Ancient Egypt is a constant inspiration for artists, filmmakers and storytellers. Academic recognition of Egyptian themes in film is well established; however, the exploration of these same themes in other media is not as fully developed. Comic books are one of the most diverse and inventive media in circulation today and they too have taken to the motifs of hieroglyphs, animal headed deities and mythology with aplomb. So what do Batman, the Fantastic Four and  Superman have to say about ancient Egypt? And what can that tell us about how ancient Egypt is perceived? 
 

Dr Daniel Potter is the Assistant Curator on the Revealing Cultures project at the National Museum of Scotland.  His PhD research focused on the Ramesside language used to describe divine interaction, and his other research interests include early Egyptology, John Garstang’s production of archaeological facsimiles and the representation of Ancient Egypt in comics. He has previously worked at the Garstang Museum of Archaeology, Liverpool, and has experience of teaching Ancient Egyptian history, religion and language, the history of archaeology and Roman material culture. He joined National Museums Scotland in September 2016.