Lone & Level Sands' mpMann: Q&A

Posted: Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Posted By: Tim O'Shea

The Lone and Level Sands, slated for an April 2005 release from writer A. David Lewis & illustrator mpMann, is best described by the creators themselves: “For the first time, the historical tale of Egypt is told through the eyes of either its greatest leader or worst villain. From the critically acclaimed team of Lewis & Mann, nothing is sacred as Ozymandias is left to stand alone!” SBC recently caught up with Mann for a quick Q&A. But first a smidge of background: “Mann began his comics career in 1989 inking The Trouble With Girls for Malibu Graphics, then going on to illustrate Ape City, Flesh Gordon, and the hilarious Girls spin-off Lizard Lady. Returning to comics in 2002, he utilized 3dsmax animation and modeling software for Mark Stephen Meadows' book Pause and Effect: The Art of Interactive Narrative. His most recent projects leading up to The Lone and Level Sands include The Girly Comic, work with Saucy Goose Press, and Girlamatic.com’s Arcana Jayne by Lisa Renee Jonte.” My thanks to Mann for his time.

Tim O’Shea: How much research did you in preparation for this graphic novel, or did Dave provide a lot of background at the outset of the project?

mpMann: Dave provided some of his source material, Ozymandias, Exodus etc. as well as photos from his visit to the British Museum. But, as you might expect, I was not unfamiliar with the story. I went to Sunday School. I saw The Ten Commandments and Prince of Egypt. I also picked up a thick volume of reference photos.

But as the book progressed it became less a matter of reference and more a matter of staying within what I had already established for earlier pages, whether that was accurate or not. Internal coherence trumps slavish devotion to reality.

O’Shea: What attracted you to the project more--the writer or the subject matter?

Mann: Certainly, it was a little of both. I knew (of) Dave from his comments at Tartsville and had seen his books. I was impressed by his evident intelligence and energy. And I'm always awed by people who can make their comics a reality.

But this project in particular had appeal for me. I liked the exotic romanticism of the setting, and after all, it's not so far removed from a Sword and Sorcery epic. Plus Dave's reversed take on the story, seeing it from Pharaoh's eyes, is intriguing.

What I saw (and I'm not sure if Dave immediately conceived of it in those terms) is that God functions as the villain of the piece. God manipulates Pharaoh and is rather brutal in His treatment of the Egyptians. I like characters that have ambiguous motivations and contain contradictions. The God of Moses, like other ancient gods, were so often portrayed as full of jealously and spite.

O’Shea: In terms of the collaborative effort, how quickly did you two click and how did the collaboration improve/change over time?

Mann: Pretty much right off. We batted the idea around a bit. I was still thinking of a short story and pushing my view (outlined above) which Dave seemed to find simpatico and illuminating of his viewpoint. He did some research and began to realize that what he wanted to do with it would require a good deal more work.

Over the course of the project, things stayed on a very even keel. Courtesy and civility carried the day. I had to take some time away to work on other projects, and Dave was very patient. When he got a little blocked for dialogue, we switched to Marvel-style and I drew from his outline and he scripted after.

In revision, we would look at each others work, comment and then allow the other to do his part as seemed best to him.

O’Shea: How much did working on a book like Pause and Effect, the Art of Interactive Narrative change your storytelling approach, if at all?

Mann: Pause and Effect was what got me interested in returning to comics after a decade's absence. It was a very experimental work, intensely collaborative. There was a little more head butting involved but we never lost respect or courtesy and Mark and I have taken on several other non-comics projects since then.

In terms of approach, it really got me thinking in terms of how to compress storytelling, because that little strip (240 pages, over 1200 images) was silent and conceived of in a way that is more movie-like. Very decompressed.

I'm not sure that my thinking on this is fully expressed in The Lone and Level Sands or Arcana Jayne since I was following the writer's lead. My response to P&E is probably best contained in my mini-comic "Juliette Loves To ****" which uses captions to move the story along and weaves between dialogue and narration.

In LaLS this comes through with the multiple voices used to narrate and the changes in font selection. There are some inconsistencies and ambiguities that creep in. In part, this is how I incorporate Egyptian a wall art into the book. Looking at photos, I was struck by how informal the Egyptians could be. I tend to think of ancient Egyptian art as strict and squared off, but it was clear that they walls were painted at different times by different artists with different techniques and responding to the space left available to them by the previous artist. Kind of like a comics jam! So sometimes I squeezed things in here or there or shifted fonts sizes, or let the drawing style evolve.

O’Shea: Upon reflection, what were some of the more challenging or rewarding scenes to portray?

Mann: They were the same scenes. I would approach the marketplace scenes with some trepidation, but they wound up being the most satisfying. Ramses and his men fighting the crowds. Also, Ramses speaking to his wife to open Canto 3 turned out well in my opinion.

O’Shea: What's the major selling point to the consumer, from your (albeit biased) perspective?

Mann: An outstanding, intelligent story full of nuance and complexity. Dave has a growing reputation and it's well deserved. Price point should be good, too.

O’Shea: Could you see yourself collaborating with Dave on other graphic novels with type of unique subject matter?

Mann: Never say never. But most of the work I've done over these past two years has been with other writers and I'm itching to do some more writing myself. I have written some mini-comics and some short erotic pieces for Smut Peddler. I'm mulling over a story I'd like to start in on soon. I'm also in conversation with another writer about a possible project. Never say never. Could very well be another project out there for Dave and me someday.

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