plus d’un trésor, ils feront une rencontre inattendue !
English translation[]
At Ibrahim's, a Cairo-based antique dealer who earns his living by unearthing graves and then "selling the pipe" to archaeologists, Indiana Jones is tempted by information on a mummy to be discovered after which Professor Mortimer left without ever being heard from again. But as Ibrahim began to give details, he was murdered au nez et à la barbe [right under the nose] of his interlocutor!
Leaving the shop with a minimum of information discovered on the spot, Jones goes to the desert accompanied by his friend Marya Smirnova. But very quickly, they will realize that Von Stark is behind them, driven by the desire to appropriate any important discovery, even if it means pulling the trigger...
It's not at the first site they go to that Jones and Smirnova will find what they're looking for. No, it will be further, in the desert, and in addition to a treasure, they will have an unexpected encounter!
Plot summary[]
Egypt, 1923[]
In the Valley of the Kings, Indiana Jones and his digger companion Selim are, after a great deal of effort and numerous attempts, finally on the verge of discovering an intact tomb. As they make their way inside, a trap is triggered and the pair are forced to flee above ground as the collapsing site is consumed by the desert forever. Dejected, Jones falls back on word from Selim that the antiquities dealer Ibrahim is looking to sell information on a fabulous treasure.
The next day, Jones meets with Ibrahim and Selim in Cairo. The dealer explains that he has information on an undiscovered tomb which has evaded all treasure hunters except for Professor Mortimer, an archaeologist who, Jones recalls, went missing some weeks prior. Ibrahim wants rare, lucrative pieces from the tomb and Jones suspects that the man has Mortimer's research. Before Jones can strike a deal or find out exactly how the dealer has acquired the missing professor's notes, Ibrahim suddenly slumps forward, dead from a knife to the back by an unseen assailant. Selim tells Jones that they need to leave before the police arrive. He agrees but they take the time to search the store and recover Mortimer's notes from a statue of Anubis then go their separate ways.
Back at his hotel, Jones bumps into his friend Marya Smirnova, a journalist covering Howard Carter's excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb. Following up on Mortimer's work, Jones convinces her to join him for a nighttime visit to the Great Pyramid of Cheops where he explains that the archaeologist had reason to believe that the site contains a secret entrance that was sealed off by the Ancient Egyptian colchytes. As they explore the interior, Jones explains the pyramid's structure and Mortimer's theory that much of it was simply a distraction for looters from the more important areas. Smirnova realizes the significance: Cheops' long-missing remains could still be inside the pyramid. Traveling down familiar corridors, Jones and his friend arrive at the chamber where Mortimer had gone looking prior to his disappearance. With the landmark built so that each side corresponds with the four cardinal points of a compass, Mortimer hypothesized that the Great Pyramid had actually began construction as, or around, an observatory.
The Moon at its lowest culmination sends a single beam of light through the pyramid onto an empty wall in front of the adventurers. Smirnova points out that such a set-up would only give them a few minutes each night to act. Jones presses the wall where the moonlight ends and a large stone panel shifts revealing, not a chamber, but a set of hieroglyphs describing Cheops' departure to the "city of beyond" with Anubis as his guide to be placed in the waters of the "river of longevity" which would initiate the pharaoh's voyage to become one with Ra. More tangible details among the words allow Jones to learn that the Cheops sarcophagus was taken down the Nile River to be with the other kings at an as-yet unexplored southern part of the Necropolis of Thebes. Such a discovery would rival that of Howard Carter so Jones asks Smirnova to help him reset the stone panel so that they can go looking for the city unhindered by other would-be treasure hunters.
Outside the pyramid, Jones and Smirnova realize they're being watched right before being ambushed by three natives with their faces concealed by keffiyehs. As Jones fends off one attacker the other two kidnap the journalist on horseback. He pursues them to a nearby oasis where he is thrown from his own ride as the horse is stopped by a rope stretched between two trees. There, both Jones and Smirnova are met by Doctor Karl von Kraft, a rival archaeologist and professor from the University of Heidelberg who reveals that he has been keeping appraised of their efforts since Ibrahim's murder. Jones unsuccessfully tries to convince him that they didn't see anything in the Great Pyramid that any other visitor couldn't but when von Kraft is distracted by Mortimer's notes, Jones tackles him to the ground and keeps the archaeologist and his men back at gunpoint while Smirnova grabs two horses with which they make their escape into the night.
The adventurers journey to Luxor by train then head back out into the desert towards the Theban Necropolis, their activities being observed from a distance by von Kraft's men. Jones tries to calculate the likely position of the city of beyond but an approaching sandstorm sends them into a nearby rock fault for shelter. As they wait, the winds disturb one of their horses which kicks up against a wall and opens up an entrance to an underground passageway. Inside, Jones observes that they've discovered a pathway established by looters rather than the entry point intended by those who constructed it. Further on, they find a well with a newly secured rope, attributed to Mortimer's expedition, which they use for their descent into the city of beyond and eventually step into a vast chamber dominated by a large statue at the base of which is an altar traditionally used in mummification. As they investigate, their presence is noticed by an individual watching them from behind the eye sockets of the statue. After they take note of the river of longevity running through a pit at the base of the altar, Jones sees that there is a corridor behind the statue then notices that Smirnova has disappeared.
