Dynamite Entertainment 2019
Written by David Avallone
Illustrated by Matt Gaudio, Julius Ohta & Pasquale Qualano
Coloured by Ellie Wright
Colour Flats by Sheelagh D
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
Letter Assists by Rieanna Bates
The ultimate conspiracy against America has gone deeper than anyone could have possible imagined. Is there anyone who can uncover the truth in time? Is the end in sight? Is there anyone that can save us? Model Agent Bettie Page is reporting for duty!
I have missed reviewing Bettie, and I hadn't realised just how much until I sat down to do this one. David's take on the woman and her life is so incredibly intriguing and has that whole air of what a true alternate history really is and is about. There is this believability and this complete fantasy that David brings to this that just makes any day that much brighter. The writing is impeccable and the way that this is being told is sensational it has all the layers, undertones and everything we want to see in something that will continue to surprise you time and time again.
How we see the story & plot development through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. I love how we see Bettie putting the events together as she does so that we learn alongside her and it feels like it's in real time. So the surprises and how we see events occur it all takes the reader along for the ride like a part of the story itself. The character development we see here is freaking amazing. How the characters speak, how they use words, how the act and react to the situations and circumstances really help to flesh them more and more as people. So yeah this definitely a more unique book in terms of how it's written and how we see the characters at least in my humble opinion it is. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way as it works with everything else to create the ebb & flow of the book.
Escapism is the word of the day here and it's what comics are meant to do, give you an escape from reality just for a little bit so you can get lost in a story. We don't need constant serious stories we need more of the kind that take us out of troubles and worries for a bit and that's exactly what this does, at least for me.
I am very much enjoying the interiors here. The linework is superb and how the varying weights are being utilised to show this attention to detail is marvellous. With a team this large and this talented working on this I expect to see a lot more utilisation of backgrounds. Also this is a train so I would like to feel that enclosed sensation through the art. While the characters look amazing and the clothing and the hair are phenomenally rendered with the time period it just needs a bit more work to tighten up how the reader should be feeling. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a really nice strong eye for storytelling. The colour work here is really nice as well. I love seeing how the various hues and tones within the colours are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work. There is some gorgeous work in the colours we see here for sure.
I love Bettie and the best part of all this is the fact that even if I hadn't known who she was this would have made me an instant fan of hers. I mean this is just the perfect blend of reality and fantasy utilised to create this alternate history were literally anything, and everything, goes. If you haven't seen this yet than you need to find it and check it out and order the trades for this run.