Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Comics Review: "BETTIE PAGE and the Alien Agenda #1" Starts at Roswell

BETTIE PAGE AND THE ALIEN AGENDA VOLUME 6 #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Ani-Mia
ART: Celor
COLORS: Farah Nurmaliza
LETTERS: Carlos M. Mangual
EDITOR: Matt Idelson
COVER: Joseph Michael Linsner;
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Joseph Michael Linsner; Josh Burns; Stephane Roux, Jimmy Broxton, Ani-Mia; Celor; Ken Haeser
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2022)

Rated Teen+

Bettie Page (1923–2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos.  She is still referred to has the “Queen of Pinups,” and her shoulder-to-armpit-length jet-black hair with its trademark bangs and her blue eyes have inspired generations of artists, illustrators and comic book artists.

In 2017, Dynamite Entertainment made Bettie Page the star of her own comic book miniseries.  The latest is Bettie Page and the Alien Agenda Volume 6.  It is written by Ani-Mia; drawn by Celor; colored by Farah Nurmaliza; and lettered by Carlos M. Mangual.  The series finds Bettie searching for answers concerning an alien conspiracy.

Bettie Page and the Alien Agenda Volume 6 #1 opens sometime in the late 1950s.  Bettie Page is lounging poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California.  Her long needed vacation, however, is interrupted by an old friend, Colonel Westbrook.

After a nearly a decade, the government is still struggling with the UFO that crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.  According to Westbrook, what the government scientists and researchers have discovered worries them.  It seems that the alien pilots of the craft, who have yet to be found, have a stockpile of something somewhere on Earth.

The United States military wants Bettie to discover what the stockpile is and has offered her an investigative team to help.  So Bettie travels to the University of Washington in Seattle to meet her team.  However, Bettie is really on her own, as the military will disavow the existence of both the investigation and Bettie!

THE LOWDOWN:   In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  The latest is Bettie Page and the Alien Agenda Volume 6 #1, which is the fourth issue of a Dynamite Bettie Page comic book that I have read.

Writer Ani-Mia previously wrote the miniseries, Bettie Page and the Bigfoot Bandits, which I did not read.  Bettie Page and the Alien Agenda has an easy pace, but Ani-Mia uses that pace to give the supporting characters some rather entertaining personalities.

Artist Celor draws in a simple, almost generic style, but his storytelling style fits this series better than it did his previous work, the Kiss: Phantom Obsession miniseries.  Here, the mood is like an Indiana Jones movie made for the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries cable network.  Celor seems, in his own unique way, to have created a sense of intrigue.

Dear readers, if you are into the legends surrounding the Roswell crash, you may be interested in trying Bettie Page and the Alien Agenda.  I am ready for the second issue.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Bettie Page comic books will want to try Bettie Page and the Alien Agenda Volume 6.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: "NIGHT OF THE GHOUL #4"

NIGHT OF THE GHOUL #4 (OF 6)
comiXology/Best Jacket Press

STORY: Scott Snyder
ART: Francesco Francavilla
COLORS: Francesco Francavilla
LETTERS: Andworld Design
EDITOR: Will Dennis
COVER: Francesco Francavilla
24pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Age Rating: 15+

Night of the Ghoul co-created by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla

Episode 04


Night of the Ghoul is a digital comic book miniseries created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Francesco Francavilla.  It is published by comiXology as part of its “comiXology Originals” line of digital comics.  This six-issue series will later be collected in trade paperback form by Dark Horse Comics.  Night of the Ghoul focuses on the dark conspiracy behind a lost horror film from 1936.

Night of the Ghoul finds film fanatic, Forest Innman, and his son, Orson, at an old folks home deep in the desert.  There, Forest meets one of the home's residents, Charles Patrick, who is really T.F. Merritt, a screenwriter and film director from the Golden Age of Hollywood.  In 1936, Merritt shot a a cursed horror film, “Night of the Ghoul,” that never made it to the silver screen.  A mysterious studio fire destroyed the footage and killed the cast and crew at the wrap-party.  The film became a legend, but no footage was ever recovered … until Forest finds some footage.  And the trouble begins.

Night of the Ghoul #4 opens in the past – in the film, Night of the Ghoul.  Alex Powell, the son of Sgt. Kurt Powell of Eagle Company, continues his quest to free his father of the curse of the Ghoul.  Helping him is his “uncle,” Johnny Polaris, who was in Eagle Company during World War I with Kurt.

Johnny has summoned the rest of Eagle Company, and they have sought the help of Dale Holloway, a professor of Anthropological Studies.  An expert on the “Gul,” the wheel-chair bound Prof. Holloway has a “tincture” that will drive the Ghoul from Kurt.  But what will driving the creature out look like?

Meanwhile, in the present, Forest has returned to rescue Merritt from the clutches of Dr. Skeen, whom the old man claims has the Ghoul inside his body.  Meanwhile, Forest's wife, Gina, is desperately trying to reach him.  Their son, Orson, who accompanied his father on this hellish trip, is in trouble … underground.

