Tales to Offend #1

 The cover to this book looks like those old EC Comics that I just adore. That's why I picked it up. Up until then, I'd never heard of this book and I thought at first that  it was a just a parody of those old comics from the 50s published by Dark Horse Comics. But to dig under the surface, I learned that this 1997 one-shot was so much more.

   The comic was written and penciled by comics legend Frank Miller. His cover story is a series of sci-fi short stories starting a character named Lance Blastoff. This is the first time I've ever heard of Lance, but from trolling the web and Facebook, he's sort of a cult hero. Lance is rude, crude, and likes to have his way with the ladies. He's a lot like Lobo without the bloodshed or Han Solo without the heart of gold. He's serviced in more ways than one by a squad of sex-starved, busty fembots while he tours the galaxy in search of a quick buck.

   This book also features a short story set in Miller's Sin City universe. It's got all of Miller's great black and white artwork, along with a sick twist ending and lots of grit, sex, and dames to die for- literally.

   The book may seem very rough around the edges. With a title like 'Tales to Offend,' you could think that Miller's got this "Who gives a F#@%?" mentality. That is until you get to the last page. There, you uncover yet another layer to this book. Miller explains that this comic is his gift to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. As you know, I'm a big supporter of the CBLDF and it's work to oppose censorship in the comics industry. When I have a chance, I donate money. But often I use my time and energies spreading the word of this important charity. For someone like Miller to devote his time and talents and not get a dime is so Miller and as kick-ass as Blastoff himself.

    Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.