Quick impressions: A light and fun read. Who knew Bettie Page was a secret agent? Well, she kept a secret diary, and now the truth can be told. The story is not always consistent, but the volume does feature good art, plus it plays nicely with 1950s cliches and images.

(Full review to my blog later) ( )

So part way through my reading of the first story in this collection I was like Wait...was Bettie Page actually a secret agent? Obviously, as the story devolves into giant occult lasers I'm guessing the answer was no, but still, for a second, I really considered the possibility, so in that Bettie Page Volume 1 by David Avallone succeeds. Where it maybe doesn't succeed as well is in pacing -- sometimes I felt lost. Sometimes it seemed like new characters were abruptly introduced or taken away. Sometimes I didn't really know what was going on. I'll chalk up my confusion to a combination of maybe there's something missing here and the low-res file I got for reviewing -- low res implies pixelation implies sometimes I have to squint and when I squint I get a headache and then I end up scanning quickly rather than reading.

It's fun. It's pulpy. But it isn't necessarily enough to keep you satisfied.

Bettie Page Volume 1 by David Avallone went on sale May 22, 2018.

I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )