The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec
Encyclopedia
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is a historical fantasy
comic book
series first appearing in 1976
written and illustrated by French
comics artist
Jacques Tardi
and published in album format by Belgian
publisher Casterman
, sometimes preceded by serialisation in various periodicals, intermittently since then. The comic portrays the titular far-fetched adventures and mystery
-solving of its eponymous heroine, herself a writer of popular fiction
, in a secret history
-infused, gaslamp fantasy version of the early 20th century
, set primarily in Paris
and prominently incorporating real-life
locations and events. Initially a light-hearted parody
of such fiction of the period, it takes on a darker tone as it moves into the post–World War I
years and the 1920s
.
One of Tardi's most popular works and his first to span multiple albums, it has been reprinted in English and other translations and is being adapted as a big-budget film trilogy.
as three earlier Tardi comics: Adieu Brindavoine ("Farewell Brindavoine"), serialised in 1972 in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine
Pilote
#680–700, its direct sequel La Fleur au fusil ("The Flower in the Rifle"), a ten-page one-shot first published in 1974 in Pilote #743 and included in albums of the former, and the 1974 original graphic novel
The Arctic Marauder (Le Démon des glaces, "The Demon of the Ice"). It is, however, the more technology-focused, what might now be called steampunk
, Arctic Marauder that takes place first in the fictional continuity, being set in the 1890s
, with Lucien Brindavoine's adventures, considered a less refined, early prototype for Adèle's, occurring during the World War I hiatus in Adèles story line.
Adèle itself came about as a consequence of a commission from Casterman for a multi-album series, something Tardi had not been particularly interested in pursuing of his own accord at the time but took them up on the offer. A survey of popular series demonstrated an abundance of strong male protagonist
s but women in the lead role represented only by, on the one hand, the ingenuous Bécassine
and, on the other, the primarily sexual Barbarella; thus, he sought to differentiate his series by centring it on a heroine every bit the equal of these other comics' heroes. Contradictorily, however, and in particular contrast to Forest
's Barbarella, he was also to set the series in the 1910s
of Maurice Leblanc
's Arsène Lupin
, when her independence would be even more extraordinary. And so he created… Edith Rabatjoie and, subsequently, Adèle Blanc-Sec (her family name coming from wine
terminology, meaning "dry white") as an adversary for her. But upon the originally villainous Blanc-Sec coming into the comic he found he enjoyed drawing her far more than Rabatjoie and so she became the protagonist and title character, while ever since retaining something of a Lupin-esque moral dubiousness and disregard for the law. Her green coat, as well as complementing her red hair
, is in ironic reference to the green dress of Bécassine, whom she is partly conceived as an antitheses of. The comic first appeared in the daily newspaper
Sud-Ouest
in 1976, with the pages in colour on Sundays and black and white on others, prior to album publication in colour throughout by Casterman and later in their (À suivre)
.
as her research and subsequent adventures reveal further details of the mystical world of crime. Themes of the occult
, corruption, official incompetence, and the dangers of patriotism
suffuse the series.
One interesting feature is the hiatus which separates Adèle's first exploits, taking place in 1910s Paris, from later ones, instead set in the interwar
milieu. The separation is explained with her having been cryogenically
hibernated
following a grave injury. The expedient was deemed necessary by Tardi to avoid her entanglement in World War I. In an interview he declared: "Her feisty nature made it impossible to provide her with a place in the war. She would not have been allowed to fight, and could no more have settled for being a nurse, than she could have remained home rolling bandages."
. They were published, as The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, first by Dark Horse Comics
in their Cheval noir
title and then released in book form by NBM Publishing
(1990–1992).
Fantagraphics Books
have signed a deal with Tardi to translate and release his work and series editor Kim Thompson
has said that the Adèle Blanc-Sec books will be translated but it is not his highest priority:
The Fantagraphics titles are:
of live-action
feature film
s adapted and directed by Luc Besson
, the first of which, also titled The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec was released in France on April 14, 2010 and latterly in numerous other markets, including the United Kingdom
.
