Look up “lovable rogue” in the encyclopedia and you won’t find a picture of former boxer Stanley Dance. Partly because Stan is the sort of rogue who is smart enough not to get his picture taken and partly because he’s not exactly lovable. In fact, a lifetime of petty crime and broken promises have pretty much driven everyone who mattered – friends and family – out of Stan’s life.

In fact, Stan was just about to keep his first promise – a promise to himself that he’d blow his brains out once his luck had finally run out. Luckily, a timely phone call delayed Stan’s suicide and facilitated his return to Las Vegas.

Stan’s past misdeeds pretty much ran him out of Sin City. Still, while Stan isn’t much for keeping promises, he does pay his debts. Particularly when those debts are owed to a theater owner named Betsy, for whom Stan’s always carried a flame.

Betsy’s burlesque performer daughter is being head-hunted by a casino owner with whom Stan has some history. Bad history. Naturally Stan has a plan to get him out of Betsy’s way but it will require him getting back into the ring for one last match…

With gritty artwork and a smart script, Slots puts a new spin on the classic story of the fixer going for one more score. I’m not certain that Dan Panosian (Conan/Red Sonja) intentionally designed Stanley Dance to look a little like Bruce Willis, but the characterization put me in mind of him –  a seedier David Addison ala Randy Robinson from The Wrestler. Whatever the inspiration, fans of Panosian’s previous work and heist epics won’t be gambling much if they play these Slots.

Slots #1 will be available for purchase on October 4, 2017 from your local comic book store (Don’t know where that is? Here you go.) or digitally via Comixology.com.