Even though there is a nice amount of good in Heavy Metal #281, it's not very satisfying. Between the 40 pages given to recurring stories, and the Haspiel story that's really about romantic love (and a decade old), it's kind of easy to feel cheated with this issue. It's also easy to see an absence of male objectification in this sex special. While “Her First Time” focuses on two lesbian characters, there's no reason there can't be more sides of sex told with a respectful tone. With “Option 3”, gay sex between men, happens off camera but only to function as the set up to a joke. Aside from theses problems, the good in this issue is very good. And though it's hard to see what makes the sex special so special when it includes chapters in stories from previous issues, and not just stories playing to its theme, the best thing about #281 may be its inclusion of the closing chapter in Lewis and Woodward's god-awful "49th Key" story.