It’s some 82 years after The Fall. As in The Fall of Civilization, such as it was. Some places fared worse than others but Southern Louisiana – never the most hospitable of localities – hasn’t gotten much worse.

Oh sure, the gators, catfish and crawdads have mutated into giant monsters and inbred cannibals rule the parts of the bayou that aren’t controlled by pirates. But there’s a few townships here and there that still offer some of the comforts of civilization (i.e. booze and sex). And it is at one of these townships where Sally works as a bus-babe and occasional bouncer for the local bar.

It’s not glamorous but it suits her and she’s never entertained any thoughts of risking her life in the wild world beyond. That changes when a tech scavenger comes to town with tales of a great treasure to be found in the lost city of New Orleans. Sally’s would-be beau Tommy hears the call to adventure and Sally – who has always been driven more by her lusts than common sense – decides to come along and keep the boy out of trouble.  After all, he is her’s… if only he’d realize it!

Sally Of The Wasteland is not a subtle comic.  Then again, Sally is not a subtle person.  One does not expect subtlety with a heroine who owns a shotgun named Bertha.  But while Sally may not be subtle, she is one of the more memorable female protagonists to star in a comic in some time.  She is a lost sister to Tank Girl and Cassie Hack, whose personality bounces between “Annoyed” and “Psychotic” even when she’s trying to be flirtatious.

The script by X-Men writer Victor Gischler offers a lot of laughs and some well-played action of the Grindhouse school.  Fans of the Fallout games and similar post-apocalyptic fiction will find much to enjoy as Sally and her allies contend with similar threats in their quest to reach the “Forbidden City.”  One of the better gags involves a tribe of warrior women from a distant eastern state, who clad themselves in the crimson crest of the great warriors who once ruled their land – a.k.a. ‘Bamazons.

The artwork by newcomer Tazio Bettin is of similar quality.  Bettin has a talent for drawing beautiful women, but despite the story being a comedic take on classic exploitation films, there is nothing exploitative in the artwork.  The one nude scene so far does little more than bare some buttocks and the whole affair is tastefully handled.  Of greater importance are the action scenes, which are well-choreographed.  Bettin also has a talent for monster design and his mutant animals are things of grotesque splendor.

Sally Of The Wasteland may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Still, it will appeal to anyone who ever stayed up to catch the Late Late Show broadcast of movies like Deathstalker II: Clash Of The Titans or A Nymphoid Barbarian In Dinosaur Hell.  It will also hold the attention of anyone who has a fondness for stories set after the end of the world as well as those who don’t take their action comics too seriously.