Historical fantasy
Historical fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy and related to historical fiction, which makes use of specific elements of real world history. It is used as an umbrella term for the sword and sorcery genre and sometimes, if fantasy is involved, the sword-and-sandal genre too...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series first appearing in 1976
1976 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 1976.- Year overall :* American Splendor, Harvey Pekar's long-running autobiographical comic book title, publishes its debut issue.* Fantagraphics Books, Inc. founded by Gary Groth and Michael Catron....
written and illustrated by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
comics artist
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi
Jacques Tardi is a French comics artist, born 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. He is often credited solely as Tardi.-Biography:After graduating from the École nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he started writing comics in 1969, at the...
and published in album format by Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
publisher Casterman
Casterman
Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, Belgium.Founded in 1780, Casterman was originally a printing company and publishing house...
, sometimes preceded by serialisation in various periodicals, intermittently since then. The comic portrays the titular far-fetched adventures and mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
-solving of its eponymous heroine, herself a writer of popular fiction
Genre fiction
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre....
, in a secret history
Secret history
A secret history is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars.-Secret histories of the real world:...
-infused, gaslamp fantasy version of the early 20th century
20th century
Many people define the 20th century as running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000, others would rather define it as beginning on January 1, 1900....
, set primarily in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and prominently incorporating real-life
Real life
Real life is a term usually used to denote actual human life lived by real people in contrast with the lives of fictional or fantasy characters.-Usage online and in fiction:On the Internet, "real life" refers to life in the real world...
locations and events. Initially a light-hearted parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of such fiction of the period, it takes on a darker tone as it moves into the post–World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
years and the 1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...
.
One of Tardi's most popular works and his first to span multiple albums, it has been reprinted in English and other translations and is being adapted as a big-budget film trilogy.
History
Adèle Blanc-Sec takes place in the same fictional universeFictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
as three earlier Tardi comics: Adieu Brindavoine ("Farewell Brindavoine"), serialised in 1972 in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine
Franco-Belgian comics magazines
Belgium and France have a long tradition in comics. They have a common history for comics and magazines.In the early years of its history, magazines had a large place on the comics market and were often the only place where comics were published. Most of them were kids-targeted.In the 1970s,...
Pilote
Pilote
thumb|Cover of the first Pilote teaser issue, #0.Pilote was a French comics periodical published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as Astérix le Gaulois, Blueberry, Achille Talon, and Valérian et...
#680–700, its direct sequel La Fleur au fusil ("The Flower in the Rifle"), a ten-page one-shot first published in 1974 in Pilote #743 and included in albums of the former, and the 1974 original graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
The Arctic Marauder (Le Démon des glaces, "The Demon of the Ice"). It is, however, the more technology-focused, what might now be called steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
, Arctic Marauder that takes place first in the fictional continuity, being set in the 1890s
1890s
The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the "Mauve Decade" - because William Henry Perkin's aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion - and also as the "Gay Nineties", under the then-current usage of the word "gay" which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no...
, with Lucien Brindavoine's adventures, considered a less refined, early prototype for Adèle's, occurring during the World War I hiatus in Adèles story line.
Adèle itself came about as a consequence of a commission from Casterman for a multi-album series, something Tardi had not been particularly interested in pursuing of his own accord at the time but took them up on the offer. A survey of popular series demonstrated an abundance of strong male protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s but women in the lead role represented only by, on the one hand, the ingenuous Bécassine
Bécassine
Bécassine is a comic strip and the name of its heroine, appearing for the first time in the first issue of La Semaine de Suzette on February 2, 1905...
and, on the other, the primarily sexual Barbarella; thus, he sought to differentiate his series by centring it on a heroine every bit the equal of these other comics' heroes. Contradictorily, however, and in particular contrast to Forest
Jean-Claude Forest
Jean-Claude Forest was a writer and illustrator of comics and the creator of character Barbarella.-Biography:...
