It is something of a sick fascination that sometimes draws me back to train-wreck sites to see if things have gotten better a second time around. Bomb Queen: Woman of Mass Destruction, by Jimmie Robinson, took some interesting concepts about a city run by a supervillain and ran them into the ground with gratuitous nudity and a great number of distasteful "jokes" about rape, incest and pedophilia.

And yet, I returned for a second look when Dirty Bomb hit the stands -- and found that Jimmie hasn't really learned from his mistakes.

The main plot device this time involves an old foe who has had a sex change so she (now he) can ingratiate herself into the Bomb Queen's bed and good graces -- for the eventual purpose, of course, of revenge. The backstory -- about Bomb Queen's former team, their inevitable betrayal and cataclysmic final battle -- is good stuff, but Jimmie rushes through the ripe story potential so he can make cheap jokes and show off his boob-drawing skills.

While the final outcome is never in doubt, Jimmie opts for an improbable rescue strategy instead of giving Bomb Queen any resourceful or redeeming qualities of her own.

I know there's a market out there for nude comics, primarily among the adolescent set, but Jimmie needs to work on his storytelling if he wants to hook a more mature reading audience. Of course, as long as preteens have plenty of cash to spend, quality will probably remain a non-issue.