The Six of Swords shows Lev Abramov, Sam's father from my Tapas graphic novel, "Sam in New York," rowing his wife Raisa and young Sam towards nearby land.
Raisa's head is covered, suggesting loss and sadness as she moves away from her past and old country. This is a nod to how she and Lev immigrated to America and left everything in the Old World behind them. Canonically, Sam was born after they went to the U.S., but as a young child, he often recalls his parents talking about Odessa and what they've lost (and gained) since leaving Russia.
The water on the right side is turbulent (a nod to the political atmosphere of the late 19th century, especially the pogroms and the burgeoning anti-Tsarist movements), but the water ahead of them is calm, suggesting that they're leaving for a better environment (the Lower East Side of New York City, where Sam grows up).
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