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David: The Shepherd's Song #1
Created by Royden Lepp

Review by Matt Winslow

Stellar telling of the early story of David


Some stories are so timeless that they bear retelling as often as can be done. These stories are almost archetypal in their structure, evoking in the listener some form of longing for a time when such a story could be true. Such a story is the story of David ben Jesse, second king of Israel.

It was not too long ago that I could have stated that the story of King David is known by all, but unfortunately our culture's knowledge of the stories of its past is not what it used to be, so a quick summary might not be amiss. The nation of Israel, after 400 years of decentralized rule, asks for a king. The prophet Samuel anoints Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, according to God's command. Saul soon turns out to be far from the ideal king and Samuel, again following the Lord's command, finds the shepherd boy David. David is anointed as the next king of Israel and then spends the next few decades fleeing from Saul even though he has no intention of dethroning Saul, content to wait until Saul's passing to take over the throne. Upon Saul's death, David takes the throne and unites and expands the kingdom of Israel, preparing the nation for its glory days in the hands of his son Solomon.

Comic creator Royden Lepp is retelling the story of David in his new series, David: The Shepherd's Song. In the first issue, we meet the young David as he faces a lion that is threatening his sheep. While he's doing this, the prophet Samuel has approached Jesse, David's father, and asked him to gather all his sons for a sacrifice. Of course, all the older brothers are brought, but no one thinks of the inconsequential David, who's merely a shepherd and not a warrior or a person of any bother.

The story for this first issue is truly that simple, but Lepp's capable treatment makes it something that even those who are overly familiar with the story will find it gripping. To begin with, Lepp's art combines the best of manga's cartoonishness with an unfinished edge (on most pages, you can still see the pencil lines for laying out the frames). David is presented as almost a stick figure with a large head, whereas his brothers, father, and Samuel are all drawn more realistically, creating a wonderful contrast. The art is offset by a striking use of an almost exclusively grey and brown palette of colors, giving a Sepia-tone feel to the story.

The telling of the story is masterfully done. Lepp eschews the use of narrational transition boxes, shifting from storyline to storyline smoothly. The David-and-the-lion story is told without a single word or sound caption, yet Lepp still tells a very noisy story for all its silence. The panels featuring David's fight are spacious and broad, giving a scene of his loneliness. In contrast, the Samuel storyline is full of narration, giving the sense that Jesse and his sons are nowhere near as secure in their persons as David is. (This is further emphasized by Samuel speaking few words throughout the story.) In contrast to the spacious landscape of rural Israel, the town of Bethlehem feels crowded and one's sense of self is reduced.

As a way of introducing his title character, Lepp's method could not be much improved. He has taken an old familiar story and breathed new life into it, making it a story for our time while remaining faithful to the original story. And, most important to the telling of a story, he has made it enjoyable. I look forward to more issues of David: The Shepherd's Song.

Copyright 2005 ©Infuze Magazine


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