McCann Plays The Odds In 'Lost Vegas'

Item Code: JAN130473

Casinos are everywhere these days, providing entertainment to millions of people around the world. And now with Jim McCann's upcoming comic, there is even one in outer space.

Lost Vegas is a four-issue miniseries from Image Comics in which Roland, a gambler-turned-slave, has 24 hours to go all in and pull off the greatest heist the universe has seen. Aboard this luxurious casino-filled traveling space-station you will find the highest stakes games from every corner of every planet, unheard-of winnings, and the greatest attractions anywhere!

PREVIEWSworld talked with McCann about his futuristic gambling adventure which hits stores in March!

PREVIEWSworld: Tell us more about the main character Roland and his precarious situation?

Jim McCann: Roland is a guy who is always in the moment or thinking three hands down the line at a gambling table.  As such, he never thinks about the past or consequences, so when it actually catches up to him, he finds that luck and charm won't get him out of the debts he owes.  He's into every casino and backroom game table across the galaxy far more than he can pay and no loan shark will touch him any more. For players like him, there's only one way to pay off your debt- by working it off in the most luxurious casino known to the universe: LOST VEGAS- a star cruiser that is a giant playground for wealthiest and highest rollers around.  

For a guy like Roland, see the elite of the gambling world playing the highest stakes games, where an entire planet's fortunes are made and lost in a single hand or roll of the dice, while he is forced to be sidelined, serving drinks and cleaning their toilets-- this is literally his hell.  What's worse is he knows odds and payouts; the system of "working off debt" is rigged in the houses' favor, like most things.  It'll never happen.  For him, there's only one option: after years of planning, the time has come to pull off the biggest con attempted aboard the LOST VEGAS- cheat the system, get enough money to get a ship, and escape the cruiser with a new life.  No one has ever succeeded, and the odds are stacked against him, just the way he likes it.

To me, Roland is like an untamed Han Solo, a brash Danny Ocean, and Paul Newman's "Hustler" character all rolled into one.

PREVIEWSworld: What other interesting characters can we look forward to seeing?

Jim McCann: There are many different characters and races, which makes working on a book like this so fun.  I've always loved sci-fi and Vegas itself is filled with, shall we say, "interesting" people, and to mix these up, shake, and pour is huge fun.  We have everything from a sentient blob of ink to a ten-foot stag to a race lurking in the shadows and many MANY more, as you'll see in Janet's art.  And our main female lead, Kaylex.  There's not much we can say about her because she is such a mystery to everyone on LOST VEGAS.

PREVIEWSworld: Does this casino have the traditional games like blackjack, craps and roulette or something completely different?

Jim McCann: It will have traditional games as well as some made-up, far out games, and some ancient culture games.  I tried to keep the majority of the action grounded in familiarity for the reader, though.  The further outside of regular touchstones a reader has, the less invested they become, in setting, characters, and situations.  They need things to relate to in order to know who and what they are rooting for.

PREVIEWSworld: Talk about working again with artist Janet Lee?

Jim McCann: How long can this interview go? Haha!  The easiest way to describe it is like coming home.  This is not a knock against any of the artists I have worked with and am continuing to work with- they are all amazing.  There's just something about Janet and I that is different.  Maybe it's because we've known each other for years and literally watched our careers grow from the ground up, often together.  Or that we used to live in the same neighborhood in Nashville, TN. It just feels like there's a bond, a connection there.  We don't even have traditional scripting process-- it's mainly getting on the phone or visiting each other, bouncing ideas, then talking through an issue, then I'll talk her through how I picture 5-6 pages at a time will look and as I see the layouts, the dialogue locks in and I'm writing a final script AS she is drawing.  Very organic.

PREVIEWSworld: Finally, describe what's it like doing another creator-owned title for Image Comics?

Jim McCann: It's fantastic.  I couldn't be happier and I'm so glad to be working with Janet on something over here too.  Image has been incredibly supportive, they take risks, they help answer questions and bring amazing opportunities, and most importantly they TRULY mean it when they say "creator-owned."