arrow_upward

Mike Maihack

Cleopatra in Space (Series): Target Practice | The Thief and The Sword | Secret of the Time Tablets | The Golden Lion | Fallen Empires | Queen of the Nile

YEAR: 2014

COUNTRY: United States of America

chat Submit error

Cateogry icon

Title of the work

Cleopatra in Space (Series): Target Practice | The Thief and The Sword | Secret of the Time Tablets | The Golden Lion | Fallen Empires | Queen of the Nile

Country of the First Edition

Country/countries of popularity

worldwide

Original Language

English

First Edition Date

2014

First Edition Details

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 1): Target Practice, Graphix, 2014, 176 pp. 

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 2): The Thief and The Sword, Graphix, 2015, 192 pp.

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 3): Secret of the Time Tablets, Graphix, 2016, 192 pp.

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 4): The Golden Lion, Graphix, 2017, 208 pp.

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 5): Fallen Empires, Graphix, 2018, 206 pp.

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 6): Queen of the Nile, New York: Graphix, 2020, 240 pp.

ISBN

Book 1: 0545528437; Book 2: 0545528453; Book 3: 0545838673; Book 4: 054583872X; Book 5: 1338204122; Book 6: 1338204165

Official Website

http://www.cowshell.com/cleopatra/ (accessed: August 9, 2021). 

Awards

2015 – Gold medal in the Florida Book Awards, a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Genre

Action and adventure comics
Comics (Graphic works)

Target Audience

Crossover

Cover

Missing cover

We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.


Author of the Entry:

Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl

Peer-reviewer of the Entry:

Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, olechowska@al.uw.edu.pl 

Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il 

Male portrait

Mike Maihack (Author)

Mike Maihack graduated from Columbus College of Art & Design. After completing his studies, Mike concentrated on writing a comic series about Cleopatra ("Cleopatra in Space"). His other publications include: Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman (DC Comics); Geeks, Girls and Secret Identities (Abrams/Scholastic); Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule (Game-O-Gami); Cow Boy (Archaia); Jim Henson's the Storyteller (Archaia); Parable (Lamp Post); Comic Book Tattoo (Image). Currently Maihack lives in Florida with his wife and two sons.


Source: 

The author's website (accessed: August 9, 2021). 



Bio prepared by Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl


Adaptations

"Cleopatra in Space" has been adapted as an animated television series by Dreamworks Animation and it began streaming on Peacock in July 2020; In January 2021, the third season was released.

Summary

Series of the comics "Cleopatra in Space" is being published since 2014. The series consists of 6 parts: Target Practice, The Thief and The Sword, Secret of the Time Tablets, The Golden Lion, Fallen Empires, and Queen of the Nile. This story is about a young princess Cleopatra who travels in time using magic tablets (Target Practice). She gets to the cosmic school where she meets new friends and realizes that her destiny is to become a saviour, who needs to defeat Xaius Octavian. From the beginning, she learns how to protect herself from Octavian when he attacks her. Cleo is also sent on a mission to check her abilities. It became a real mission not an exercise. She has to bring the sword of Khebehet. In the second part of the series (The Thief and The Sword) she finds out that the sword is a relic which will help her to defeat Octavian. Antony, a new character, steals it. When he brings it to Octavian he destroys the sword (later we find out that it was a fake) and the thief escapes to Hykosis. Cleo keeps on training in the Academy but she wants to come back home. Her friends discover that she travelled in time thanks to the magic tablets. They decide to help her and along with a teacher, Khensu, they go to Hykosis to find the second tablet. When they fly they get surrounded by Octavian's army. In the third part (Secret of The Time Tablets) friends get separated by Octavian. Cleo meets Antony when she keeps looking for a second tablet. When she finds out its whereabouts and reaches the place Octavian is already there with one of her friends and one of the teachers. Cleopatra realizes that she has to sacrifice herself to save her friends and the whole galaxy. She defeats Octavian and sends him to an unknown planet. Since then she wants to destroy evil at any costs. In the fourth part (The Golden Lion) Cleo  with her friends looks for a Golden Lion which is part of the prophecy too. Cleo goes on a lonely mission to a cold planet where she meets Antony who saves her life. They decide to look for the Golden Lion together as a team. They escape from Ophois sent by the evil leader and they reach a mysterious village where the climate is extremely warm. During the feast prepared by the inhabitants, Ophois finds Cleo and tries to kill her by destroying the whole village. Cleo defeats him and her friends join her in the village. Cleo and Antony get separated. Antony flies to Octavian to give him The Golden Lion which is a bomb. The dictator's ship explodes. In the fifth part (Fallen Empires) we find out that Cleo and Octavian know each other back from the ancient times and the dictator is upset with Cleopatra because she left her people to die alone. He wants to take revenge on her and the whole galaxy. Octavian has spies even in P.I.R.A.M.I.D. Cleo is charged with murder of one of the Council. She escapes with Akila to Hykosis and hides from the soldiers. Along with Brian and Akila they find a way to convince pharaoh Yosirah of their innocence. Soon after that, there is a battle between Cleo and Octavian. The Academy is destroyed. They escape in the last moment and fly away on the ship. In the final part of the series (Queen of the Nile), the last battle between the forces of good and evil begins. The survivors of the Academy are located on the planet Thonis. Antony also takes a souvenir from the orphanage - a book. After reading the inscription, Cleo, Brian and Antony move to the Duat where they are greeted by Thoth. As the god explains to them how the evil in the world has spread, Octavian reaches the planet Thonis. The fights begin. Suddenly, during the fights, Cleo returns, she kills her friend, thus making the curse of the sword of Kebechet affect her. Ultimately, Cleo fights evil and wins. She returns to her time, initially remembering nothing. Antony timetravels with her and reminds her of everything. They both fix the tablet as well and become able to visit friends from the future.

