3 out of 5

I’ve not read much Gischler.  In fact, the only other comic thing of his I’ve read to completion has been Order of the Forge, which was also drawn by Tazio Bettin.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, some of the same pluses and minuses of that series apply, though because Sally isn’t the work-for-hire Forge seemed to be, the story and characters feel a bit more expansive and the series is a ton more fun because of it.  But we’re still firmly rooted in B-movie territory (and perhaps moreso BBB – bullets, bombs and babes), and Gischler and Bettin just revel in it.

It’s something something post apocalypse; technology no longer exists, and radiation has rendered much of the world into deadzones filled with mutants.  Thankfully there are still places to hang out, like the bar Bottom Feeders, where Sally works as a janitor with her shotgun, Bertha, and her mop, Mop, and her lust for local aloof cutie-pie Tommy.  And then one day, in staggers Kat, bloodied and bruised and bearing a story of some magical tech located out in them wastelands and won’t you help me track it down?  Tommy says yes; Sally rolls her eyes, grabs Bertha and follows.

Sally is a hoot to start out.  Gischler and Bettin are going for cheesecake but they interestingly list toward an interestingly respectful casting of the genre, with Sally and the ladies constantly having opportunities to get nude and sexed up but always covered by scenery or scripting decency, and though our lead is certainly a sex-positive lady, with her affections leashed to the innocent Tommy, she’s not flirting up a storm with anything that moves.  Even when some rapey pirates show up, their first choice is Tommy as well…  When our creators finally relent to give us some nudity, it comes in a very clinical setting.  Yes, Sally’s firmly busty, narrow-waisted, and trims that pubic hair, so you could still call it a relative horny-boy satisfying money shot, but I do think there was a purposeful attempt to play with the genre expectations here, and it’s done in a smoothly subversive fashion that doesn’t have to cause confused boners if’n the onlookers don’t care to read between the lines.  Fluff visuals aside, Bettin’s characters are wonderfully expressive and colorful and balanced – Sam this ship captain is a slob, and looks like Ron Pearlman, but he’s still given some humanity; the muscular Alabamian Amazons (” ‘Bamazons”) are ripped and austere, but still feminine and given individual personalities; and Sally plays the dumb chick wildcard with her sudden slips into violence, but we’re also capable of fully believing in her coherence and take charge moments.  The script supports all of this, of course, but it wouldn’t work without proper artistic representation.

The action sequences (of which there are plenty) and violence are also top-notch – Bettin belongs to that skilled class of artist who knows when to layer his panels and when a simple color splash background will do; when to use unique paneling and when a simple grid is appropriate.

…But…

The same main issue that took over Forge is present here as well: both Gischler and Bettin seem to get bored about halfway through the series.  Wasteland has more room for plotting, and we can see the basic outline of pulpy-B-monster-per-issue setup, but starting about the third issue, characters seem to drop in and out without much explanation (and it’s too inconsistent to feel like this is a winky B-movie homage) and the final issue is a senseless, slapdash conclusion that sucks the fun out of what came before – not because of its sudden seriousness, exactly, but because it doesn’t feel like the right payoff to our run and gun adventure.  Bettin’s art begins to develop a similar rushed feeling; although to be fair, just as the flair was in support of the story, the lack of it might be a consequence of the same.

Sally is a great character, and the Wasteland a great setting.  If Gischler didn’t seem overcome by the desire to hastily start wrapping things up at about the midpoint of his series, the humor and sneaky intelligence of his script – and Bettin’s wonderfully motion- and personality-filled art – could easily have become a mini-B-comic masterpiece.  But, alas, it does take that hard turn and then keeps piling frustrating missteps atop it that stifle the sense of fun and adventure that was initially established.  The story ends with a question mark and the trade is billed as “her very first adventure,” so it’d be good if we get to see Sally have another go at this thing.