Comic Review – Sally of the Wasteland

Sally Of The Wasteland is a post-apocalyptic horror written by Victor Gischler and Illustrated by Tazio Bettin. It is published by Titan Comics and currently on it’s first issue. I received a preview the other morning and read it on my phone while pretending to work. The odd thing about it all was that I had recently began Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse by Gischler and was halfway through it when I was assigned Sally. The world wanted me to read this comic! Really just an odd coincidence, but funny (to me).

sally4The story is basically a post-apocalyptic journey through the mutated lands of a future Louisiana. It centers around a rough and sexy Sally, who totes a shotgun and is crushing on a boy from the local bar. A drifter tumbles into the bar one day, bloody and with a tale of treasures to any who will help her get south. Sally’s bo joins up and she follows. Then chaos.

sallyThe story is a short run with a fast pace. It came across very direct which I liked quite a bit. While there are plenty of stories out there that go the route of Faulkner or Dostoyevsky, filling their pages with layers of atmosphere and set-up, this was direct. While we can’t deny that Dostoyevsky is a genius (he invented the anti-hero for Pete-And-Pete’s sake), for a lot of people it takes time to get into the rhythms and flow of a story. I love some pretty slow paced and deep comics out there but I also have the attention span of a goldfish. What I liked about Sally was that it went straight to the story. It was a story for stories sake.

sally2The world is laden with horrors. At one point, in walks the crawgators, which I found the creepiest of creepy things. They may be the most delicious thing ever envisioned too. I bet they make great fair food. The gang is journeying down the Mississippi and of course… horrors, being that it is the world after everything ends. The Captain tells of cannibals to the left and murderers to the right, Lions, Tigers, and Bears further down the river. Then we meet the mutations. Like all post-apocalyptic worlds it is filled with peril at every turn. Sally totes a shotgun named Bertha and of course that’s good in a pinch, but is it enough?

sally3It’s too early to tell if a shotgun named Bertha is enough.

This is a fun read. The artwork by Bettin really compliments the fast paced story that Gischler weaves. The atmosphere is fun, sexy (see right), and filled with the chaos that a world after the fall should have. It doesn’t stop to catch a breath and say this is why, it shows you this is how it is, deal with it. The characters, while still early in, are likable. Sally is obviously too good for the doink she’s crushing on and she’s hard as hell, but you get it. The mysterious stranger is hard too, you get that. But her past is going to be a thing I suspect, and there may be some sort of love triangle. Who knows. There’s still a lot left open and I am excited to read more.

Check out our interview with author Victor Gischler soon.

Feel free to comment below or @werewolforigin on twitter

About Eric bookout

Writer/Artist for X amount of years. Recently worked with people from IGN on a comic and studied writing under Victor Gischler of Marvel Comics at RSU in Oklahoma more X amount of years ago. Follow me @WerewolfOrigin on twitter
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