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Bettie Page Battles the Beyond in 2018 Halloween One Shot
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Submitted by RJ Carter on Wed, 10/24/2018 - 06:00
Of all the comics creators who have been in the industry, we can never overstate the debt we owe to the great Dave Stevens, gone ten years now, for his lasting contribution to the comic books. Yes, we'll remember his Rocketeer and I for one will never forget his pinup covers for DNAGENTS and CROSSFIRE & RAINBOW.
But it's largely because of Dave Stevens work that the community remains aware of a real life character, Bettie Page, a stag film model with a look that transcended time. She was the girlfriend of his Rocketeer, but has since gone on to become a heroine in her own right, thanks to Dynamite Entertainment.
Case in point: BETTIE PAGE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL ONE-SHOT 2018.
The lead story in this one shot is simply a fantastically told standalone story. Bettie continues to model, and we see her doing a set with the photographer who helped make her famous, Irving Klaw. But Bettie is also an assistant to a government agency, and the cases she assists on are otherworldly. Yes, Bettie Page basically works for an early version of The X Files!
The case presented to her is one of an artist -- Richard Pickman -- who is turning out paintings of horrific looking monsters. The thing is, the agency recognizes these alien creatures as beings from another dimension, and they want to find out how Pickman is seeing them. Seeing as how a painter needs models, enter Bettie Page as "Pickman's Supermodel," a clever play on the H.P. Lovecraft short story of the non-super name.
Sure enough, Pickman's got a way to see through to the elder gods. He has a book -- an old book -- called the Necronomicon. Bettie needs to get her hands on that and return with it, assuming she can survive her encounter with Pickman and the elder god Yog-Sothoth! David Avallone and Julius Ohta bring us this tale of action and spunk.
The backup story in this piece is a bit more lighthearted. Bettie brings her friend to what is supposed to be a Halloween party thrown by a famous casting director. Bettie's costume is both clever and risque, and the shock on her friend and her immediate response is cute enough to forgive the anachronism of having someone dial 9-1-1 in the 1940s.
Ultimately, "Hautning in Hollywood" reveals that Bettie was supposed to be the only guest at this "party" where the monsters seem more real than special effects could create. Or are they? The twist ending has a twist all its own, making this backup from Leah Williams and Fernando Ruiz a fun comic short.
Grade:
4.5 / 5.0
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