4 out of 5

…And here Bandette is embellished to the most probable evolution from her balance of cheek and awareness in volume 1: to be too cutesy.  Volume 2 finds our titular heroine embroiled in the thieving competition with Monsieur promised at the end of the last volume, leveraging those antics into an assault against the evil Absinthe, who’s introduced new creepo Il Tredici into the mix.  Once again the book borrows heavily from classic film styles -particularly a 40s whimsy (confirmed by a behind-the-scenes inspirations bit from artist Colleen Coover) – and blends this with a breezy Sunday Comics harmlessness; despite Absinthe’s wielding a gun a being willing to kill, despite Il Tredici’s tattooed hands closing around Bandette’s neck, you’ve no doubt it’s all going according to plan and the right people will end up feeling foolish and chocolate bars will be eaten.  But we’re lacking in introductions this time.  In building up his little world of frustrated police inspectors and thief-assisting urchins and the competitive Monsieur, Tobin was able to dash Bandette’s Amelie-esque (another admitted influence) wide-eyed abandon with a self-narrating wink, which kept the cute in check and also lent the tale a warm sense of familiarity.  That being done, Stealers, Keepers! has to focus more closely on plotting, and so the main portion of the book feels equally a bit drier – a lot of setup – and more predictable, with Bandette’s patter sounding more like one-liners that inspired and energetic exasperations.  The best portion of the book – and a section highlighting how much Coover seals the deal on this strip – is the last chapter, when the pieces are finally in place and it’s a straight-forward battle, characters shifting in and out of the dance and repartee flying about.  It’s exciting and funny, and more reminiscent of the flair in volume 1, and gives Coover a chance to play with space and motion in a way that the scene-setting elsewhere doesn’t as much provide.

Of course, this criticism obviously doesn’t affect things TOO much: it’s still a madly fun book, and a handsome presentation with a lot of nice extras.  It’s just that it’s definitely more settled into routine by this point, something more content to be read in its original webcomic form than necessarily needing the hardcover treatment.