BLADE RUNNER BLACK LOTUS: LAS VEGAS #1 – New Comic Review

Blade Runner Black Lotus: Las Vegas #1, by Titan Comics on 9/17/25, opens with Elle wandering the desert in search of survival, only to be hunted once again by those who created her. Meanwhile, Niander Wallace Jr. sharpens his obsession, assembling a lethal squad to drag her back into the shadows.

Credits:

• Writer: Nancy A. Collins
• Artist: Jesus Hervas
• Colorist: Marco Lesko
• Letterer: Jim Campbell
• Cover Artist: Kael Ngu (cover A)
• Publisher: Titan Comics
• Release Date: September 17, 2025
• Comic Rating: Teen
• Cover Price: $4.99
• Page Count: 36
• Format: Single Issue

Covers:

Analysis of BLADE RUNNER BLACK LOTUS: LAS VEGAS #1:

First Impressions:

This issue wastes no time pulling readers back into Elle’s nightmare, drenched in paranoia and radiation-soaked sands. The clash of corporate obsession and survivalist grit is as harsh as the desert itself. It’s a grim, sharp-edged reentry into a story that refuses to soften its blows.

Recap:

Elle awoke in a desert compound where she and others were hunted for sport, but only she escaped. She later learned she was a Replicant prototype codenamed Black Lotus, designed by Niander Wallace Jr. to be his secret assassin in a bid to overthrow his father. After blinding Niander in combat, watching her sister White Lotus and Wallace Sr. die, Elle fled into the desert in search of freedom. She briefly found refuge with an environmental commune, but when it was threatened by a nearby fracking plant, she destroyed it to save her new home. This exposed her survival, and Niander, obsessed with recapturing his creation, sent hunters after her.

Plot Analysis:

The issue begins with Niander Wallace Jr., blind but unrelenting, assembling his so-called “Doll Squad.” With the help of his assistant Ms. Tyler and operative Menzes, he recruits mercenaries, ex-soldiers, and a once-crippled Blade Runner named Davis, offering her mobility and a chance at escape to the Off-World colonies in exchange for joining the hunt.

While Wallace’s forces mobilize, Elle drifts deeper into the Mojave wasteland, desperate for food. She hijacks a convoy targeted by desert raiders known as the Brekkermen, stumbling into the ruins of Death Valley Spa—the very site of her earliest memories of terror and defiance. Haunted by echoes of her manufactured past, she edges closer to uncovering the truth of her origins.

The Doll Squad solidifies, brimming with rivalries and suspicion. Davis joins Kozlov, the embittered ex-security head whose cousin Elle killed, along with the hardened Kate Marlowe, sister of a Blade Runner slain by Elle. With tensions high, Wallace’s squad learns Elle is still alive, pushing them toward Vegas as their hunting ground.

Meanwhile, Elle presses on until she encounters the long-dead carcass of Las Vegas itself. The ruined city rises like a monument to hubris, its neon grandeur buried under radiation and sand. Drawn to its heart like a moth to flame, Elle stumbles upon something—or someone—waiting in the ruins, promising that she has finally reached “Paradise.”

Story

Nancy A. Collins crafts the script with a pulsing cynicism, weaving Wallace’s corporate cruelty with Elle’s fight for autonomy. Dialogue cuts sharp, carrying the menace of power brokers and the desperation of survivors. The pacing balances tense boardroom maneuvering with raw, violent survival, keeping the tension unbroken.

Art

Jesús Hervás’s linework thrives in grit and shadow, painting the desert wasteland as both vast and suffocating. The Doll Squad scenes bristle with personality, each character’s stance and expression underlining their hidden grudges. Marco Lesko’s colors shift seamlessly from sterile corporate interiors to the radioactive glow of the desert, layering mood into every panel.

Characters

Elle remains the fractured heart of the story, her survival instinct clashing with the ghost of her imposed purpose. Niander Wallace Jr. stands as an obsessive tyrant, his blindness only deepening his cruelty. The Doll Squad offers a volatile mix of motives: Davis’s reluctant hope, Kozlov’s thirst for revenge, and Marlowe’s familial rage, setting up inevitable betrayals and brutal confrontations.

Positives

The issue excels in its juxtaposition of corporate machinations and wasteland survival, making Elle’s plight both intimate and epic. The Doll Squad’s recruitment scenes are tight and dripping with tension, each new character introduced with just enough history to spark intrigue. The art amplifies the writing, with ruins and wastelands rendered as haunting, almost mythic landscapes.

Negatives

At times the dialogue leans heavy on exposition, especially when Wallace and his aides spell out their plans like mission briefings. The story risks suffocating under setup, as Elle’s wanderings and Wallace’s plotting run parallel without immediate collision. Some panels feel overcrowded with text, reducing the impact of otherwise powerful visuals.

Furthermore, the art could be sharper and more defined, especially in the wider shots. When the camera zooms out to a distance, characters appear as misshapen blogs.

Art Samples:

Final Thoughts:

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BLADE RUNNER BLACK LOTUS: LAS VEGAS #1 kicks off its run with sand in your teeth and paranoia in your veins. It’s all setup, but setup laced with knives, grudges, and radioactive neon. The Doll Squad is primed to explode, Elle is a fugitive moth circling the Vegas flame, and Wallace sits smug at the center like a spider in the dark. If this opening is the hand we’ve been dealt, the game promises to get very bloody, very fast.

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