bettie page blog

Bettie Page in 3-D...



...and the 2-D inspiration...



First AVATAR, then ALICE IN WONDERLAND... and now BETTIE PAGE... everyone's going 3-D!

Best of all, to see Bettie in 3-D, you don't have to shell out for a movie ticket, wear smudgy glasses or struggle to find a seat. Popcorn is also optional. That's because Bettie's conversion to 3-D can be found coming soon at your local comic book shop in August of 2010.

Conventioneers at the Toy Fair got a sneak preview of the new 3-D Bettie Page... in the form of a statue, sculpted by fan-favorite Kent Melton, inspired by an iconic pin-up by the late, great Dave Stevens and produced by DARK HORSE.

For the uninitiated, Dave Stevens was a highly celebrated comic book and pin-up artist who became obsessed with drawing Bettie Page, a woman who he felt represented the paragon of bewitching feminine beauty. He even held "Bettie Parties" in the lunchroom at Hanna Barbera early in his career, screening any "loops" of Bettie he could find. When he was given the opportunity to create his own comic character, to star in a back-up feature of Mike Grell's STARSLAYER, published by FIRST COMICS in 1982, he created a melange of his personal obsessions... ROCKETEER. The pulp-infused adventure also featured, as the female lead, a "character" named Bettie. Bettie's "appearance" in the comic introduced a younger generation to the queen of pin-ups and helped lead to Bettie's real-life re-emergence. More fascinating, still, when Dave learned Bettie was alive and well... and in his Southern California backyard, he not only led the charge to ensure that all Bettie Page merchandise was authorized and financially benefited Bettie, he also helped her personally, taking her to appointments, the grocery store and the like. For more on Dave Stevens, read our tribute to him on the occasion of his passing, here.

Now, one of those beautifully rendered images is being brought to life in the form of a LIMITED EDITION STATUE OF BETTIE PAGE, AS ENVISIONED BY DAVE STEVENS by the trusted team at DARK HORSE, who have already offered over 150 other officially licensed, high-quality Bettie Page products and were one of the original publishers of Dave Stevens ROCKETEER comic. Sadly, neither Bettie Page or Dave Stevens are here to participate, but those who knew both are doing their best to uphold their desire for quality.

“Dave was a tough critic, especially when it came to his own work. We knew we had to satisfy him, so we were meticulous in every detail. I think we might have succeeded,” said friend-of-the-blog, David Scroggy, DARK HORSE’s vice president of product development. He went on to explain that DARK HORSE approached Kent Melton not only because of his skill, but also because he was a close friend and previous collaborator of Dave Stevens. “We have enormous respect for both Dave and Bettie, and we felt an obligation to make this piece a home run.”

Melton studied all of Dave's key portrayals of Bettie to pick his favorite and ensure an overall fidelity to Dave Stevens' interpretation of Bettie. Kent Melton observed, “Dave and I talked frequently about how female anatomy should work in sculpture. When I started to sculpt, it felt almost as if Dave were there guiding me. The piece came together quickly, almost as if we’d rehearsed it over the years.”

The thirteen-inch "Bettie Page by way of Dave Stevens" statue (including the base) will come in "deluxe packaging" and include a "certificate of authenticity" in the form of a large print of Dave Stevens pin-up artwork that inspired Melton's sculpture. DARK HORSE is still in the process of determining how many statues will be made. Fans can start saving now, so they can pay the $150 for one of these limited edition beauties when they hit comic book store shelves this August.