Just days before the doors open to the greatest spectacle in comics, Dynamite leads the charge with news to return animation’s original leading lady to the limelight! For the first time in nearly 30 years, Betty Boop™ returns to the printed page!
October will see brand new adventures of Betty Boop™ (with her pals Koko the Clown and Bimbo, naturally) from award-winning writer Roger Langridge (The Muppets) and artist Gisèle Lagacé (Archie). Join Betty as she works at the Oop-A-Doop Club, dreams of hitting the big-time, looks after her old Grampy… and fights ghosts (proving that Betty was always ahead of her time)!
“I remember seeing old Max Fleischer Betty Boop™ cartoons on TV when I was a kid and being fascinated by their decidedly non-Disney viewpoint. They existed in a seedy, fallen world, full of speakeasies, ghastly monsters from nightmares, sexual tension, and lots of hot, hot jazz – heady, exotic stuff to a kid in suburban New Zealand in the 1970s,” says writer Roger Langridge. “It must have left a strong impression, because it’s a world I’ve tried to recreate in my own comics a number of times over the years, most particularly in my own creator-owned series Fred the Clown – so it’s genuinely exciting to be able to go right to the source, writing the real deal. And I’m particularly pleased that we’ve got a woman cartoonist drawing this major female icon, in the form of the very talented Gisèle Lagacé; Betty Boop™, as was common at the time, was created as a male’s fantasy idea of a woman, so I think it’s important in this day and age to have a female point-of-view right at the creative coalface.”
“Dynamite has assembled an incredible team to create the new Betty Boop™ series,” said Frank Caruso, Vice President, Creative, for King Features. “As we are re-imagining Betty Boop™ with a whole new style-conscious generation, it’s amazing to see this new creative team producing retro-infused comics with the confidence to know that there’s nothing cooler than retro cartoons… especially a Max Fleischer cartoon!”
King Features is the exclusive worldwide licensing agent for Betty Boop™. The New York City-based unit of Hearst works closely with property owner Fleischer Studios to manage the brand.
“We have already been very fortunate to have such a strong partnership with King Features. To be able to tell new stories based on Max Fleischer’s original cartoon superstar is another great achievement for all of us here at Dynamite,” says Dynamite CEO and Publisher, Nick Barrucci. “Betty Boop™is one of the most recognizable faces in the history of animation, a timeless American cultural icon. This new series will delight comics fans young, old, and everywhere in-between!”
Betty Boop™ #1 features four traditional comic covers from an all-star cast of creative admirers, including the legendary Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!), Roger Langridge doing double-duty as an illustrator, series interior artist Gisèle Lagacé, and a special Max Fleischer character sheet. Special edition variants will include a “Coloring Book Cover” by J. Bone (Super Friends), printed on thick paper so fans of all ages can embellish her appearance; a Blank Authentix Edition that fans and comic professionals can illustrate; and a rare Howard Chaykin “Black & White” incentive edition available to qualifying retailers.
Betty Boop™ #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ August 2016 Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in October. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of Betty Boop™ with their local comic book retailers. Betty Boop™ will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.
