Dynamite Entertainment 2017
Written by David Avallone
Illustrated by Colton Worley & Craig Cermack
Coloured by Brittany Pezillo
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
People can be forgiven for thinking they know all there is to know about Bettie Mae Page. She was, after all, a public figure, in every sense of the term. Even so, Ms. Page kept much of her life private, and with good reason. Recently, a secret diary was discovered hidden among her possessions. Its contents were well known to the Federal Government, though they had remained highly classified since 1951. In the present day, the Bureau felt that sufficient time had
passed, and that Ms. Page’s service to her nation, indeed, to the world, could now be revealed. Despite Mr. Avallone’s questionable reputation, he was chosen to adapt this diary to the form you hold in your hands. It is our hope that with this,the heroism of Ms. Page can be appropriately enshrined the hearts of her fellow countrymen.
COL. L. MCKNIGHT, SPECIAL AGENT, (RET.)
I’ll be honest I never understood people’s fascination with Bettie. I mean I know she a cult icon longer than a national icon and I’ve known people who went out their way to get things with her image on them back in the day, okay the eighties, and I never understood it. However I do know who she is and what she represents and honestly what David is doing here is rather spectacular. It’s the perfect blend of kitsch and that whole what if, whatever happened to and the whole finally unearthed angle. It’s fun, infectious and all around a bright spot in this current mood of despair and anger in the United States anyway.
I love the characterisation here and that goes along with the whole story at hand as well. I mean Bettie was taken to California “on the lamb” as it were and suddenly she’s gone from secretary to B-Movie star. Rick Chaplain is a perfect foil character for Bettie here. He’s charming, handsome, mysterious and he’s the kind of adventurous that revs Bettie’s engine the right way. Plus he did rescue her from being tied up and whatever that was all about and he’s digging into the why of it. Meanwhile we’re learning more about him too as the story progresses and I have to say these two make a killer pair!
Colton and company do some great work on the interiors here. I love the look of the city that they bring to life as they drive around. The creativity of the costumes and the B-Movie set and stuff is great as well as the fashions of the day that we see. There’s a lot going on that most folks won’t notice but really make an impact on the story and it’s nice to see this level of attention to detail in the book. Plus it’s just fun to look at! The linework is beautifully done and the faces, body proportions and the expressions that the characters give off reflect what’s happening in the story perfectly.
There’s this great sense of action and adventure here that Bettie seems to have stumbled into completely by accident. There’s a charm to the way David is writing this and how the story is structured has that ebb & flow to it that brings you up and down like you are on a wooden roller coaster.
I may not have been a Bettie fan, or fanatic, growing up but these folks are making me one today!