Bandette Vol 1: Presto! Graphic Novel Review

Bandette Vol 1: Presto!Erica gives this comic three starsBandette Vol 1: Presto! by Paul Tobin
Art: Colleen Coover

I really wanted to like this book a lot. But I came away from reading it annoyed at Bandette. She’s a hyper irresponsible, which I know is the point, but I couldn’t relax while in her world. I couldn’t help myself from thinking about all the plot holes. Which is also not the point.

This was part of my monthly book ladies book club. It was interesting to hear the other women talk about how much Bandette was a play on the old-timey French comics. (Which the extras in the graphic novel also talked about.) I admit that my comic book knowledge is pretty thin in that arena. The women who really enjoyed the book seemed to have an affinity for the playful nature and the joy in the book. Which I do agree that this book has joy.

The best of Bandette is, for sure, the art. Coover is masterful. Her process, which sounds extraordinarily labor intensive, makes for a beautiful book. Bandette‘s world is brought to life under her careful penciling, inking, and coloring. I love how each book has as separate color palette and how the inking and coloring give a certain muted tone.

The story and characterization, particularly of Bandette herself, is where the book started to fall apart for me. Continue reading “Bandette Vol 1: Presto! Graphic Novel Review”