“Bettie Page: Unbound #9” continues the latest out-of-this-world adventures of Bettie Page: savior of the known universe, superspy and current target of an insectoid invasion. Warning: spoilers ahead.
Written by David AvalloneCover by John Royle
Illustrated by Julius Ohta & Pasquale Qualano
Colored by Ellie Wright
Lettered by Taylor EspositoModel Agent Bettie Page’s mission to save the world from every type of nemesis you can think of (Elder gods, we are looking at you) continues with style, as she takes on her most dangerous foe yet!
“Bettie Page: Unbound” #9 continues Avallone and Ohta’s “Invasion of the Bettie Snatchers” storyline. It’s the bees versus the spies and Betty versus … herself? Avallone takes a break from the train-bound action of the previous issue to hypnotize our heroine and remind the audience of not just the previous story arc, but what makes Bettie resilient and special.
“Bettie Page” has been and continues to be a fun book, full stop, but it’s become a bit more than curvaceous entertainment. Avallone and the team hit a creative peak with the previous story arc, and gaining momentum after Bettie battles with the Elder Gods across time, space and various media franchises is a difficult sell. Still, there’s an exhale within “Invasion of the Bettie Snatchers,” and we get to see how Bettie puts herself back together again after the excitement of days gone. Issue #9 ends the lull with an explosive action scene, launches Bettie into her subconscious for a revelatory experience and sets up the crisis point for the storyline. Avallone takes some time to remind readers – and Bettie herself – that she’s the real deal by bringing back her previous incarnations. What began as a fun and trippy jaunt through Dynamite’s titles and a classic story or two has had some lingering and pretty sophisticated effects on Bettie’s character growth, and that kind of empowerment is hard to come by. Avallone keeps these moments fresh with Bettie’s snappy narration and dialogue, and the book never loses its sense of humor in the midst of some serious alien matriarch mind-melding.
Ohta and Qualano make a good team in issue #9. The “Bettie Page” books make good use of tongue-in-cheek pin-up poses balanced with the particular care and time Ohta’s taken to give Bettie a range of serious, comedic and endearing facial expressions, and a physicality that befits her role as a spy. Ohta’s made Bettie capable, cute and just a little cartoonish, and Qualano supports that tone as well. Issue #9 opens with a fun and chaotic action scene as two generations of secret agents battle the Praesepod invaders in a Harlem living room. There’s a lot to play with here – broken glass, furniture and fire, to name a few elements – and the art supports the high spots without confusing or derailing the story. The mind meld scene is done in a single montage panel set within the eye of the Queen, and the regimented paneling of the hotel’s walls gives Ohta and Qualano a change to play with plenty of action lines as the Praesepods arrive, again, to try and thwart the spy trio.
Wright’s colors have done a lot of work to differentiate this arc from the one previous. Instead of the acid-soaked weirdness of the in-between, we’re treated to a palette that’s a bit dimmer and more realistic than before. Previous issues featured an intentional dullness as Bettie moved through crowds that reflected her inner turmoil and tension as well as the subterfuge and horror of the Praesepod replacements closing in. Issue #9 features some poppier colors for the action insets and a sinister golden wash for the montage scene mentioned above. Additionally, Wright balances the dreamy quality of the library with the costume hues of Bettie’s other selves. There’s a particular blood spurt later on in the book that’s done in an orangey hue that feels a bit surreal, though the moment arguably calls for it, and it clashes just a touch with the panel’s background. Still, the panel does what it intends by pausing our eye to take in the shock of it, and it’s a minor note in an otherwise cohesive issue.
Continued belowEsposito maintains his usual level of quality in issue #9, with distinct narrative box styling for Bettie and an italicized version of the font that’s readable and appropriate for the book’s time period. There are plenty of smaller panels that feature multiple characters in this book, and that means potential crowding or odd balloon placement, but Esposito butts smaller balloons and stacks several conversations artfully to keep everything clear, readable and flowing. With the violence comes sound effects, and Esposito’s particularly good at nestling two or even three within a single panel without overpowering the art. Esposito is the perfect letterer to blend pulp melodrama and clarity for pitch-perfect readability, and his work on “Bettie Page” thus far has been top notch.
“Bettie Page: Unbound,” like its predecessors, possesses the capacity to empower and entertain. Bettie Page will forever be an underground pulp queen with a complex history and problematic representation in and beyond her lifetime. It might be a stretch to claim that a comic could balance the scales in this regard, but “Bettie Page: Unbound” challenges some of that exploitative gaze and levels the fictional playing field, at least. Avallone, Ohta and the team pay homage to the time period without dragging Bettie through the dirt. Instead, they send her across time, in between worlds and into her own imagination, and it’s a worthy endeavor all around.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “Bettie Page: Unbound” #9 continues the wild adventures of everyone’s favorite Model Spy with a solid installment.
