Bandette Volume 1: Presto!

by Paul Tobin

[inlibrisveritas]

If you love light-hearted crime capers like the 1960′s Batman than this is definitely for you. Bandette is a fun, quirky, and charming graphic novel that follows Maxime Plouffe, a young woman who masquerades as the cheeky thief Bandette.

Bandette may be a thief but it’s also a good guy and frequently helps out the police inspector when it comes to foiling other criminals’ crimes. With the help of her street urchins she can take down the bad guys with a certain style that is both fun and really cheesy. I loved that she was such a light-hearted person even when facing danger and that she always had something to say. It was like she was living a book she’d read and she just couldn’t get enough of it. She’s definitely not the only one who takes the same approach and there are several moments where she engages the enemies in normal conversations while taking them on in a fight. There are also a series of short comics and one short story at the end that focus on a few of the side characters that are done by guest artists, which are also incredibly cute. My favorite was probably Monsieur’s story but the assistant to the police chief also has a really good story.

I really loved the art style. It really fit the Parisian style but it also had a light feel about it that added to the fun of the story.

Overall I really think this one was real treat to read. It had me smiling and giggling the whole time I was reading it, not to mention I had the urge to say Presto for a few days.