You have to suspend belief to enjoy this comic; the publishers have a number of strong female characters and Betty Page demonstrates she is a force to reckon with and as effective as any superhero. The premise is that back in 1951 Betty Page as written in this comic as her secret diary, saved the democracy of the USA from serious communist threats.
These details have previously been subject to official secrecy and sealed for many years based on the need for National Security. So we see the real Betty Page; we learn of her exploits through her own diary which is re-enacted in this comic format.
If you love comics you'll love Betty Page, she is larger than life and a real early pin-up. However her beauty may be a distraaction when in difficult situations for her opponents but it is her fighting spirit and kick ass attitude that wins the day. She is fearless and a patriot.
the illustrations are first rate and the costumes Betty is 'forced' to wear a visual bonus. Not salacious but good fun never the less. In addition there are some photos of the Betty Page, some of these were censored to spare readers blushes. I do not know of a web link for the 18+ audience but that is perhaps a good thing too.
There is also a funny extra which shows how Betty's involvement enable a simple playboy launch his men's magazine.
All in all good fun, entertaining and a very enjoyable read.

Bettie Page Is My New Favorite 50's Heroine

When I came across this I figured it would be a campy "Little Annie Fanny" bit of cheesecake and silliness. Totally wrong across the board. This was a witty and stylish action tale with a swell heroine.

The premise is that while Bettie was pursuing her career as a model and pinup she was also an agent for the U.S. government, doing Captain America type stuff, but without the superpowers. That's why it's set up as her just now declassified secret diary. In this omnibus, (which collects issues 1 through 4 of the comic), we learn how Bettie was recruited and follow on her first adventure. We get a full story arc, with more to come.

The story, such as it is, is set mostly in Hollywood. Bettie is working for some secret research group and starring in a cheesy space opera movie on the side. We get a megalomaniacal villain, weird technology, double crosses, kidnappings, and lots of lurking and skulking and spying, along with a couple of rounds of fisticuffs and a socko finish. It's not the most original plot but it feels reasonably fresh and has some nice twists and a few clever set pieces.

The real attraction is Bettie. She's smart and resourceful. She gets a fair share of dry one-liners and is classic sassy femme. She's just world weary enough, and has been around enough, that she's more amused than surprised by the crazy things that happen around her. The effect is noir-lite with just a slight touch of camp. Most superheroes from that era are irony impaired and have no sense of humor about themselves, so Bettie is a breath of fresh air as she parties, finagles, vamps, sweet talks, and sometimes kicks and punches, her way into and out of scrapes. She is consistently a hoot. Is this the real Bettie Page? Of course not. The real Bettie Page had a fascinating and rocky life. This is the idea of Bettie Page reimagined as an action hero, and is a knowing and rather affectionate experiment in pop culture mixology.

This book collects not only the four issues. It also includes a story originally published in Playboy, which is O.K. but on its own might not have sold me on Bettie. There are some alternate covers that are interesting and a few PG-13 Bettie Page pinups to remind you what the real Bettie Page looked like, (and which illustrate how well the drawings in the book capture her look and style).

The drawing is top drawer. Nice pencils and inking with a subdued but effective approach to coloring. All of the characters are expressive and some of the panel close-ups are drawn to look almost like photos of the real Bettie. The action scenes are crisp and clear and the reader can always follow the action. The rendering is superb, and there is great attention to character detail - when a guy drives a convertible his tie flies over his shoulder. A lot of attention was paid to the layout of the panels and there are some very nice touches there.

The upshot is that the author and artists treated the Page character with respect, (there's less cheesecake than Vampirella or maybe even Wonder Woman), while still capturing Bettie's style. The whole project felt classy and entertaining. As I say, Bettie Page is my new favorite heroine.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I was really intrigued by this book as i love the images of her famous pin-up scenes. It was an interesting read as it incorporated glamour, crime, spookiness and absurdity. The plot was a little all over the place and it reminded me of an Ed Brubaker in the good points. I did enjoy reading it but i will not continue when the second volume is released.

Bettie Page Vol. 1 was an odd graphic novel. It was almost like a pastiche of golden Hollywood era sci-fi cinema that didn't quite hit the mark. I think the most glaring reason why it didn't work was that it had absolutely nothing to do with Bettie Page, apart from the character having her name and face. Had this been developed as a standalone graphic novel with an original character it might have been a little more fun, but the way that it was rendered has resulted in a largely nonsensical, rambling plot with poor characterisation.

It wasn't all bad. David Avallone really hit the art with everything it deserved, putting together a great team. Colton Worley especially hit the mark with his representation of Bettie. There was an interesting mix of cartoon and pin-up style realism which made Bettie Page Vol. 1 at least fun to look at. If I could have just had a coffee table book of the art I'd have given this 5 stars!

All in all, Bettie Page Vol. 1 was a pretty forgettable read, which is a shame for a graphic novel meant to represent someone so completely memorable.