Bettie Page: La Dolce Vita TP Review

 

Writers: Mirka Andolfo & Luca Blengino

Artists: Elisa Ferrari, Mara Angelilli & Tommaso Ronda

Colorists: Maura Gulma & Francesca Vivaldi

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Cover Artist: Leirix

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $17.99

Release Date: September 4, 2024

 

Bettie may smile for the camera, but she seethes inside. The photographer calls her Ettie. No one else at the studio knows her name. They work her off her feet and fine her when she slips up. Bettie yearns to slip out for a half-hour lunch break at Tanino’s Pizzeria. But the studio will fire her if she holds up their schedule. And as her assistant Karen points out, Bettie can't afford to pay the default penalty on her contract. Can anyone rescue Bettie from her onerous, low-paying job? Let’s grab our cameras, leap into Bettie Page: La Dolce Vita TP, and find out!

 

Story

News Flash: Bettie’s agent, Benjamin Du’Met, got her a better-paying job. As they fly from New York to Rome, Benjamin explains that Eugenio Vitelloni wants Bettie in his next movie. The Italian director selected Bettie's photography portfolio from 1,500 candidates. She is his next muse! While Bettie revels in her shot at stardom and Benjamin calculates his commission, Karen wonders if this offer is too good to be true. After all, Bettie is a model, not an actress.

 

That’s not the only thing that doesn’t add up for Karen. If Vitelloni is such a great director, and Bettie is his next star, why are so many accidents occurring on his set? If Vitelloni has sufficient backing to pay off Bettie’s contract and fly them to Rome, why is he leasing an expensive villa and housing them in a cheap hotel? Karen is a tireless investigator in Bettie Page: La Dolce Vita TP. Her determination to discover the truth leads her to a surprising realization. Vitelloni picked Bettie because she is the spitting image of his new muse, and the mafia wants that woman dead.

 

In Mirka Andolfo & Luca Blengino’s story, Lisa Cosmi and her boyfriend fled their rival underworld families. But they got separated, and Paolo has gone missing. Bettie loves playing the star on Vitelloni’s film set. But once she realizes that Lisa and Paolo are in trouble, Bettie rushes to their rescue. Bettie vows to reunite the lovebirds, help them escape their criminal families, and begin a new life in the United States. And if she can grab a pizza while she is risking her life for Lisa and Paolo, so much the better!

 

Art

Elisa Ferrari, Mara Angelilli & Tommaso Ronda pay homage to Bettie’s iconic image by beginning Bettie Page: La Dolce Vita TP with Bettie posing in a swimsuit. Bettie wears a range of attire, from a coat and earmuffs to dresses, blouses, and slacks, but she always looks more elegant than her more practically minded body double. Karen prefers conservative suits and dresses as she tackles locks, safes, and Neapolitan paramours. Benjamin dazzles in his dashing suits and matching hats. But when danger threatens, the agent's elegant walking stick becomes a lethal weapon.

 

Eugenio Vitelloni and Lisa Cosmi’s past unfolds in sepia tones, but Maura Gulma & Francesca Vivaldi fill Bettie Page: La Dolce Vita TP with an appealing array of cheery colors. Smiling faces intrude on the brightly colored scenes to enhance narration, and Bettie's eyes become red hearts when she imagines Lisa and Paolo together. But whether bullets, cars, or pizzas hurtle through the air, or would-be rescuers race across rooftops in the evening, every page sparkles with energy and '50s fun.

 

Black uppercase and lowercase letters inhabit narrative boxes and white dialogue balloons. Words grow bold for inflection but never shrink, while question and exclamation marks enlarge for surprise and alarm. Musical notes accompany shower scenes and assassination attempts. Jeff Eckleberry's sound effects help us hear furious fists, careering cars, and the ruination of delicious delicacies. Thanks to Dynamite Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When Bettie Page's shot at stardom makes her a target of the Italian mafia, she shrugs off danger to reunite lost lovers. Bettie Page: La Doce Vita mixes Shakespeare with The Saint for a humorous and exciting romp rooted in World War II and cinema history.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

Red Sonja Vol. 2: Mother Review

 

Writers: Mirka Andolfo & Luca Blengino

Artists: Giuseppe Cafaro

Colorists: Chiara Di Francia

Letterers: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou & Jeff Eckleberry

Cover Artist: Mirka Andolfo

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $19.99

Release Date: February 7, 2024

 

Baroness Drang threw Red Sonja in her dungeon. A thief named Kebra took Sitha under her wing. Will Kebra help Sitha rescue Red Sonja before the Baroness executes her? Let's hack and slash into Red Sonja Vol 2: Mother and find out!

 

Story

Baroness Drang holds her village—The Feud Of The Seven Gallows—in a reign of terror. Her soldiers regularly arrest people for unspecified crimes. No one survives more than seven days in her dungeon.

