The Professor's Daughter

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Lillian: "I sometimes feel like I'm a possession of his, one of those antiques he goes searching for in the far corners of the world"
Ihmotep IV: "I do know the feeling."

The Professor's Daughter is a 1997 comic book by Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Gilbert, set in 19th century London. The plot contains two lovers, the eponymous daughter, Lillian Bowell, and Ihmotep IV, one of the professor's finds. It's a little weird.


Tropes used in The Professor's Daughter include:
  • Abduction Is Love: Averted with Ihmotep III's abduction of both Lillian and Queen Victoria.
  • Adorkable: Bartholomew.
  • Aerith and Bob: Ihmotep and Lillian.
  • Ancient Egypt: Although the story takes places entirely in London, Ihmotep (being a mummy) is from here. In a dream sequence, Ihmotep is seemingly transported back there.
  • Anti-Villain: Professor Bowell, who acts only out of concern for his daughter.
  • Asshole Victim: The gentleman that Ihmotep danced with at the beginning. The constable, not so much.
  • Ax Crazy: Ihmotep III has shades like this, especially when he attacks Buckingham Palace.
  • Back from the Dead: Apparently what happens to the mummified.
  • Badass Beard: Bartholomew.
  • Badass Bookworm: Bartholomew, a portly gentleman who spends most of his time indoors, stands up to an immortal and invincible mummy so he can dive into the Thames to save Queen Victoria.
  • Badass Grandpa: Ihmotep III.
  • Bald of Evil: Averted with Ihmotep IV; played straight with his father.
  • Beast and Beauty: Eventually subverted with Ihmotep IV and Lillian. His skin is so well-preserved, he's able to pass off as a normal human without his bandages.
  • Big Damn Villains: Ihmotep III bursting into the Tower of London to save his son.
  • Big Sleep: Hinted at with the mummies before they were discovered.
  • Bittersweet Ending
  • Blessed with Suck: Though Ihmotep can live forever, the slightest bit of food or drink will make him drunk instantly.
  • Body Double: Ihmotep IV wraps the professor in his bandages so he can escape.
  • Brainy Brunette: Lillian.
  • Break the Cutie: Poor, poor Lillian.
  • Cardboard Prison: Averted. Ihmotep fails at rescuing Lillian from prison, while it takes an extreme amount of effort for his father to save him.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Ihmotep III's gun
  • Collector of the Strange: Bartholomew is a collector of artifacts of Egyptology, as well as mummies... who are sentient in this universe.
  • Complete Immortality
  • Damsel in Distress: Both Lillian and Queen Victoria fulfill this function at one point or another.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Ihmotep III. "As for the extra ventilation you've been kind enough to provide, only my tailor will mind.
  • Dead Person Conversation: Ihmotep IV talks to the ghosts of his children.
  • Dem Bones: Subverted; Ihmotep III comments on how his skin is perfectly preserved.
  • Fantastic Racism: The mummies are treated as people's property.
  • Grey and Gray Morality: Lillian and Ihmotep IV inadvertently kill two men, one of whom is a police officer and then are constantly trying to get the other out of trouble; Professor Bowell treats his daughter like property and tries to have the man she loves shipped off to a museum; Ihmotep III murders several people and holds Queen Victoria hostage to get his son out of prison and (presumably) become King of England. Bartholomew seems to be the one major character with fully decent intentions.
  • Immune to Bullets: Mummies.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: Pretty much anyone Ihmotep makes friends with when you get right down to it.
  • Jerkass: Ihmotep III
  • Karma Houdini: Ihmotep III
  • Lack of Empathy: Ihmotep III
  • Like Father, Like Son: Averted with Ihmotep III and IV
  • Kick the Dog: Ihmotep III shooting one of his crew members for mocking him.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: A rare example, with the only people who know the twist are the father in son in question; it's a surprise to the reader and the other characters.
  • Made of Iron: Ihmotep III
  • Nice Hat: Well, it IS Victorian England.
  • Offstage Villainy: It's never mentioned why Ihmotep III and Ihmotep IV are on such bad terms with each other, although it's implied to have something to do with the latter's wife.
  • One-Scene Wonder: The carriage driver.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: When Professor Bowell shoots Ihmotep III, he shakes it off as if it's no big deal.
  • Overprotective Dad: Professor Bowell.
  • Posthumous Character: Ihmotep IV's children, Tuthmosis, Mephitea and Alcala.
  • The Sociopath: Ihmotep III, although he does care about his son to some degree.
  • Villainous Crush: Ihmotep III initially tries to get Lillian to marry him. He later tries the same trick on Queen Victoria.