If you’re looking for a lot of gratuitous fifties-style pin-up poses… you’re pretty much in the right place with Dynamite’s Bettie Page. The real-life Bettie Page that the character here is based on is, after all, known for being one of the iconic sex symbols when such things could still be prosecuted by the law.
Which brings us to the beginning of our story, where the character Bettie goes on the lam from unknown police or federal agents and lands right in the arms of one Rick Chaplain, and heads out from New York to sunny California, moonlighting as a secretary while she lands a few roles in B-movies.
In his introduction, writer David Avallone says that he watched the documentary Bettie Reveals All, and it inspired him to allow Bettie’s own voice to be what brought the reader into the story. Thus the framing device here is Bettie’s secret diary as she records her strange adventures.
By the end of this volume, we can see that this is only the first adventure in what will hopefully be a long series for Bettie, who is likable although she doesn’t have a completely developed personality outside of “spunky” and “vaguely feminist perhaps?”. She does have a Nancy Drew streak, she gets into scrapes and fights her way out, and this arc, in particular, has a good combo of mystery, action, flirtation, and Bettie’s own narration.
Avallone does craft a plot that moves quickly and makes sense without being too obvious. He keeps the pace light and fast, with dialogue reminiscent of lighthearted adventures of the era- not to be paradoxical, but think noir light. Humphrey and Bacall without quite as much angst… maybe more Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. More Arsenic and Old Lace than The Maltese Falcon. This pairs wonderfully with artist Colton Worley’s illustrations, which are fascinating, more experimental-looking watercolor portraits in the earlier issues, and a more standard style as we progress in the story. Bettie Page still looks amazing in all of her outfits, and all period elements, environments, and clothing is absolutely on point, as are his character designs. Joseph Michael Linsner also has a short story at the end of the volume, in a style much more closely matching to Bettie’s original prints. They look great, and Bettie looks great in them.
This was a really fun read, it wasn’t overly fanservicey, and I honestly want to see more of Bettie, even though she is based on a real person so they are a little limited with her romances and character growth. Maybe because of that! And it’s definitely got me interested in finding out more about the real Bettie Page. I highly recommend it!