 

Kebra steals food for the children orphaned by Baroness Drang’s cruelty. While planning the ultimate heist, Kebra chews grass and leaves for sustenance. If Sitha helps her, Kebra promises to help Sitha rescue Red Sonja. Can Sitha trust the thief to do as she’s promised?

 

The She-Devil has refused food or water for seven days in Red Sonja Vol 2: Mother. Soldiers bring her to Baroness Drang’s Playroom. The tyrant suggests Red Sonja accept death meekly. Yeah, like that’s going to happen!

 

 

 

In Red Sonja Vol 1: Mother, Setubai told Sonja and the carpenter Samosh that the demigoddess Xamul lived inside Sitha. Fear and anger allow Xamul to burn anyone nearby. Kebra demands Sitha use Xamul’s power to break into Baroness Drang’s vault. But the more Sitha draws on Xamul’s power, the more power the girl gives the god.

 

Sitha hails from a mountain village in Kithai. No one’s paying Red Sonja to bring Sitha home. The girl’s not asking Sonja to transport her halfway around the world. Sitha would happily remain by the She-Devil’s side. But Red Sonja knows what it’s like to lose a family. She won’t let Sitha miss a chance to meet her kin.

 

In Red Sonja Vol 2: Mother, Sonja, and Sitha will board a Shahpur freighter and sail across the Sea of Vilayet. Red Sonja allows Captain Beylab to store her sword in his armory. But is Beylab more than a trader in oil and textiles? Can Sonja and Sitha trust him to protect them on a sea where the veil between worlds is as thin as silk?

 

 

 

Throughout this series, Mirka Andolfo & Luca Blengino have discussed the importance of family. While Red Sonja clings to the past, Sitha looks forward. The girl decides who she can trust and assigns them familial roles.

 

In Red Sonja Vol 2: Mother, the authors show how her father shaped Baroness Drang’s character. Sitha declares Samosh is her father, and one sailor becomes her uncle. After Sonja brings her home, Sitha insists that Sonja remains her mother. Is family restricted to blood and marital relations, as Sonja claims? Or is the term sufficiently malleable to include others? And if so, how do we differentiate between family and friends?

 

 

 

Art

Giuseppe Cafaro’s carefree, fluid style captures the energy of Red Sonja’s adventures. Scenes convey the natural beauty of the Hyborian world, the mythical landscapes and creatures of the Vilayet Sea, and the grandeur of a city perched on the slope of an active volcano. The drama never suffers, thanks to a wealth of vibrant characters imbued with warmth and charisma. While Red Sonja rarely lowers her guard, Sitha transforms in an instant. Flames erupt around her, and Xamul’s personality burns in her eyes.

 

Chiara Di Francia fills panels with soft, appealing colors. The She-Devil's eye-catching hair and the rivers of blood flowing through Red Sonja Vol 2: Mother contrast with the backgrounds. Anger fills Sitha’s white hair with red as yellow and orange surround her. Such vibrant colors energize negative silhouettes, coloring the characters and direction lines but leaving all else black. Blue and white speckles suggest the ethereal nature of the Vilayet Sea.

 

The large, uppercase black letters that inhabit white dialogue balloons grow bold for inflection. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou & Jeff Eckleberry's energetic, colored sound effects enhance swordfights, bear attacks, arrow strikes, falls into the deadly waters, and the awakening of an ancient god. Yet what lingers is how Xamul’s dialogue balloons turn yellow, orange, and red.

 

In addition to an extensive cover gallery in Red Sonja Vol 2: Mother, inked drawings introduce each issue in the collection. Stylized borders and geometric imprints impart a historic feel, aided by the brown coloring that evokes leather. Splashes of blue adorn the lower portion of each character, while yellow lines near their heads suggest the elemental nature of Red Sonja and Sitha’s power.

 

Thanks to Dynamite Entertainment for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

As they battle mad magical monarchs, meet savage sailors, get carried away by winged wonders, and discover a city of women, Red Sonja and Sitha explore the boundaries of family and how it confuses, distorts, and enriches us in Red Sonja Vol. 2.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

If you missed my review of the first volume, or wish to refresh your memories of Sitha's early adventures with Red Sonja? Read my review of Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother.

Bettie Page #4 Review

 

Writers: Mirka Andolfo & Luca Blengino

Artists: Elisa Ferrari, Mara Angelilli & Tommaso Ronda

Colorists: Maura Gulma & Francesca Vivaldi

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Cover Artists: Joseph Michael Linsner; Leirix; Rebeca Puebla; Mirka Andolfo; Cosplay

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 27, 2023

 

Lisa Cosmi wants to marry Paolo Raviolo. Their opposing mafia families forbid the match. The Sicilian lovebirds eloped. Then they got separated. Can Bettie reunite the couple without getting shot by singing sniper Spartaco Serpe? Why not leap into Bettie Page #4 and find out?

