BETTIE PAGE: CURSE OF THE BANSHEE #4 – Review

In BETTIE PAGE: CURSE OF THE BANSHEE #4, available from Dynamite Comics on September 15th, 2021, Bettie fights for control against the Banshee who invaded her mind and soul.

The Details

• Written By: Stephen Mooney
• Art By: Jethro Morales
• Colors By: Dinei Ribero
• Letters By: Taylor Esposito, Elizabeth Sharland
• Cover Art By: Marat Mychaels (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: September 15, 2021

Wait! Don’t Forget To Sign Up For The Comical Opinions Newsletter.

Was It Good?

This one is slightly concerning. It’s not necessarily bad in terms of art or dialog, but it doesn’t tell a complete chapter and not much happens. You could make a very strong case this is mostly a filler issue.

One of the down points I’ve harped on with this series is that the titular character is here in name only. There’s nothing particularly Bettie Page-like about this version of Bettie Page, and in this issue, that down point hasn’t changed. If anything, any unique qualities that would inform the reader that Bettie Page is the main character are completely absent. It’s a generic person named Bettie.

The plot, which is a second down point for this issue, is paper-thin. Technically, there really is no plot to this issue so much as it’s one, extended scene. There’s an Exorcist-type struggle to free Bettie from the Banshee invading her spirit. The struggle started at the end of the last issue and is nowhere near resolved by the end of this issue. In terms of moving the story along, nothing happens.

The art by Morales and the team is very good. There’s a sequence where Bettie and the Banshee are speaking in an illusion, and the entire sequence is exceptionally well done. While I may be down on the writing components, the art is all good.

I want to like this title. It’s a proper horror comic with creepy elements that fit right into the classic drive-in style of cinema, but there’s not much Bettie Page in this title, generally, and this specific issue goes nowhere.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

Before you get scared away, read our BETTIE PAGE: CURSE OF THE BANSHEE #3 review.

We begin where the last issue left off. Bettie is barely conscious, struggling with whatever the Banshee did in the nearby cave to invade her mind/soul. Lyssa is there to try and keep Bettie from getting injured and to feed her an herbal broth the locals say will help.

Suddenly, a priest appears after being called by “concerned” neighbors to lend aid. Lyssa is skeptical, implying from her remarks that she’s an atheist, but she agrees to let the priest try to free Bettie from the curse.

Meanwhile, we get a glimpse inside Bettie’s mind where she’s sitting in a nice kitchen, enjoying coffee and pastries while she talks to the Banshee in the form of a friendly neighbor. The Banshee tries to convince Bettie to let go of her resistance, but Bettie decides she’d rather not and begins to fly away out of the illusion. The Banshee starts to chase her and soon reverts to her horrific, true form.

We conclude the issue with Lyssa kicking the ineffective priest out after giving a strange rant about the patriarchy, Bettie showing outward signs of getting worse, and a glimpse at the zombie hordes waiting for the Banshee’s call.

Final Thoughts

BETTIE PAGE: CURSE OF THE BANSHEE #4 is a proper horror comic reminiscent of the drive-in spooky films of the 1950s. However, the plot in this issue is paper-thin, making almost no progress on the arc, and there’s nothing particularly Bettie Page-like about the main character.

Score: 6/10