I was really intrigued by this book as i love the images of her famous pin-up scenes. It was an interesting read as it incorporated glamour, crime, spookiness and absurdity. The plot was a little all over the place and it reminded me of an Ed Brubaker in the good points. I did enjoy reading it but i will not continue when the second volume is released.

Bettie Page Vol. 1 was an odd graphic novel. It was almost like a pastiche of golden Hollywood era sci-fi cinema that didn't quite hit the mark. I think the most glaring reason why it didn't work was that it had absolutely nothing to do with Bettie Page, apart from the character having her name and face. Had this been developed as a standalone graphic novel with an original character it might have been a little more fun, but the way that it was rendered has resulted in a largely nonsensical, rambling plot with poor characterisation.

It wasn't all bad. David Avallone really hit the art with everything it deserved, putting together a great team. Colton Worley especially hit the mark with his representation of Bettie. There was an interesting mix of cartoon and pin-up style realism which made Bettie Page Vol. 1 at least fun to look at. If I could have just had a coffee table book of the art I'd have given this 5 stars!

All in all, Bettie Page Vol. 1 was a pretty forgettable read, which is a shame for a graphic novel meant to represent someone so completely memorable.