 

Story

Two Cosmi clods kidnapped Paolo. Raviolo robbers ran off with Lisa. But no one told the crooning killer. Karen and her paramour Davide race across rooftops to seize the signing sniper. Spartaco got off his shot while trilling Nel Dipinto Di Blue and escaped their clutches.

 

Unfortunately for him, Benjamin got in the way of bringing Bettie a pizza. Guess what splattered red all over her hotel room? Guess what Bettie has been craving since issue #1 and still does?

 

The rival families decide to do a swap. But that will not reunite the lovebirds. Can Bettie, Karen, and Benjamin help Lisa and Paolo realize their dreams?

 

The complex story structure demands that the gears driving this story mesh. Thankfully, Bettie Page #4 ties everything together. While inspired by Shakespearian tragedy, the fun farce ends with a comedic but realistic take on how life often takes us in unexpected directions.

 

Art

Elisa Ferrari, Mara Angelilli, and Tommaso Ronda relate Bettie, Karen, and Benjamin's matchmaking mission with classic Disney appeal. Panels could be stills taken from an animated movie. Characters are expressive and eye-pleasing. Towns, rustic cottages, and scenic landscapes are alluring. Backgrounds rarely fade away in Bettie Page #4.

 

Maura Gulma and Francesca Vivaldi fill scenes with nuanced color. Backgrounds may change color in successive panels but remain pleasing. While ranging from soft to vibrant, the rich coloring shows highlights and shadows without relying on gray.

 

The black dialogue in white balloons is easy to read. Colored narrative boxes provide good contrast. Jeff Eckleberry shrinks the print in white narrative boxes. Sound effects heighten the action in Bettie Page #4. Occasionally, they overtake panels in the final movement of this symphony sparked by famed film maestro Eugenio Vitelloni.

 

Final Thoughts

Italian lovers fight their families for the freedom to fix their future in Bettie Page #4 but find life fussier than fairy tales.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother Review

 

Writers: Mirka Andolfo & Luca Blengino

Artists: Giuseppe Cafaro, Salvatore Cafari, Valentina Pinti,Francesco Paciaroni, Nathan Ramirez, Chiara Di Francia, Giovanna La Pietra & Fausto Michelotti

Colorists: Chiara Di Francia, Nicolò Laporini, Gianluca Papi & Francesca Carotenuto

Letterers: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou & Jeff Eckleberry

Cover Artist: Mirka Andolfo

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $19.99

Release Date: August 23, 2023

 

Scavengers find poor pickings among the dead. They blame their leader Three-Eyed Shezem for placing them among the stragglers of his war party. Then a woman clad in a chain mail bikini and a fur cloak rides into the burning village. Have the gods finally smiled upon them? Let's hack into Red Sonja Vol 1: Mother and find out!

 

Story

Pirates kidnapped Sitha from her cradle. Years later, her parents learned she was in Hyperborea. Zondryak, the King Of The Slums in Messentia, commissioned Red Sonja to find her. It’s taken her two months to travel here from the capital city of Argos, only to find this remote village burning and looters searching the corpses.

 

  

Suddenly, like a gift from the gods, Sitha emerges from the flames. The girl is just as Zondryak described her: ritualistic signs of her lineage mark her arms. Sitha’s eyes glow when she sees Sonja. The exhausted girl rushes into her embrace and insists that Red Sonja is her mother!

 

Red Sonja will find returning to Messentia as difficult as shaking Sitha’s assertion. After a battle leaves her injured, she’ll awaken to discover a man tending her. How dare Samosh touch her so intimately, even to nurse her back to health! Worse, Sitha believes that they should continue living together as a family! Red Sonja’s spirits ebb further when she finally delivers the girl to Zondryak and collects her fee. Sitha feels betrayed. Red Sonja feels like she’s just sold her daughter!

 

 

 

Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother will take Red Sonja and Sitha across the Hyborean world. From Hyperborea to Argos, thence into Shem, and eventually to faraway Khitai, they will meet soldiers, thieves, and an evil baroness. They'll battle blind priests and monsters, visit the castle of a mad king, and find friendship with an aging servant named Setubai. Yet the most intense battle of all will be the battle for their souls, as Red Sonja wrestles with her conscience, and Sitha battles the raging spirit inside her.

 

If you find yourself confused regarding Sitha’s background, don’t worry. The pieces of that puzzle will come together by the end. And while Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother ends on a cliffhanger, Red Sonja and Sitha grow as people while they battle the dangers life throws into their paths. It's the adventure of a lifetime, and you'll be glad you shared it with them.

 

 

 

Art

Giuseppe Cafaro’s characters often appear angular and wear exaggerated expressions. Backgrounds—and characters in long shots—may look barely sketched in. Yet there's also an organic, flowing feeling to his work, such as when the wind whips Red Sonja's hair.

