Although he’s a longtime Las Vegas resident, award-winning comic book creator Jae Lee had never drawn a Vegas-set series until launching Seven Sons from Image Comics in 2022. Over the past 30-plus years, Lee has worked on iconic Marvel and DC superheroes, drawing issues of series such as Batman/Superman, Captain America, and Fantastic Four.
Written by Robert Windom and Kelvin Mao, Seven Sons is not only Lee’s first Vegas-based work, but also his first creator-owned series since the acclaimed Hellshock in the 1990s. Like Hellshock, the new, seven-issue series is a mix of science fiction and metaphysics, set in a world that has been transformed by the miraculous birth of seven children believed to be the sons of God.
Led by a self-styled prophet named Nicolaus Balaak, the seven young men turn Las Vegas into a spiritual haven, renamed New Canaan, in which the glittering lights of hotel-casinos are repurposed to celebrate supposed spiritual saviors. Of course, Nicolaus’ motives are not entirely pure, and the seven men may not be as divinely ordained as they appear.
Lee draws Vegas with the eye of someone who knows every corner of the town, shifting familiar landmarks into new forms that represent the city’s transformation into a religious stronghold. Rather than tone down Vegas’ glamour, Nicolaus and the seven sons embrace it as a way to glorify their alleged gifts to humanity.
Following March’s release of the Seven Sons collected edition, Lee keeps his Vegas streak going with the new three-issue Image series This Ends Tonight, co-written by Windom, Mao, and Gerry Duggan. Each issue features “a story of violence and mayhem set in Las Vegas,” publicity materials promise, beginning with two sisters battling adversaries across town. From spirituality to street crime, Lee has embraced Vegas in his comics work, bringing the dark beauty and graceful energy of his previous high-profile efforts to the city he calls home.
Seven Sons TP
by Robert Windom and Kelvin Mao
232 pages, $19.99
Image Comics