Bettie Page in The Curse of the Banshee #3
Dynamite Entertainment
Bettie Page in The Curse of the Banshee #3
Dynamite Entertainment 2021
Written by Stephen Mooney
Illustrated by Jethro Morales
Coloured by Dinei Ribero
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
In issue 3 Bettie and the Banshee seem to become as one as the curse unfolds all around our hero in high heels (or sensible flats!) Plus: more clues as to the whereabouts of the Key Artefact.
One of the great things about this franchise is that you can have different creative teams do different arcs and they all seem to be part of the same timeline, world, etc, etc. Bettie is universal in her appeal and it’s nice to see and know that it doesn’t matter who the creative team is, just that they all feel like part of one big happy family. I almost like the fact that she appears more timid in this issue but then again I think that has a lot to do with the illustrations as well. So with what we see and how things are presented it makes me wonder if this is a four or five issue series because, selfishly I want it to last longer, I feel like this is reaching a kind of apex point where the end is nigh!
I am really rather enjoying 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 exceedingly well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter really does a magnificent job in fleshing out their personalities even further. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we’re pulled deeper and deeper into the mystery as it unfolds.
I am more than impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. The new avenues we see opening up alongside the ones that have been established are absolutely wonderful in that they all bring some great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved exceedingly well.
The interiors here are strong and interesting. The creativity and imagination that we see throughout is really exciting to me as the dead who serve the Banshee, who takes centre stage as well, are brought to life with such aplomb. The linework is nicely laid down and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this detailed work is well rendered. I do wish we’d see more backgrounds, however, we still see how the composition within the panels brings us depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is marvellous to see. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully rendered. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great understanding of how colour works.
Lyss is a great foil for Bettie and yet she loves her and would do anything for her and that kind of friendship, loyalty and so much more is why these work the way they do. Bettie never has to go it alone, she does and she will but she doesn’t have to and regardless of who complains the truth is a totally different matter. I will say that this has some spectacular writing and characterisation that’s wrapped around these great interiors adding another stellar story into the files of Bettie Page; Secret Agent!
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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