Review by Frank Plowright

The Six Finger Secret is the greatest game of pass the parcel ever presented as a graphic novel, and thank goodness for that as it’s been a long time since The House of the Green Mask.

Swallowing his pride, Inspector B.D. Belgique knows only the world’s greatest thief can locate a painting stolen from his family’s home. He approaches Bandette to retrieve it for his tyrannical mother. He’s unaware, though, that the painting is coveted by others, Bandette’s rival Monsieur, strangling killer Il Tredici and new characters Valentina Ardennes, the Brute and Femme Felon have all been tasked with delivering the painting to clients.

Actual painting The Artist’s Studio by Paul Subleyras, hanging in Vienna’s Academy of Fine Arts, is used as the story’s basis. Paul Tobin’s comedic premise is that it’s been constantly modified by France’s rich and famous for the purposes of arranging assignations, passing on secrets or plain messages. This requires some jiggery pokery with dates, as Subleyras didn’t complete the painting until 1849, but file that under the category of facts ought not to interfere with a good story. The title comes from part of the painting featuring a hand with six fingers, each of them differently coloured.

As The Six Finger Secret requires reproducing a complicated painting featuring several other paintings, Colleen Coover’s workload is immeasurably increased, but this is another gloriously drawn volume, oozing confident charm. Bandette herself is as delightful as ever, despite some competition from new characters, while the already loveable Heloise, Belgique’s assistant, finally confesses her love for her boss publicly. While drawing no conclusions, the next volume is titled The Wedding of B.D. Belgique.

The desirable painting changes hands so many times, you’ll wonder how Tobin managed to choreograph the circumstances. Of course, although it may seem otherwise, Bandette is on top of everything despite being constantly distracted by baked delights. They also feature in the sentimental text story Tobin supplies as a back up. There are so many brilliantly silly moments, so we’ll pass on just one, when Bandette manages to steal Monsieur’s shoes while he’s driving. That’s top class thieving.

Bandette continues to be utterly ridiculous and utterly delightful.