BETTIE PAGE: THE ALIEN AGENDA #3, from Dynamite Comics on May 11th, 2022, follows Bettie and her team to Greece to uncover the next clue in their search for a cache of alien weapons. Will their efforts produce bitter fruit?
The Details
- Written By: Ani-Mia
- Art By: Celor
- Colors By: Farah Nurmaliza
- Letters By: Carlos M. Mangual
- Cover Art By: Joseph Michael Linsner (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: May 11, 2022
Was It Good?
BETTIE PAGE: THE ALIEN AGENDA #3 is a solid if an uneven entry in the series. If you’re all in on the globetrotting adventure of the world’s most photographed model-turned-spy, there’s a lot to like in this issue. That said, there are a few flaws that jump out at you, so temper your expectations.
To be clear, this is going to be a positive review. Ani-Mia has clearly done her homework in introducing historical and mythological points of interest as Bettie and the gang head to Greece. It’s not a boring history lesson but an adventure as close as you can get to Indiana Jones without the whips and guns. The issue is a light adventure with endearing characters and a few puzzles to hold your attention. And the pacing in this issue is significantly better than the pacing problems in issue #2.
However, the few flaws present are jarring. After the opening breakfast scene, Bettie and the gang are suddenly standing in front of a wall inscribed with a large, circular tableau containing glyphs. There’s no transition or caption to indicate where they are or why they’re there, yet the friends praise Bettie for successfully finding it.
Next, the last challenge involves a variation of Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox. Every step takes you halfway to your goal which means, in theory, you’ll never reach the goal. The idea is sound, but the execution doesn’t work on the panel because you couldn’t tell how the characters were moving without explaining how they were moving. The wobbly execution is art criticism, not a writing criticism, and this is where Celor’s struggles with perspective (something we’ve noted previously) hurt the end product. Making the Dichotomy Paradox a trap to solve is a cool concept, but it required better artistic skill than what was presented here.
In fairness, this is still the best of Celor’s work we’ve seen so far. The panels look finished, the character designs are excellent, and the backgrounds look great. Special praise goes to Nurmaliza for excellent color palette choices.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
If you need a refresher on how Bettie decided to head to Greece, check out our BETTIE PAGE: THE ALIEN AGENDA #2 review.
We begin with Bettie and the gang on a tiring flight to Greece. Rather than hitting the ground running, they decide to take the night off to rest. After breakfast, the group is suddenly standing in front of a wall with a larger circular tablet containing glyphs (Don’t ask where they are or how they got there). They examine the glyphs to try and decipher how to unlock whatever secret the tablet contains, with a little help from Bettie’s friends, they figure out how to press the glyphs in the correct order, and a stairway leading to an underground cavern suddenly appears.
The trio follows the tunnel to a large room where a mechanical sphynx, ripped straight from the Greek tragedy of Oedipus Rex, asks them a riddle they must solve before they can pass. They solve the riddle, and off they go to the next tunnel. After hours of walking, they arrive at their final challenge – a pedestal at the end of a room that’s the living embodiment of the Dichotomy Paradox. We conclude the issue with tests, checkerboards, and so much puking.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
BETTIE PAGE: THE ALIEN AGENDA #3 is a fine issue in the series with cool challenges, interesting use of mythology in a modern context, and much better pacing than issue #2. That said, there were a few scene switches lacking setup or transition, and the art fell short in depicting the intricacies of the traps.
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