Bettie Page in The Curse of the Banshee #1
Dynamite Entertainment
Bettie Page in The Curse of the Banshee #1
Dynamite Entertainment 2021
Written by Stephen Mooney
Illustrated by Jethro Morales
Coloured Dinei Ribero
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
Utilising several clues found at the ancient Key Artefact site in the Middle Americas, McKnight and Bettie surmise that the Key Artefact has been relocated to an ancient burial site in rural Ireland. They give chase!
I am such a huge fan of the way that Dynamite has interpreted Bettie and the new life they’ve given her. The fact that she’s America’s pin-up girl is one of the greatest covers you could have to have her traversing the world on photo shoots as she takes on cases that other agents wouldn’t stand a chance against is utterly brilliant. The opening here is fantastic, well both are actually as the first one demonstrates what it is we’re up against and the second is Bettie getting the case details. This one looks exciting already and that’s even before we get into the whole mess with this supposed Banshee. Also I love that Stephen is writing this since it’s kind of right in his backyard and right in his wheelhouse considering the legends he must have grown up with.
I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. The character development is phenomenal and this is thanks to how we see the dialogue, the character development and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story as well as the twists & turns along the way really is as entertaining as can be.
I am very much enjoying the way we see this being structured and how the layers within emerge and others carrying through to this arc. I like that we see the background character ogling her as they would when seeing someone of her calibre. The good bits that we see within the story, the characterisation and throughout is something that happens within these layers beautifully. I also really like that this is as new reader friendly as it is so that if you’ve never read one before you’ll understand perfectly what’s happening here. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved perfectly well.
The interiors here are really rather nice. They ae a classic comic book style and the linework with its varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail work is beautifully rendered. I adore the dresses Bettie wears and that we see such time period appropriate clothing adds that extra layer to how we see this and it’s amazing what that can do for the story. The backgrounds that we see are bloody marvellous and I wish we’d see them utilised everywhere. Though the way we see the composition within the panels bring us great depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. I love the colour work we see as well and with the fashion and how that’s seen through the colour choices is sensational. How the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is extremely well rendered.
That last page gives me life! The creativity and imagination, the implication and just the overall way we see this is absolutely mindbogglingly well rendered. Lyssa and Bettie are on the case and I cannot wait to see what is going to happen next. This is why Dynamite has some of today’s most surprising and stellar storytelling on stands today.
About the Creator
Steven Leitman
Just me talking about the comics I enjoy reading, ones that you might not know exist and spotlighting the indie creators that excite me.
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