Analysis

In "Cleopatra in Space" series we notice a lot of ancient inspirations, both historical and pop-cultural. It gives the author a lot of freedom and chances to succeed. He adds many historical elements and mixes it with pop culture or more recent history (for example by adding a reference to the Wild West). Thanks to that the comic is very attractive for people of any age. An interesting twist shows Cleopatra as princess not a Queen. She gets bored with lessons (biology, languages, etc.) in both places – ancient times and future. She hates arithmetic. This presentation of the main character seems to have purpose. Reader of any age will see something special in her. Young reader will see a young person who doesn't like certain school activities just like him or her. An older reader who has a basic knowledge about Cleopatra will see references to the ancient texts which claimed that Cleopatra was well educated (see Plutarch's The Parallel Lives) so the older reader will see how her reception works and changes. Another example of this reception is a reference to the famous scenes related to the Queen. One of such stories is the attempt to enter the city of Hykosis. There was a guard at the gate who was checking the permissions to enter the city. Cleo with Akila hid themselves in the vehicle transporting carpets. This is an obvious allusion to the story of how queen Cleopatra, rolled in a carpet, tricked the guards and reached Caesar. Author again shows the situation and the character in a universal way so everyone could find something appealing in the story. On one hand, he teaches a young reader that you should never give up and that your ideas will help you to achieve your goals. On the other hand, the reader most likely will find an allusion to the legendary story about Caesar and Cleopatra and this kind of representation can be perceived as drawings of buildings inspired by ancient Egyptian architecture such as pyramid shaped objects. Egyptian gods are also mentioned, e.g., Thoth, who created tablets that allowed Cleopatra to time-travel or Ophois, a war deity worshipped in the Graeco-Roman times (especially in Upper Egypt, see The Golden Lion). And again creating this type of set up makes the whole story universal for readers of any age. Young readers can learn about architectural elements or about gods specific for culture of ancient Egypt. Older readers connect ancient way of presenting with new modern way created by the author. They can see how those presentations evolved and how they can function in the pop culture. There are also other motifs in the series like: references to pop-culture, a music band that looks like The Beatles, and named The Scarabs (see The Thief and The Sword); in the third part, Cleopatra wears a cowboy hat and enters a tavern where she starts a fight, in the style of a Western (see Secret of The Time Tablets); the village at which Cleopatra and Antonius arrive in part four looks very similar to a stereotypical presentation of a Hawaiian village or of primitive tribes (see The Golden Lion).


Further Reading

Evans, James Allan, Daily Life in the Hellenistic Age: From Alexander to Cleopatra, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2012, 196 pp.