Wondering if the journalist's curiosity sent her on ahead, Jones follows the passage which just leads up through the statue, which has two large metal plates behind its eyes, and back out into the desert: the true door to the city. As he heads back inside, Jones hears Smirnova calling for help and spots her being dragged away. He tries to follow only to fall into a tunnel that suddenly opens up and drops him down into a chamber with a pair of sarcophagi, one of which is empty. Jones realizes that he's in the resting place of pharaohs Cheops and Khefren which confirms a theory that their bodies were secretly interred elsewhere instead of their pyramids to protect them from desecration by the Egyptian people as revenge for their harsh rules. When he makes for the exit up ahead, a pharaoh walks past. Confused, Jones follows but walks into von Kraft flanked on either side by some of his men. He tells the archaeologist of Smirnova's abduction then one of the men spots a shadow moving behind the columns. Von Kraft shoots at it but Jones talks him down.
The group pursue the figure and are tricked into entering a chamber which is sealed behind them. Trapped, the room has nothing but fallen granite blocks from an earthquake damaging the area. Looking around, Jones finds a portion of the wall can be moved which puts the men back into the main chamber where they stumble upon the pharaoh and his guards preparing to sacrifice Marya Smirnova. Jones again has to restrain von Kraft and opts to sneak around on the individual leading a ritual to resurrect Cheops. Jones catches the man's arm with his bullwhip then frees his friend. Von Kraft, meanwhile, charges through the guards revealing them to be nothing more than carefully positioned skeletons. When the pharaoh tries to tackle Jones, he's laid out with a single punch and von Kraft recognizes him as Professor Mortimer, driven insane.
The German archaeologist demands that Jones explain where the treasure is and Jones tries to tell him the truth of the site when the colossal statue suddenly shoots beams from its eyes onto the altar at its feet, the shock of which sends von Kraft tumbling into the river of longevity. The underground chambers begin to collapse causing Jones to suspect that the ancient Egyptian priests had sabotaged the altar. The adventurers' attempt to rescue a drowning von Kraft is thwarted when the archaeologist is crushed by a falling block of granite. Jones and his friend make their way out of the city of beyond through the statue which is reflecting the rays of the sun off the metal plates and onto the altar in concentrated beams.
Back in the desert, Jones considers that it's as if Ra himself put an end to Cheops and Khefren's plot to live again. Together, Indiana Jones and Marya Smirnova ride off into the sunset.
Appearances[]
Characters[]
- Anubis (Statue)
- Cheops (Remains)
- Ibrahim
- Indiana Jones
- Mortimer
- Selim
- Marya Smirnova
- Karl von Kraft
- Amenophis III (Mentioned only)
- Belzoni (Mentioned only)
- Cambyse (Mentioned only)
- Carnarvon (Mentioned only)
- Howard Carter (Mentioned only)
- Khephren (Mentioned only)
- Ma'at (Mentioned only)
- Osiris (Mentioned only)
- Ra (Mentioned only)
- Meneputa Seti (Mentioned only)
- Thoth (Mentioned only)
- Tutankhamun (Mentioned only)
Creatures[]
Cultures[]
- Ancient Egyptian
- Fourth Dynasty
- Ancient Greek (Mentioned only)
- Arab
- Medes (Mentioned only)
- Roman (Mentioned only)
Locations[]
- Egypt
- Cairo
- Cairo Museum (Mentioned only)
- Ibrahim's antiquity store
- Mena House
- Giza
- Great Pyramid
- Great Sphinx (Cover only)
- Pyramid of Khafre
- Pyramid of Menkaure
- Luxor / Thebes
- Cataract
- Necropolis of Thebes / Theban Necropolis
- City of Beyond
- River of Longevity
- Temple of Amenophis III (Mentioned only)
- Valley of the Kings
- Tomb of Meneputa Seti (Mentioned only)
- Tomb of Tutankhamun (Mentioned only)
- Valley of the Queens
- City of Beyond
- Cairo
- Moon
- New York (Mentioned only)
- Nile River (Mentioned only)
- North Pole (Mentioned only)
- Sun
- University of Heidelberg (Mentioned only)
Organizations and titles[]
- Archaeologist
- Doctor
- Lord (Mentioned only)
- Pharaoh / King
- Professor
Vehicles and vessels[]
- Khefer
Miscellanea[]
Behind the scenes[]
Indiana Jones et le Secret de la Pyramide and its follow-up Indiana Jones et la Cité de la Foudre – both written and drawn by the same creative pairing – having a character named Professor Mortimer and Captain Blake, respectively, may be an in-joke: Blake and Mortimer is a well-known bande dessinée series among native French speakers. The final book of the Bagheera trilogy of stories, Indiana Jones et le Grimoire Maudit includes a character called Jacobs, a surname shared with Edgar P. Jacobs, the creator of Blake and Mortimer.
Continuity[]
- Indiana Jones is indicated to be an archaeologist in the story but in the wider Indiana Jones continuity he has not yet acquired his PhD and is still studying in 1923.
- Ibrahim's killer is not directly revealed. However, context would suggest Karl von Kraft is the likely culprit.
- Secret de la Pyramide marks the first appearance of Marya Smirnova, a recurring character in each of the three volumes of Bagheera's Indiana Jones bandes dessinées.
Cover gallery[]
| International Indiana Jones comics | |
|---|---|
| France | |
|
Cancelled: Bedouins of the Sea | |
| United Kingdom | |
"Take Cover!" · "Olympic Ordeal!" · "Digging For Trouble" | |
| Related | |
Marvel Comics reprints · Dark Horse Comics reprints |
| ADVENTURE TIMELINE | ||
|---|---|---|
| previous | next | |
| October 1922 | 1923 | August 1925 |
| Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi | Indiana Jones et le Secret de la Pyramide | Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants |