THE DESERT PROPHET

by Camilla Stark ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Stark’s graphic novel depicts a group of eerie skeletal figures debating how best to approach the end of the world.

“I am the desert prophet. I speak for the desert God,” declares a ghostly skeleton with a staff and wide-brimmed hat. The Prophet then introduces readers to the black-and-white wasteland they inhabit, where the climate has turned, everything has become desert, and “men’s hearts have failed them.” Frustrated because the population did not heed their previous warnings, the Prophet has abandoned preaching, but the booming voice of the Desert God calls them to the mountain. As the Prophet slowly advances across the desert, they encounter several mystical skeletons similar to themself: the Accountant, the Soldier, the Priest, the Doctor, a Second Prophet, the Coyote King, the Beast, the Priestess, and finally the Desert God themself. In the course of each brief encounter, the Prophet gets a glimpse of different philosophies and attitudes about the world and about being a servant of the Desert God. Indifference can be felt in the cold calculations of the Accountant, who passes his time marking fallen stars (“Though we are not accountable for the actions of others, we do need to account for them,” he explains), and the chilling Doctor, who has stopped healing people. (Instead, he guards over a graveyard of those he has convinced to give up on life and choose eternal “sleep.”) Other, less passive figures have chosen to seize on the opportunity of the Prophet’s resignation. The Priest is intent upon amassing power for themself at any cost, while the Second Prophet wanders the wasteland with a shocking vision to show people (this image by Laz is one of the book’s most fascinating and a departure from its black-and-white palette) without knowing if it makes any difference. Others, like the Priestess, have clearly become discouraged. After a harrowing encounter with the doglike Beast devouring all in its path, the Prophet finally comes face to face with the Desert God and a new understanding of the desert’s ghostly figures—as well as the role they must play, even when the outlook seems so grim.

Stark is clearly referencing issues related to climate change from the first panels of her story: Images of industrial plants and oil derricks appear next to explanations of how the world became this wasteland. But the imagery of skeletons, plague doctors, and animal skulls speaks to a more general sense of impending doom. Within this disturbing iconography, the author/illustrator still manages to have quite a lot of fun. There is an exaggerated and cartoonish energy to every page; when the Prophet hears the voice of the Desert God, for example, their eyes light up with literal flames, calling to mind Bugs Bunny more than harbingers of despair. The Second Prophet is an example of Stark’s weirdest and most memorable work in the book, with red and purple pentagram eyes that feel at once like a scary Halloween costume and a Southwestern jewelry fair. Each encounter is so brief that readers may feel some of the author’s ruminations on indifference versus action within a despairing world are underdeveloped, but there is no denying that Stark’s artwork consistently combines surprising influences to inspire readers’ visual imaginations, at the very least.

An otherworldly graphic novel with slim philosophy but tremendous, unusual, and surprisingly invigorating visuals.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 120

Publisher: Self

Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2025

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY