Dynamite Entertainment 2017
Written by David Avallone
Illustrated by Colton Worley
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
She’s more modest than Ms. Blaise, but peels more than Ms. Emma. She out-vamps Vampirella, but she’s sweeter than Honey West. She put the mod in model, and the bangs in bang-bang. Now the world can know the truth: her classified adventures back in 1951 Hollywood have been declassified.
Bettie is one of the most recognisable cultural icons in the world. She has been since she first hit the scene or graced the pages of a magazine. She’s been a mystery and people have wanted her to be so many things so it’s no wonder that this time around we’re seeing a side of her through the eyes of David that fancies her something of a spy. Not your traditional James Bond stuff but working at a military style installation and having that nondisclosure type agreement. Which would also explain her disappearance and subsequent theories on her life that a dime a dozen.
I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t fun, interesting and cute as hell. I love the way this story starts off and how it progresses. There’s a nice sense of mystery surrounding the events that we see and it raises questions we may never get answers to but will undoubtedly come back to see if they are answered. The way the issue is structured is incredibly well done and kudos to David for the imagination and creativity in creating this and taking her legend and using it to take her to the next level here.
Colton wow what I can say. She’s really an iconic figure and that he nailed her look so completely is great. The work he brought to this is simply divine. From the cityscape and the buildings to whatever backgrounds are in play here the whole tone, mood and feel of the book is spot on perfect. The use of page layouts through their angles and perspective are massively well done and he flow he creates through the sense of movement is undeniably strong.
Ah it would be nice to think someone whom we see like Rick handpicked Bettie to be his new assistant. After having a rough time of things to know whom he thinks would benefit not only in being there for him but for them as well yeah it fits. Also I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to learn that the opening was a setup just so he could come to her “rescue” and whisk her away to this new life. Still she’s no one’s dummy and it’s nice to see her use her brain, instincts and sensibility to keep an eye on what’s going on around her.
Some people are born to greatness and others have it thrust upon them. What if in Bettie’s case they both applied equally? She was born to be someone and had more than she’d ever be prepared for put in front of her so she couldn’t say no. it’s an interesting kind of premise to see play out here and honestly what David does with the characterisation and story development is exactly what it needs to be. This one will take you by surprise at how easy it would be for conspiracy theorist to say this was true.