Look out, in case pig droppings might hit you from above, for Shanna the She-Devil #1 was actually a good comic book.

Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray take the smartest route and say, "Hey, a book about Shanna the She-Devil really isn't all that interesting - so hey, how about if we just use her as the backdrop for a whole bunch of OTHER characters?"

That is what they do, as the book is about a madcap group of thieves who rob a passenger cruise ship of their jewelry, but while that is happening, the cruise ship is attacked by a giant sea creature.

The thieves escape back to their boat, but their boat is heavily damaged, so they have to dock - and they happen to dock on...MONSTER ISLAND!!

Meanwhile, some very bad men had their treasure stolen from the boat, and are using a homing beacon to follow the thieves to....MONSTER ISLAND!!!

Palmiotti and Gray keep a frenetic pace throughout the book, and artist Khari Evans does a great job depicting the action on....MONSTER ISLAND!!!!

There is a slight bit of a Cousin Larry Trick going on, as Palmiotti and Gray mock the idea of a woman dressed in a jungle bikini, but at the same time, Evans is quick to show off the woman in a jungle bikini's body - however, if you have a problem with a woman in a jungle bikini, then what the heck are you even doing considering reading Shanna the She-Devil?

I was actually quite pleased in the fact that Evans actually did not get the chance to do too much cheesecake in the book, because it was able to show off the fact that he's actually a very nice artist, which seems to be a bit lost in discussion due to his predilection for the T and the A. His action scenes flow nicely without being confusing, and his monsters look very good.

I especially dig this one scene where Shanna slices the head of a dinosaur off - it really looks like there's motion going on - it's very strong storytelling on Evans' part.

The story from Palmiotti and Gray is filled with amusing dialogue, especially on the part of the thieves' (I guess they're pirates, right?) engineer, Ivan. He is very funny, and it was a bit annoying when a typo made it seem like Ivan was killed off. SILLY TYPOS!!!

There is very little back story given about Shanna, which is great, because her back story is pretty lame. All you really need to know is told to us in the comic - she is this bad ass lady in a jungle bikini who lives with this guy named Doc, and she likes to help people if she can.

The setup for the rest of the series is a good one. It's a lot like Die Hard, really. It's sorta like "Die Hard on Monster Island."

So, if you want a fun comic book with good dialogue, a lot of action, and very good (not so T&A) artwork - this is the book for you!

Recommended.