SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

July 6, 2015 by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Review: ‘Bandette Vol. 2: Stealers, Keepers!’

July 6, 2015 by J. Caleb Mozzocco   Leave a Comment

bandetteBandette Vol. 2: Stealers, Keepers!
Written by Paul Tobin
Art by Colleen Coover
Dark Horse Comics, $15

Among the 40 pages worth of extra material at the end of the second volume of Bandette is a five-page feature called “Designing Bandette,” in which artist Colleen Coover walks readers through the various inspirations of the various lead characters, all of whom are based on combinations of various classic actors.

It will come as absolutely no surprise that the title character, a charming and mischievous Parisian costumed super-thief, is based on the two Audreys: Hepburn and Tatou. While Bandette and its world and cast are pulled and recombined and remixed elements of films and comics throughout the late 20th century, it reads and feels like nothing so much as a 1960s spy/caper flick fused with the 2001 Tatou-starring Amelie (The single, perfect example of this is Bandette’s favorite brand of chocolate bar: Chocobolik, a sweet confection referencing a masked Italian anti-hero star of comics and films).

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

That is, of course, a good thing, as it means the fun, colorful, even fluffy genre elements become more fun, more colorful, and fluffier still, with a puck-ish pixie of a character at the center.

This volume picks up right where the first left off, the story of which is fleetly recounted in a “Previously…” page. Rival super-thieves Bandette and Monsieur, both thorns in the side of the criminal organization Finis and its evil leader Absinthe, have decided on a contest of thievery to prove which of them is the better thief. They have a list of treasures to pilfer, each of which belongs to Absinthe.

Here they finish working their way down the list, while Absinthe sends his a newer, deadlier assassin against Bandette: The emotion-less, invincible strangler Il Tredici (Bandette managed to not only defeat her previous assassin, Matadori, but to turn her as well).

As a satisfying plot must, all of the various plotlines introduced in the previous volume all come together with pleasingly efficient resolution here, with all of the characters ending up in the same place at the same time, all of them getting what they deserve.

It’s a tidy enough ending that it seems like it could easily be the end of Bandette, but a box in the final panel assures us that “Bandette will continue in: ‘The House of The Green Mask’!”

In addition to the previously mentioned “Designing Bandette” feature, the extra material includes seven three-page shtors starring supporting characters, all written by Tobin and featuring art from Jonathan Hill, Ron Randall, Lucy Bellwood, Sheli Hay, Emi Lenox, patrick Scherberger and Ron Chan; a prose story by Tobin illustrated in black and white by Coover; a two-page guide to the famous and sometimes legendary items stolen in the course of the story and a few pages of script.

As with the previous volume, this one is a very nicely-assembled, very welcome package. Tobin and Coover unrepentantly steal from European comics and old films and use those elements to construct a narrative around a super-thief who can steal anything…even the heart of the most jaded and cynical of comics readers.

Filed under: All Ages, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
BandetteColleen CooverDark Horse ComicsKeepers!Paul TobinStealers

About J. Caleb Mozzocco

J. Caleb Mozzocco is a way-too-busy freelance writer who has written about comics for online and print venues for a rather long time now. He currently contributes to Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 blog and ComicsAlliance, and maintains his own daily-ish blog at EveryDayIsLikeWednesday.blogspot.com. He lives in northeast Ohio, where he works as a circulation clerk at a public library by day.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

Andy Warner's Oddball Histories: Pests and Pets | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

My Sister, the Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

October 2022

A Costume for Charly | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

September 2022

History Comics: The Roanoke Colony | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who? (#184)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Announcing the 2022 Winners of the Annual Blueberry Literary Award!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Review: Nat the Cat Takes a Nap

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Transformative Power of Books, a guest post by David Aleman

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Graphic Novels for Armchair Campers | Stellar Panels

10 Sports Manga for Hardcore Fans and Newcomers Alike | Mondo Manga

The 2019 Eisner Award Nominations, Reviewed

The Publishing Industry Adapts to COVID-19 While Offering Support

Sneak Peek: SLJ Best Books 2020

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023