Schiff, Stacy, Kleopatra, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo W.A.B, 2012, 358 pp.

Yellow cloud
Leaf pattern
Leaf pattern

Title of the work

Cleopatra in Space (Series): Target Practice | The Thief and The Sword | Secret of the Time Tablets | The Golden Lion | Fallen Empires | Queen of the Nile

Country of the First Edition

Country/countries of popularity

worldwide

Original Language

English

First Edition Date

2014

First Edition Details

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 1): Target Practice, Graphix, 2014, 176 pp. 

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 2): The Thief and The Sword, Graphix, 2015, 192 pp.

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 3): Secret of the Time Tablets, Graphix, 2016, 192 pp.

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 4): The Golden Lion, Graphix, 2017, 208 pp.

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 5): Fallen Empires, Graphix, 2018, 206 pp.

Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space (Book 6): Queen of the Nile, New York: Graphix, 2020, 240 pp.

ISBN

Book 1: 0545528437; Book 2: 0545528453; Book 3: 0545838673; Book 4: 054583872X; Book 5: 1338204122; Book 6: 1338204165

Official Website

http://www.cowshell.com/cleopatra/ (accessed: August 9, 2021). 

Awards

2015 – Gold medal in the Florida Book Awards, a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Genre

Action and adventure comics
Comics (Graphic works)

Target Audience

Crossover

Cover

Missing cover

We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.


Author of the Entry:

Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl

Peer-reviewer of the Entry:

Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, olechowska@al.uw.edu.pl 

Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il 

Male portrait

Mike Maihack (Author)

Mike Maihack graduated from Columbus College of Art & Design. After completing his studies, Mike concentrated on writing a comic series about Cleopatra ("Cleopatra in Space"). His other publications include: Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman (DC Comics); Geeks, Girls and Secret Identities (Abrams/Scholastic); Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule (Game-O-Gami); Cow Boy (Archaia); Jim Henson's the Storyteller (Archaia); Parable (Lamp Post); Comic Book Tattoo (Image). Currently Maihack lives in Florida with his wife and two sons.


Source: 

The author's website (accessed: August 9, 2021). 



Bio prepared by Agnieszka Maciejewska, University of Warsaw, agnieszka.maciejewska@student.uw.edu.pl


Adaptations

"Cleopatra in Space" has been adapted as an animated television series by Dreamworks Animation and it began streaming on Peacock in July 2020; In January 2021, the third season was released.

Summary

Series of the comics "Cleopatra in Space" is being published since 2014. The series consists of 6 parts: Target Practice, The Thief and The Sword, Secret of the Time Tablets, The Golden Lion, Fallen Empires, and Queen of the Nile. This story is about a young princess Cleopatra who travels in time using magic tablets (Target Practice). She gets to the cosmic school where she meets new friends and realizes that her destiny is to become a saviour, who needs to defeat Xaius Octavian. From the beginning, she learns how to protect herself from Octavian when he attacks her. Cleo is also sent on a mission to check her abilities. It became a real mission not an exercise. She has to bring the sword of Khebehet. In the second part of the series (The Thief and The Sword) she finds out that the sword is a relic which will help her to defeat Octavian. Antony, a new character, steals it. When he brings it to Octavian he destroys the sword (later we find out that it was a fake) and the thief escapes to Hykosis. Cleo keeps on training in the Academy but she wants to come back home. Her friends discover that she travelled in time thanks to the magic tablets. They decide to help her and along with a teacher, Khensu, they go to Hykosis to find the second tablet. When they fly they get surrounded by Octavian's army. In the third part (Secret of The Time Tablets) friends get separated by Octavian. Cleo meets Antony when she keeps looking for a second tablet. When she finds out its whereabouts and reaches the place Octavian is already there with one of her friends and one of the teachers. Cleopatra realizes that she has to sacrifice herself to save her friends and the whole galaxy. She defeats Octavian and sends him to an unknown planet. Since then she wants to destroy evil at any costs. In the fourth part (The Golden Lion) Cleo  with her friends looks for a Golden Lion which is part of the prophecy too. Cleo goes on a lonely mission to a cold planet where she meets Antony who saves her life. They decide to look for the Golden Lion together as a team. They escape from Ophois sent by the evil leader and they reach a mysterious village where the climate is extremely warm. During the feast prepared by the inhabitants, Ophois finds Cleo and tries to kill her by destroying the whole village. Cleo defeats him and her friends join her in the village. Cleo and Antony get separated. Antony flies to Octavian to give him The Golden Lion which is a bomb. The dictator's ship explodes. In the fifth part (Fallen Empires) we find out that Cleo and Octavian know each other back from the ancient times and the dictator is upset with Cleopatra because she left her people to die alone. He wants to take revenge on her and the whole galaxy. Octavian has spies even in P.I.R.A.M.I.D. Cleo is charged with murder of one of the Council. She escapes with Akila to Hykosis and hides from the soldiers. Along with Brian and Akila they find a way to convince pharaoh Yosirah of their innocence. Soon after that, there is a battle between Cleo and Octavian. The Academy is destroyed. They escape in the last moment and fly away on the ship. In the final part of the series (Queen of the Nile), the last battle between the forces of good and evil begins. The survivors of the Academy are located on the planet Thonis. Antony also takes a souvenir from the orphanage - a book. After reading the inscription, Cleo, Brian and Antony move to the Duat where they are greeted by Thoth. As the god explains to them how the evil in the world has spread, Octavian reaches the planet Thonis. The fights begin. Suddenly, during the fights, Cleo returns, she kills her friend, thus making the curse of the sword of Kebechet affect her. Ultimately, Cleo fights evil and wins. She returns to her time, initially remembering nothing. Antony timetravels with her and reminds her of everything. They both fix the tablet as well and become able to visit friends from the future.