THE LOWDOWN:  In Night of the Ghoul, Francavilla and Snyder have created a masterpiece of atmospheric horror.  Truthfully, it never stops being a masterpiece; I keep waiting for it it have a bad chapter or even a momentary lapse in quality, and it does not.

Episode 4 has me convinced that Night of the Ghoul is the the best work that Snyder and Francavilla have produced both as a team and as individuals.  It is certainly Francavilla's best graphical storytelling.  The color sections of issue four are scary, but the black and white or sepia segments (inside the Night of the Ghoul film) are an embarrassment of riches in terms of atmospherics.  I feel as if I am in the grip of fear in every beautiful panel in the story of Alex Powell and Johnny Polaris.

I can't wait to read more.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Scott Snyder and of Francesco Francavilla will want to try Night of the Ghoul.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Monday, March 7, 2022

BOOM! Studios Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 9, 2022

BOOM! STUDIOS

JAN220720 BUFFY LAST VAMPIRE SLAYER #4 (OF 4) CVR A ANINDITO $4.99
JAN220721 BUFFY LAST VAMPIRE SLAYER #4 (OF 4) CVR B ROE $4.99
NOV210713 FIREFLY NEW SHERIFF IN THE VERSE TP VOL 02 $14.99
JAN220760 MIGHTY MORPHIN #17 CVR A LEE $3.99
JAN220761 MIGHTY MORPHIN #17 CVR B LEGACY VAR CARLINI $3.99
JAN220765 MIGHTY MORPHIN #17 CVR F FOC REVEAL VAR MASELLIS $3.99
JAN220794 SEVEN SECRETS #15 CVR A DI NICUOLO $3.99
JAN220795 SEVEN SECRETS #15 CVR B FERNANDEZ $3.99
NOV210777 WYND TP BOOK 02 SECRET OF THE WINGS $14.99

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Dark Horse Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 9, 2022

DARK HORSE COMICS

JAN220365 APACHE DELIVERY SERVICE #3 (OF 4) CVR A JENKINS $3.99
JAN220366 APACHE DELIVERY SERVICE #3 (OF 4) CVR B PEREZ $3.99
NOV210327 BERSERK DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 10 $49.99
NOV210300 CRITICAL ROLE TALES OF EXANDRIA #4 (OF 4) $3.99
JAN220399 DAISY #4 (OF 5) $3.99
OCT210260 GROO MEETS TARZAN TP $19.99
NOV210285 HELLBOY UNIVERSE ESSENTIALS LOBSTER JOHNSON TP $14.99
NOV210319 HOUND HC $49.99
SEP210247 LADY BALTIMORE WITCH QUEENS HC $24.99
JAN220401 LAST FLIGHT OUT #5 (OF 6) $3.99
OCT210222 LOBSTER JOHNSON OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 $39.99
OCT210246 LUCKY DEVIL TP $19.99
JAN220362 NORSE MYTHOLOGY III #2 (OF 6) CVR A RUSSELL (MR) $3.99
JAN220363 NORSE MYTHOLOGY III #2 (OF 6) CVR B MACK (MR) $3.99
OCT210259 STEPHEN MCCRANIES SPACE BOY TP VOL 12 $10.99
NOV210299 UNBELIEVABLE UNTEENS TP VOL 01 $19.99

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Dynamite Entertainment Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 9, 2022

DYNAMITE

DEC210634 BARBARELLA #7 CVR J CHEW LTD VIRGIN $50.00
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DEC210615 VAMPIRELLA DRACULA UNHOLY #3 CVR L MAER LTD VIRGIN $50.00

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IDW Publishing Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 9, 2022

IDW PUBLISHING

SEP210459 GLORK PATROL HC VOL 02 GLORK PATROL TAKES A BATH $9.99
JAN220466 KILL LOCK ARTISAN WRAITH #1 (OF 7) $3.99
JAN220472 SONIC HEDGEHOG IMPOSTER SYNDROME #3 (OF 4) CVR A FONSECA $3.99
JAN220473 SONIC HEDGEHOG IMPOSTER SYNDROME #3 (OF 4) CVR B BRACARDI CU $3.99
NOV210441 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG TP VOL 10 TEST RUN $15.99

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Image Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 9, 2022

IMAGE COMICS

AUG210220 ANT #3 CVR A LARSEN $3.99
AUG210221 ANT #3 CVR B RETRO 70S TRADE DRESS $3.99
OCT210079 DEADLY CLASS DLX HC 01 NEW EDITION (MR) $49.99
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DEC210297 LADY MECHANIKA MONSTER OF MINISTRY #3 (OF 4) CVR A BENITEZ & $3.99
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JAN220067 LITTLE MONSTERS #1 CVR A NGUYEN (MR) $3.99
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JAN220281 MONKEY MEAT #3 (OF 5) $3.99
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