CREDIT: Dynamite
Rating: 4.5/5 – Fun Comic with A Musical Flair… Boop-Oop-a-Doop!
by ComicSpectrum EiC Bob Bretall.
A lot of comics on the stands are really heavy affairs. Lots of tension and conflict, violence, angst; heavy stuff with bits of humor sprinkled in. Betty Boop is the mirror image; it brings some light-hearted fun back to comics with a little bit of peril for Betty and her Grampy thrown in.
Roger Langridge writes this with same humorous flair he has brought to books like The Muppet Show/Muppets, Snarked, Popeye, Rocky and Bullwinkle and others. Paired with the artistic stylings of Gisele Lagace and we have a perfect package for capturing a great sensibility for Betty Boop. She’s fun, lovable, and spunky. In this issue she interacts with co-workers, sings some songs, and faces down a supernatural menace that I have a feeling will be back in some form or another in future issues. Langridge integrates song into the story for both Betty and the main villain in a way that moves the story along as you read the lyrics. Lagace’s art is cute and energetic, merging the classic Betty Boop look into not only the title character but also continuing that sensibility in the design of the other characters and the world itself. The comic reminded me of Arn Saba’s Neil the Horse that was one of the early indie comics that I loved back in the early 1980s that also combined a musical sensibility with a fun-loving attitude.
I had a lot of fun reading Betty Boop #1. it wasn’t a comic I was anticipating in advance of its release, but when I flipped through the comic at the shop I immediately fell in love with the visual style Gisele Lagace brought to the book. Another minute or so of reading one of the song lyrics as I was giving the book a once over, I was sold and added the comic to my stack to purchase. Betty Boop brought a smile to my face and that isn’t something that happens a lot with the comics I read. I’m happy to be adding this to my pull list and I look forward to seeing where Langridge and Lagace will bring me next.
Reviewed by: Bob Bretall
(bob@comicspectrum.com)
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