Analysis

In "Cleopatra in Space" series we notice a lot of ancient inspirations, both historical and pop-cultural. It gives the author a lot of freedom and chances to succeed. He adds many historical elements and mixes it with pop culture or more recent history (for example by adding a reference to the Wild West). Thanks to that the comic is very attractive for people of any age. An interesting twist shows Cleopatra as princess not a Queen. She gets bored with lessons (biology, languages, etc.) in both places – ancient times and future. She hates arithmetic. This presentation of the main character seems to have purpose. Reader of any age will see something special in her. Young reader will see a young person who doesn't like certain school activities just like him or her. An older reader who has a basic knowledge about Cleopatra will see references to the ancient texts which claimed that Cleopatra was well educated (see Plutarch's The Parallel Lives) so the older reader will see how her reception works and changes. Another example of this reception is a reference to the famous scenes related to the Queen. One of such stories is the attempt to enter the city of Hykosis. There was a guard at the gate who was checking the permissions to enter the city. Cleo with Akila hid themselves in the vehicle transporting carpets. This is an obvious allusion to the story of how queen Cleopatra, rolled in a carpet, tricked the guards and reached Caesar. Author again shows the situation and the character in a universal way so everyone could find something appealing in the story. On one hand, he teaches a young reader that you should never give up and that your ideas will help you to achieve your goals. On the other hand, the reader most likely will find an allusion to the legendary story about Caesar and Cleopatra and this kind of representation can be perceived as drawings of buildings inspired by ancient Egyptian architecture such as pyramid shaped objects. Egyptian gods are also mentioned, e.g., Thoth, who created tablets that allowed Cleopatra to time-travel or Ophois, a war deity worshipped in the Graeco-Roman times (especially in Upper Egypt, see The Golden Lion). And again creating this type of set up makes the whole story universal for readers of any age. Young readers can learn about architectural elements or about gods specific for culture of ancient Egypt. Older readers connect ancient way of presenting with new modern way created by the author. They can see how those presentations evolved and how they can function in the pop culture. There are also other motifs in the series like: references to pop-culture, a music band that looks like The Beatles, and named The Scarabs (see The Thief and The Sword); in the third part, Cleopatra wears a cowboy hat and enters a tavern where she starts a fight, in the style of a Western (see Secret of The Time Tablets); the village at which Cleopatra and Antonius arrive in part four looks very similar to a stereotypical presentation of a Hawaiian village or of primitive tribes (see The Golden Lion).


Further Reading

Evans, James Allan, Daily Life in the Hellenistic Age: From Alexander to Cleopatra, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2012, 196 pp.

Schiff, Stacy, Kleopatra, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo W.A.B, 2012, 358 pp.

Yellow cloud