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Lone and Level Sands
Hardcover color edition; $17.95, 152 pp.
Review posted: 24 Feb 2006
Writer: A. David Lewis
Artist: mpMann
Colors: Jennifer Rodgers
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press
4.80 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by J. W. DeBolt Jr.
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The Lone and Level Sands relates the biblical Exodus from a fresh perspective — the Egyptian royal family’s point of view. The book is separated into “cantos” — a device typically used in lengthy poems. This story is a prose poem in a way, as Exodus is. (And justice of sorts arrives at the end — poetic or otherwise.) The Eye of Horus symbol separates the Cantos. The Eye represents safety, and is supposed to grant intelligence, vigor and richness; this will be quite ironic for the Egyptians within.
The major conflict in the story is how Pharaoh Ramses, third ruler of the New Kingdom, chooses to deal with the Apiru — Israel. Moses, raised in the royal family, had killed a slave master and run off. Pharaoh Seti, the father of Ramses, dealt leniently with the Apiru, because of Moses, despite the wishes of his chief vizier, Ta. Ta probably blamed Seti for being soft on the Apiru and he doesn’t want Ramses to continue the same policies. Moses and Aaron come and demand the Apiru’s release, but God starts to speak through the people around Ramses advising him against release. This happens repeatedly; even chief vizier Ta becomes possessed. Ramses is the only one who experiences the possessed speech — each speaker does not know what he or she is saying.
Metaphorically, perhaps, Ramses’ own superego guides his selective hearing. He is, perhaps, trying to atone for his father’s leniency and establish a strong legacy. I think he wants to do what he believes his father really wanted to do but couldn’t. Though a real person from the generation that raised him, Ta seems to represent his superego. Nevertheless, Ta hardly needs possession, being the conscience of Egypt, when he urges Ramses to continue his harsh policy toward the Apiru.
As the story is told from the viewpoint of Ramses, the further motivations of Moses and Yahweh — beyond the obvious — are hard for Ramses to fathom. His belief in destiny keeps him going forward virtually automatically. Whenever Ramses begins to give in to Moses’ demands, someone, usually possessed, comes along and advises him against it. Though away for some time, Moses has royal family experience and can possibly predict how it may act. Perhaps he is behind the repeated hardness of Ramses’ heart because he knows Ramses may give in too soon to really prove God’s greatness and power.
The divine demonstrations are supposed to show that Yahweh is a superior God to Amon-Ra. Simply letting the Apiru go does not provide a remembrance of Yahweh’s power. Thus, Yahweh Himself is responsible for the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, though Ramses never seems to reckon that. When his wife Nefertari has a prophetic vision of a woman warning of destruction, we see that Ramses is thoroughly resigned to fate.
“If civilization has but one name, Axos, it is Avaris,” says a traveling merchant to his companion. I love the pun, intended or not. Avaris is the capital and largest city in Egypt; it is where Pharaoh lives and where all who want to get rich must come. The Egyptian rulers think removing Apiru slave labor will negatively affect the economy of Avaris and Egypt. Thus, Ramses doesn’t want the women and children to leave after he allows the release the Hebrew men. The men, of course, cannot settle for that arrangement.
The Tetragrammaton is pronounced “Yahweh”, but according to Hebrew law it should never be uttered aloud. Aaron and Moses do so in the story; I don’t know if it’s because they are so powerful that they can utter it without fear of penalty, or if that’s just the way the Egyptian storyteller remembers it. Perhaps it is simply a loose translation from the Egyptian made clear for our benefit. El Shaddai, “God Almighty,” is used a few times, and that is the more common way of speaking aloud of God. Somewhat down the supernatural ladder rungs, I wonder why we saw no cats represented in the story. Cats were a part of everyday life during the New Kingdom and respected for their mystical qualities. Yet in this case, they provided no help from within. Their appearance may have just emphasized Amon-Ra’s impotence.
The story fairly well illustrates the content of the Shelley sonnet “Ozymandias” — written, actually, about Ramses — which birthed the book’s well-chosen title. It immediately conveys the Pharaoh’s isolation from God coupled with the image of royalty and slaves being equal, like grains of sand, in God’s view.
