Behind the Scenes of "The Missing Mummy Mystery"

"The Missing Mummy Mystery" appears in SCOOBY-DOO #156 which can probably still be found at your favorite place to buy comics. I wrote this story. Scott Neely drew the art. Heroic Age colored it, and Travis Lanham provided the lettering. Harvey Richards was the editor.

A couple of posts back, I mentioned my fondness for old monster movies and how I liked reference them in various Scooby-Doo stories. "The Missing Mummy Mystery" is no exception. As you might have guessed, for this story, my inspiration came from "The Mummy" (1932).

This movie features Boris Karloff as a living mummy who believes that the woman he loved thousands of years ago has been reincarnated as a modern day woman. The most famous scene from the movie comes near the beginning when an archeologist played by Bramwell Fletcher translates an ancient scroll which brings the mummy to life. The mummy shuffles over to him, takes the scroll, and shuffles away leaving the poor archeologist cackling with insanity. When his fellow archeologists ask him what's wrong he points to the empty sarcophagus and declares "He went for a little walk" before cackling with madness once more.

That very scene (shown above) was what inspired the entire story of "The Missing Mummy Mystery" and the idea of a valuable mummy seemingly vanishing from a museum collection by simply walking out the door under his own power. I also included a similar scene in which the night security guard, David Manners, stumbles across the walking mummy.

I also named several characters after characters and actors from "The Mummy." First was David Manners, the night security guard. In the movie, David Manners played Frank Wemple, son of Sir Joseph Wemple. David Manners was also in the movie "Dracula" (1931). Here's David Manners in "The Mummy."

Below you can see David Manners as the night security guard, along with Sir Wemple the museum director as they appeared in the comic book.

I named the daytime security guard, Steve Banning, after a character from "The Mummy's Hand" (1940) which also featured a living mummy on the loose. Steve Banning was an adventurous archeologist played by Dick Foran. Here's what he looked like in the movie. (He's the one NOT wrapped in bandages).

Here he is as he appears in "The Missing Mummy Mystery."

Now you know the story behind the story "The Missing Mummy Mystery."