Colleen CooverCritiques

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/aPLGoozfWls

Enjoy!

Still loving this series. This time Daniel is kidnapped and Bandette is on the case to find her friend. Great graphics, characters and storyline. I love how the ending of the book is left with a cliffhanger to get the reader excited for the next book in the series.

Absolutely wonderful series! I was not aware that Bandette was modeled after Audrey Hepburn! Even better! In this volume, Bandette is trying to get Absinthe and the Strangler. As usual she is flawless in everything she does and someone we thought dead comes back to help our heroine out! Love the graphics as well.

Excellent usage of multiple narrators and breaking of the fourth wall.

Beautiful artstyle of this book deserves a way better writing.

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/EBIQVJp14Hc

Enjoy!

I love Bandette and her joie de vivre. I'm ever so happy when a new adventure of hers makes its way into my hands.

The Six Finger Secret

In the main story, Bandette is one of six thieves trying to get their hands on the painting know as "The Six Finger Secret," which has been used for centuries to pass along secret messages hidden in the many small paintings within the painting. (The image is based on the real painting by Pierre Subleyras entitled "The Artist's Studio.") The action and comedy is nonstop, and many members of the vast cast get some quality time and/or development even amidst the introduction of many new characters. (This is not a good jumping-on point for new readers!)

Fun in all the ways that make Bandette so addictive!

Urchin Stories: Freckles in "No Bandette"

Bandette is not often denied that which she wants (usually something sweet), and it's funny to see one of her street agents, Freckles, tell her, "No," again and again.

Monsieur in "Souvenirs"

The gentleman thief -- Bandette's rival/comrade -- gets to have a gentlemanly fling back in the '60s/'70s while making off with a treasure.

Don't Speak Her Name

This illustrated text story is actually my favorite part of the book. An amateur artist is devastated to be victimized by Bandette when she steals all the paintings out his tiny little studio. His grief quikly turns to anger, and he sets out to get revenge. The ending is obvious, but oh so effective.

FOR REFERENCE:

This volume collects issues fourteen through eighteen of the Monkeybrain comic book series Bandette.

Contents: Previously -- Bandette in "The Six Finger Secret" / Paul Tobin, writer; Colleen Coover, illustrator -- Urchin Stories: Freckles in "No Bandette" / Paul Tobin, writer; Sarah Burrini, illustrator -- Urchin Stories: Monsieur in "Souvenirs" / Colleen Coover, writer and illustrator -- Don't Speak Her Name / Paul Tobin, writer; Colleen Coover, illustrator -- What's Bandette Stolen Now? / Colleen Coover, writer; Colleen Coover and Pierre Subleyras, illustrators -- Special Thanks -- About the Authors

Wrassle Castle is a fun and relaxing read with a strong female character ready to fight to become the greatest of all fighters in the kingdom of Grimslade. But for the moment, it is only a dream, as Lydia Riverthane’s parents have other plans for her. So she rehearses secretly in the forest, fighting wild animals. Her gift comes useful when her brother is arrested for treason, and the only way to prove his innocence is to wrassle in a tournament.

The story is LGBTQ+ friendly and offers a great variety of characters in a Medieval setting.

This was pretty fun. I like adventure, and I like the style of this graphic novel. I found the heroine a little bit annoying, but I liked it well to enough to look forward to reading sequel to see if I learn more about her and change my mind.

There were still some funny moments and some sweet ones, but this volume didn't delight me like the first two did.

I loved this comic to the last page. Even the "about the authors" page made me smile. I hope they write many more adventures starring this mischievous teenage thief.

The person who wrote the introduction to this commented that you can hear the French accents as you read, and he was exactly right. No need to write things out phonetically: the syntax, along with a monsieur here or a mademoiselle there, is enough.
The tone is playful. Bandette is a lovable thief who, of course, only steals from people who deserve it or won't mind. She is full of admiration for the people around her (as well as for herself), even for those who don't return her feelings, such as "the delightfully nosed" Inspector Belgique.
I recommend reading all the extras at the end of the book too, once the main story is complete. Read Daniel's story, at least, but all of these tidbits are good.
This comic made me smile a lot. I can't wait to read the next and to try out other work by these authors.

I was going to "only" give this one 4 stars, but the backmatter bumped it up to a 5! The Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, and Charade inspirations explain in part why I love this series so much -- I love all those things, too! James Coburn would have been perfectly cast as Il Tredici, too.

What a delightful, light hearted and joyful romp! Happy women enjoying the heck out of sex with other women and playing fantasy games. Charming, sweet, and extremely explicit. I loved it!

And yet, can't turn my brain off, and there were a few things that I really didn't like:
I did not care for the collect 'em all exoticism -- it's right on the line between inclusivity (all women as beautiful) and uncomfortable tokenism
I did not like the issue that features a white explorer complete with native bearers tracking a jungle cat -- I mean, yay furries, but offensive representation
Why is everyone so skinny??? Bring in some zaftig ladies -- they are beautiful, too
A little surprised at the emphasis on penetration -- but this is a specific set of kinks, here, and there's nothing wrong with that

Unapologetically cute lady smut.

Full review here: http://www.loveinpanels.com/small-favors-by-colleen-coover

I didn't expect to like this. I picked it up because books that are not the standard size appeal to me, and this one had a fun pop-art cover. The blurb on the back seemed a little... cliché, but had promise. I expected a kind of sci-fi mystery, about humanity and emotions and twins and connection.

What I got was a kind of vignette about Annah, an emotionally manipulative and stunted young women who might or might not be crazy, told through the eyes of those who love her and those who barely know her. And I loved it.

The art is standard; no complaints. I liked the black-and-white and gingerbread palate, and the fact that there are no easy answers. Chili's little concluding speech, where she recounts some of Annah's likes and dislikes, and that she's a good kisser (and totally glosses over the fact that she might or might not have a twin who was extracted from her brain when she was a child) and says that that's "All she knows about Annah" is sublime.

Lighthearted book, very nicely drawn action and colorful pages. I liked that most of the people getting "thieved" by Bandette had it coming in one way or another, making it easier to identify with a heroine who is a self-described criminal.

superheroine graphic novel - fun, mostly teen-appropriate, or at least it would appeal most to teens/young adults and doesn't contain anything they'd bat an eye at--the worst swear is "ass"; some of the additional back stories at the end have a small amount of nudity.

A quirky and colorful graphic novel about a young woman named Annah who may have a sister, or not. With some terribly clever POV-hopping as a storytelling device and a main protagonist who is as refreshing as she is frustrating, Gingerbread Girl is an oddly satisfying look at family, divorce, romance, friendship, mental illness and the pursuit of breadcrumbs. Also, panties.

This is an erotic graphic a novel and it's completely adorable. The premise is a bit odd: the main character, as punishment by her conscious for her constant masturbation, gets shackled with a physical manifestation of her conscious, Nibbil, who turns out to be just as--if not more--sex-crazed than Annie.

I love seeing a sex-positive title where all the all-female cast are okay with sex--joyful about it, in fact. And despite all the very explicit scenes, it still ends up being a adorable thanks to Nibbil's happy-go-lucky nature. And it's fairly obvious that despite the sexual focus of the book, the characters all genuinely like or love one another. It's fairly light on plot but heavy on charm. I would have liked some more story though.

I was disappointed that this review copy did not contain the introduction from Kelly Sue DeConnick, though.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

I don't mind slightly disjointed, unresolved stories occasionally, but I was disappointed by the lack of substance here. on the other hand, the art is adoooooooooooorable.

Absolutely adorable.