The plagues are symbols that the author uses to make this story deeper than it appears: Water symbolizes God’s word. Blood validates God’s authority. The Apiru bondage in Egypt symbolizes Egypt’s (and mankind’s) bondage to sin; the Apiru exodus represents the return of humanity to God in Heaven. Thus in that view Pharaoh can do nothing, because mankind will always be sinful while true believers will always have a path to Heaven.
Moses himself emphasizes the symbolism, saying, “When is a frog not a frog?” Frogs represent false prophets and doctrines. Coming from the river and the source of life, they might also represent Egypt turning inward and consuming itself without the fresh nourishment of God’s word. It starves on false Gospel.
The gnats encroached on the clean living the Egyptians tried to maintain. They may have come from the rotting frog bodies, making them a bonus plague. The locusts also symbolize false prophets and man losing his humanity. Ramses refers to “Moses and his swarm,” perhaps trying to depict them as the false prophets. The demonstrations continue until Pharaoh’s Chief Priest Bekenkhonsu reports that his own priests start calling Yahweh the Universal Lord.
While Egypt deteriorated during the Apiru situation, it received no help from its allies, though the Hittites had a mutual defense treaty with Egypt. They had reminded Ramses’ court about this when the Amorites and Jebusites threatened their borders. Nevertheless, the Hittites did not appear when Egypt’s army fell. Perhaps since the army didn’t fall in direct battle, really, the treaty terms were not invoked. Perhaps the treaty doesn’t cover acts of God. Or perhaps Ramses preferred not to advertise the loss of his army when adversaries and shifting alliances abounded.
After the climactic pursuit scene, the story’s end leaves one feeling Pharaoh’s emptiness. He has no answers for what befell him and his land. The denouement explains how he carried on. Perhaps in return for being used by God to show His preeminence throughout the ages, He allowed Ramses to continue on, none the wiser spiritually, but free of destiny’s burden.
Graphics and art
At the printer where I work at the moment, the folks oohed and ahhed over this book’s production value. Its clear, crisp design is easy on the eyes and the art firmly supports the story. The images resonate with ancient Egypt and Jennifer Rodgers’ colors invoke the Egyptian desert and sandstone buildings. On page five, one panel looks like an Egyptian frieze that evokes the title “Subjects meet their deity.” Mann draws the Hittites, in their big scene, mostly at right angles, harkening to the illustration style of that day and giving the scene an historic effect. The art throughout the book reflects that of ancient Egypt, with clear lines, flat colors, and simple shapes.
Not all the characters are easily distinguishable; Egyptians all have shaved heads, according to their custom, of course — this helped with hygiene and had other benefits such as preventing military opponents from grabbing their hair in battle. But Rodgers’ colors do help sort the characters by giving a unique shade to each in most scenes. One can also note that the adult Ramses has a beard and Moses usually wears a hood that distinguishes him from his brother Aaron.
Throughout the story, some dialogue is presented above and below the relevant panels, serving to keep the artwork clear and keep the lettering large enough to read easily. Narrative lettering is refreshingly written in both upper and lower case. When the plague of darkness comes, the panels become all black, with only narration and dialogue printed within. This is a good effect.
About the creators: A. David Lewis edited the excellent Silent Devil miniseries Dracula vs. King Arthur; the last issue is imminent. He lectures for the English Department of Northwestern University. Marvin Perry Mann inked Ape City for Adventure Comics. Jennifer Rodgers has done work for Sky-Dog Comics and Osborne Comics. At the Baltimore ComicCon in 2005, Jennifer pointed me toward the Archaia Studios Press table across the aisle from hers, where I met Mark Smylie and discovered his creation Artesia. (Thanks, Jennifer!)
This volume is presented as a high quality hardback with dust jacket. The story within is what is important, though. Fortunately, it is of high quality as well, as is the case with everything from Archaia Studios Press thus far.
The reviewer wishes to acknowledge the talented input of Sid Quinn and Jim Gladden on this piece. Thank you!
—CCdC—
Cover image supplied by publisher.
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