Kid Pharaoh

Kid Pharaoh was another comic strip character from Valiant that I loved.It wasn't so much his athletic abilities but rather his origin and his strange curse that intrigued me as a youngster reading his tales years later in old copies of Valiant.


Kid Pharaoh was actually an Ancient Egyptian King called Zethi,who had been placed in a deep coma after being cursed by a High Priest named Thotek to "sleep while darkness reigns".In 1972,Frank Jennings,an archaeologist,uncovered his tomb in Egypt and transported him back to England.On board the passenger ship was a rich businessman-Baron Munsen and his burly butler Kramp.Zethi considered him to be the reincarnation of Thotek and would battle with him for many years to try and make him lift the curse.


The story revolved around Zethi's oath to fight crime in England and to help him make a living,Frank set about promoting him as "Kid Pharaoh"where he would take on huge opponents.Baron Munsen meanwhile had fallen on hard times and resorted to all sorts of evil schemes to relieve various organizations of their money!He and Kid Pharaoh would meet many times where his evil ways were always thwarted,much to the Baron's chagrin.


Of course,part of the appeal of the strip was Zethi's unease with some of Modern Day England's machines!Not to mention the plot device of his falling instantly asleep whenever anybody turned the lights out!


Of course,in between fighting crime,there was always time for a friendly "grapple".This scene is from Valiant 12th October 1974(as are all proceeding images)and picks up where Zethi has befriended another injured grappler-Jerry.On a train,they meet some Scottish Soldiers guarding a cash consignment,one of whom is a champion wrestler.


Little do they know,but Baron Munsen intends on robbing the train with the help of a helicopter!Not sure how long this strip ran for or if Kid Pharaoh's curse was ever resolved!