A 250 word (or less) review of Bandette Volume 2
by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover; Dark Horse Books/Monkey Brain Comics
Bandette is an ongoing comic. To read about the first chapter go here.
Bandette is a pure double scoop dollop of delightful. The comic series focuses on the daring adventures of Bandette, a playful young thief with joie de vivre and a sweet tooth. Stealers Keepers! tells the exciting conclusion of the wager between Bandette and gentleman thief Monsieur, to steal the most treasures from villainous mastermind Absinthe of the FINIS criminal syndicate. Bandette Volume 2 is another relentlessly fun comic filled with adventure, secret romance, feats of banditry, and brash action all delivered with a giant grin. It's an absolute joy to read. Bandette: Stealers Keepers! is also a beautiful, stylish comic. Bandette rightfully gets a lot of credit for being a gleeful experiment in happy comics (because it is a hoot), but it's also a remarkably well made comic of energetic, expressive characters living in a sun-dappled, colourful world of French streets and ornate rooftops. This is a comic that is simply a joy to look at, even when ignoring the delightful adventures being depicted. Which makes Bandette a really special comic: the combination of totally infectious fun and gawkably masterful artwork is a pretty rare reading experience. It is really one of the more complete comics experiences available. It's also totally, completely fun.
Word count: 206
Previously:
Bandette Vol. 1
A 250 (word or less) review of Bandette Volume One
By Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover; Dark Horse Books/Monkeybrain Comics
Sometimes it's okay for a comic just to be fun. I like brooding drama and intricate mechanical plots with relentless character stakes as much as the next person, but sometimes it's nice to read a comic where everything is pretty okay and all the characters are enjoying themselves. Bandette: Presto! is a relentlessly fun comic. The comic is about Bandette: a French master thief with dubious morals, a penchant for altruism, an infectious zest for the joys of stealing, and a sweet tooth. Presto! introduces Bandette, showcases some of her enjoyable capers, and colours her world with her band of merry urchin accomplices, debonair gentleman rivals, cartoonish inspectors, and Parisian rooftops. Presto! also sets up an ongoing conflict with FINIS and it's leader Absinthe, with a series of crimes meant to infuriate and damage the nefarious organization. The entire package, from the giant grin on Bandette's fez to her chihuahua Pimento, is invitingly, glaringly, relentlessly fun. It's the kind of comic that scampers over rooftops with glee, somersaults gracefully through spells of silliness, and flirts dangerously with the sharp edge of inanity, but somehow manages to tumble through as a really enjoyable, surprisingly mature and smart comic. Bandette is very much the ultra-fun comic for fans who don't typically enjoy silly comics. It's a comic you really ought to try.
Word count: 220
A 250 word (or less) review of the Gingerbread Girl graphic novel
By Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, Top Shelf Productions
Gingerbread Girl is a silly comic. In it Annah Billips, a
young woman who is apparently a tease, goes on a date with be-afroed Chili
Brandals doing those things trendy young women do in Portland Oregon on dates.
Along the way we learn that Annah believes that as a child her father performed
brain surgery on her to remove her Penfield Homunculus which he then grew into
a clone sister called Ginger. It is also revealed that Annah is obsessed with
finding Ginger. Of course this all might be a delusion on Annah’s part.
Gingerbread Girl examines whether Annah is crazy or Ginger is real or whether
it really even matters. There is a lot to like in this comic. Colleen Coover is
an amazing artist, and just seeing her artwork is worth the price of admission.
The way the story is told is also pretty nifty: a kind of picture storybook for
adults with quirky narrators laying out the story directly to the reader. It’s pretty fun. Gingerbread girl does have some problems though. The lesser of
the two is that a Penfield’s Homunculus isn’t what Tobin and Coover seem to
think it is (full credit: they do acknowledge this kind of... but its still
very distracting to me). The larger issue is that the story doesn’t really
resolve itself in a very satisfying way. So, I’d say Gingerbread Girl is like
its name: a sweet and delicious treat that isn’t all that fulfilling as a meal.
Word count: 248
