Action Lab Danger Zone 2018
Written by Shawn Gabborin
Illustrated by Michela Da Sacco
Coloured by Rosa Rantila
Black Betty has made a living killing the unkillable. She has taken down monsters of every shape and size with a style all her own. But when a man’s daughter is kidnapped by a local legend, Betty steps in to save her… for a price!
If you need it dead (and you’ve got the cash!), Betty’s your girl!
I will say this much I like this character, her attitude and the way she goes about things as well as her look, style and personality. She has all the style and grace of 1940’s pin-up girl if she were a foul mouthed, truck driving, lesbian (?) which is solely my opinion here. The writing for this is fantastic and Shawn is introducing us to a new character with a rich, complicated backstory that we know nothing about which from both his and our standpoints means unlimited potential.
The way the book is structured is great and the fact that we start off in the thick of things allows for us to see what she’s about before getting that chance to know her. It captures a part of her that makes the reader want to know more, Shawn’s good at bringing in the whole desire to know more to the reader and it’s a strong skill to have. I love that there is this whole mystery surrounding Betty and her origins, or past if you will. It makes continuing on with the run of the book, or story arc as the case may be that much more assured. Who wants to stop reading before learning all we can?
I love Betty from the way she looks to the way she acts to what we see of her that she hides from the world. That she’s a natural beauty with a few surprising tattoo’s and what some might refer to as a curvier figure the whole of her image is damn near spectacularly perfect. There is that certain something about her that is undeniable and it draws you to her in this magical way, I say that because I can’t really explain it but you’ll understand what I’m trying to say when you read this. I love how Shawn shows us her no-nonsense personality and she’s a monster hunter for hire, no freebies, with confidence, chutzpah and all kinds of sass make her like a force of nature and not one to mess with. Who doesn’t want to know her?
Michela does such an amazing job on the interiors here. The use of page layouts is kind of inspired and then the angles and perspective we see in the panels shows off her eye for storytelling which is beautiful. The fact that there are backgrounds used makes me delighted beyond belief. The way she’s able to bring the characters to life, to make Betty look as modern retro as she does adds this whole unique flare to her is on the verge of inspiring. I almost feel like she should be competing on Ink Master but she’s not a tattoo artist, that we know of. Kudo’s to Rosa here for her colouring skills as they really help pull the whole look together and make the pages pop.
I like the characterisation here too. Her tough girl demeanour to the way Lucas is introduced the use of dialogue, reference, humour and the seriousness of what they face is what makes the characters who they are. Shawn’s gone and done it again with this one and made me an instant fan of Betty’s.
Every so often the industry claims to have this new sensational find character that they try to push on everyone. Nothing really beats the introduction of Robin the Boy Wonder (which is where the whole concept originated). That being said I would put this into that category of sensational new character or surprise smash hit when it comes to describing Black Betty. Unlike anything you’ll expect it to be and be exactly what you wanted this is how you start off 2018 by setting the bar out of most everyone else’s reach.