Seven Sons #1

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Ahhh, don’t get me started. I could talk about Jae Lee all day. He started out with a lot of Sienkiewicz before becoming something completely different. Of course, The Sink knows a thing or two about starting off with a strong understanding of another artist’s style before branching out. There’s no mistaking Lee’s work for anyone else now; truly breathtaking. In Seven Sons, Delph—a young man who may be the Second Coming of Christ—runs for his life as he attempts to learn the truth behind his existence. It's the second coming – and it would have been a lot more special if plans had gone right. But when a generation ago each continent had a virgin birth – of a needlessly pale-skinned hermaphroditic kind of kid each time – it woke the Islamists up, and they've killed a few of them off. Seven sons are now down to one – or rather one and the whole guru and entourage and media profile and million-seat stadium where Las Vegas used to be that comes with the job of getting godlike.

The issue starts us on Jesi day, predicted to be the day that the Second Son of God will be revealed, the likely candidate is the last living child of the seven named Pergi, who has been groomed to be the natural choice to be revealed as the one true son of God. But of course things are not that simple because at the same time down in the poorest streets a young man wakes, and stumbles into the light. The deliberate contrast between the media fueled glitz and opulent lives of the prophets versus the idea of this beggar-like young man stumbling lost through the streets where he is reliant on the kindness of strangers is excellent. Ultimately the issue ends at a point where the young man is revealed to be one of the reincarnated sons. Nutshell elevator pitch for Seven Sons is a pretty decent hook: there’s a Second Coming afoot, built on a magic prophecy written in the birth of seven identical children to different mothers across the planet on July 7th, 1977. If it seems too good to be true, you shouldn’t be surprised to hear the whole thing was a scam concocted by mad science. Problems compound when an actual resurrection occurs in the midst of all the vigorous fakery. Cue hijinks. Did this story begin life as a screenplay? One could, if feeling ungenerous, perhaps discern the outline of a cinematic treatment that could have resulted in something vaguely reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code - what with the vast religious conspiracy at the heart of a mystery film with a handful of action set pieces. To its, credit the book is a bit more cynical about religion than much of mass media tends to be now, even if it does end on with advent of an actual Second Coming to supersede the venality of the ersatz Messiah. Possibly also scientifically motivated? The ending is ambiguous. In Seven Sons, Delph—a young man who may be the Second Coming of Christ—runs for his life as he attempts to learn the truth behind his existence. Seven Sons #1 Bob collected records at the time and worked in a record store on Stevens Creek Blvd. in San Jose. The story is he started hanging around the store a bit, shooting the shit with Frank, since they both had lots of time on their hands. Frank proceeded to brag to Bob what a sweet deal it was to have a comic shop — remember this is circa 1968-69. No price guide, so comics (and pulps) would come in the door and people were thrilled to sell them for five cents, ten cents, a quarter each at the most. Comics still only sold for .12 each new, .rising to .15 cents in 1969. Annuals cost 25 cents.

The apocalyptic world of Seven Sons #1 begins in an alternate timeline where Las Vegas is now New Canaan, and the Second Coming is a bigger PPV event in 1998 than any boxing match could ever be. It’s an event as American as can be, complete with authors that “predicted” everything, blonde hosts, and a military flyover. And of course, healing for a limited time only. And the funny thing was, our first store pretty directly led to San Jose boasting three stores just 15 months later. As Jim Buser details below, the five partners sold out their shares in the first store to the sixth (and oldest) partner, Frank Scadina. We didn’t really have a seventh, Seven Sons just sounded better than Six Sons. The other partners were John Barrett, Jim Buser, Tom Tallmon, Mike (Michelle) Nolan and Bud Plant. We were friends with Bob and Frank both and also hung out in both stores, swapping comics, playing cards, swapping news and comics lore. The story goes that Bob said, “If this bozo can do this (Frank was not the brightest guy around, sadly), I can do it and maybe better.”

Over the decades, Lee’s line has evolved into something far more delicate. The closest comparison I can find is in Lee’s precise contemporary Paul Pope. There’s a similar purposeful tentativeness in their lines, something that recalls a more mature iteration of Tony Salmons’ diaphanous mid '80s style. Very rare to find any manner of solid bold line in a Jae Lee comic book. Reading this in trade is definitely a more rewarding experience, though still not without some issues. Jae Lee hasn't missed a beat - his dynamic panel layouts and sharp, angular lines remain ever present in Seven Sons. That said, the colors aren't always doing his artwork favors, particularly when comparing the character designs of the titular seven sons who all looks alike despite the efforts made to change their character designs. The muddy color palette looks good at times, but other times the artwork is a challenge to decipher. But as sequential artwork goes, the storytelling is absolutely kinetic and the action sequences, which are aplenty, are easy enough to follow.From Seven Sons #4 (Sept. 2022). Jae Lee art colored by June Chung, lettered by Crank!, written by Robert Windom & Kelvin Mao. Seven Sons is the perfect series for fans of fast-paced plotting like The Fugitive paired with The Da Vinci Code’s Biblically high stakes.