 

His dynamic style relates action well, sometimes faster than the eye can see. There's over-the-top silliness, such as when a man's severed head flies through the air screaming, and battles suggest a George Lucas-like love of lopped-off limbs. At times, dialogue refers to people and objects that only appear in later panels. Yet I like his sense of symmetry, page composition, and how he frames scenes. I particularly like a statue in Samosh’s home that presages Sitha’s transformation in later issues.

 

 

 

Chiara Di Francia enhances Cafaro’s images with bright colors full of richness and depth. They show shadows and highlights, enliven action scenes, and convey realism. Flashbacks—such as when Zondryak commissioned Red Sonja—appear sepia toned. Like Giuseppe Cafaro, he allows other artists to contribute to issue #5. But then he returns to sole coloring duties to follow Sitha’s struggle to survive when separated from her flame-haired guardian.

 

Large, uppercase black letters usually inhabit dialogue balloons. They give way to small font and lowercase lettering for lowered voices. Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother boasts a wealth of lettering styles, from immense time-and-space markers to irregularly shaped balloons with backgrounds that gradually shift from white to red. Balloon arrangement takes on beauty, particularly in the early issues, before the action heightens and situations intensify. 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Red Sonja Vol. 1: Mother explores our responsibility toward others, our craving for power, and how much we long for a sense of family. This six-issue trade paperback—filled with action, sorcery, and Hyborean myths and legends—also packs a forty-page cover gallery.

 

9.2/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Bettie Page #3 Review

 

Writers: Mirka Andolfo & Luca Blengino

Artists: Elisa Ferrari, Mara Angelilli & Tommaso Ronda

Colorists: Maura Gulma & Francesca Vivaldi

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Cover Artists: Joseph Michael Linsner; Leirix; Rebeca Puebla; Mirka Andolfo;

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 16, 2023

 

Lisa Cosmi wants to marry Paolo Raviolo. Their opposing mafia families forbid the match. The Sicilian lovebirds eloped. Then they got separated. Can Bettie find Paolo and help the couple escape their families' hitmen? Let's leap into Bettie Page #3 and find out!

 

Story

Bettie’s agent, Benjamin Du’Met, got her a starring role in Eugenio Vitelloni’s next movie. Along with her secretary Karen Beauregard, Bettie discovered she was a decoy. Eugenio wanted Lisa—the spitting image of Bettie— to be his muse but first needed to put the hitmen off Lisa’s scent. Unwittingly, he put Bettie in the crosshairs instead.

 

In Bettie Page #3, Bettie, Lisa, Karen, and Benjamin traverse Naples, following a trail of breadcrumbs that they hope will lead them to Paolo. As they meet a cast of colorful characters, Benjamin shares his WWII experience in the city, and Karen displays a new skill. Each searcher plays a vital role in locating their prize. But if you think they'll find Paolo without suffering setbacks, think again!

 

This enjoyable all-ages comic puts the fun back in the funny pages. As in newspaper strips of yore, Bettie Page #3 delivers a stomach-buster of narrative and dialogue that is character-specific and never feels overwritten. It’s a satisfying situation comedy that doesn't dumb down or become crass. While the authors break the wall on the final page—and deliver the disheartening news that it's the penultimate issue—this charming story held my interest from beginning to end.

 

Say, did I mention the singing paparazzo who moonlights as a hitman? Mamma mia!

 

 

Art

Along with the plot, the characters and settings remind me of classic Disney animated movies. The action—and the story's sensibilities--recall the studio's live-action cousins. At the same time, Betty Page #3 also evokes episodes of Roger Moore's TV series The Saint set in Italy.

 

The cast of characters exudes warmth and personality. Whether housewives, henchmen, hunchbacks, or anything in between--the people Bettie and company encounter always appeal. While a few pages have only a single scene, most boast six or more. Backgrounds fade in closeups, but mid and wide-range shots boast compelling imagery. Classic architecture and richly drawn interiors encourage me to add a visit to Naples to my Bucket List.

 

Panels benefit from a loaded palette of bright, soft colors. The sun's radiance slants through windows, brightening walls and floors and making characters glow. Darker shades reveal shadows without relying on gray. Sepia-toned Polaroids enhance the search for Paolo.

 

Tiny, italicized letters inhabit narrative boxes. Their larger uppercase relatives fill dialogue balloons. Inflection frequently emboldens words. The lyrics of the hitman's song appear as bold words accompanied by musical notes. While sound effects rarely take the stage, love fills the air in Bettie Page #3. At least, in one panel!

 

Final Thoughts

With nothing to gain, Bettie and her friends risk their lives to reunite pining lovebirds in Bettie Page #3, a lively, comedic twist on Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet.

 

9.4/10

 

Enjoy more covers at my review on Comic Book Dispatch.