's Barbarella, he was also to set the series in the 1910s
1910s
File:1910s montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Model T Ford is introduced and becomes widespread; The sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic causes the deaths of nearly 1,500 people and attracts global and historical attention; Title bar: All the events below are part of World War I ; French Army lookout...
of Maurice Leblanc
Maurice Leblanc
Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes.- Biography :Leblanc was born in...
's Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin is a fictional character who appears in a book series of detective fiction / crime fiction novels written by French writer Maurice Leblanc, as well as a number of non-canonical sequels and numerous film, television such as Night Hood, stage play and comic book adaptations.- Overview :A...
, when her independence would be even more extraordinary. And so he created… Edith Rabatjoie and, subsequently, Adèle Blanc-Sec (her family name coming from wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
terminology, meaning "dry white") as an adversary for her. But upon the originally villainous Blanc-Sec coming into the comic he found he enjoyed drawing her far more than Rabatjoie and so she became the protagonist and title character, while ever since retaining something of a Lupin-esque moral dubiousness and disregard for the law. Her green coat, as well as complementing her red hair
Red hair
Red hair occurs on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations...
, is in ironic reference to the green dress of Bécassine, whom she is partly conceived as an antitheses of. The comic first appeared in the daily newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
Sud-Ouest
Sud-Ouest (newspaper)
Sud-Ouest is the third regional daily in France in terms of circulation. It was created in Bordeaux, on August 29, 1944 by Jacques Lemoine, as a successor to La Petite Gironde. In 1949, the Sunday edition, Sud-Ouest Dimanche was launched. Sud-Ouest covers the Gironde, the Charente, the...
in 1976, with the pages in colour on Sundays and black and white on others, prior to album publication in colour throughout by Casterman and later in their (À suivre)
À Suivre
or was a Franco-Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house....
.
Plot
The adventures, set in Paris in the years before and after World War I, revolve around the protagonist Adèle Blanc-Sec. A cynical heroine, she is initially a novelist of popular fiction, who turns to investigative journalismJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
as her research and subsequent adventures reveal further details of the mystical world of crime. Themes of the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
, corruption, official incompetence, and the dangers of patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
suffuse the series.
One interesting feature is the hiatus which separates Adèle's first exploits, taking place in 1910s Paris, from later ones, instead set in the interwar
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
milieu. The separation is explained with her having been cryogenically
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
hibernated
Hibernation
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...
following a grave injury. The expedient was deemed necessary by Tardi to avoid her entanglement in World War I. In an interview he declared: "Her feisty nature made it impossible to provide her with a place in the war. She would not have been allowed to fight, and could no more have settled for being a nurse, than she could have remained home rolling bandages."
Albums
As of June 2011, nine of a projected ten albums have been published in French and two different English translations have been published, the first covering only the first five and the latter currently ongoing, with the aim of releasing all ten in omnibus editions of two albums each.| # | French title | Serialised | Album published | Dark Horse/NBM title | Fantagraphics title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Adèle et la bête" | 1976 in Sud-Ouest Sud-Ouest (newspaper) Sud-Ouest is the third regional daily in France in terms of circulation. It was created in Bordeaux, on August 29, 1944 by Jacques Lemoine, as a successor to La Petite Gironde. In 1949, the Sunday edition, Sud-Ouest Dimanche was launched. Sud-Ouest covers the Gironde, the Charente, the... |
1976 | "Adèle and the Beast" | "Pterror Over Paris" and "The Eiffel Tower Demon" |
| 02 | "Le Démon de la tour Eiffel Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world... " |
Not serialised | 1976 | "The Demon of the Eiffel Tower" | |
| 03 | "Le Savant fou" | Not serialised | April 1977 | "The Mad Scientist" and "Mummies on Parade" | "The Mad Scientist" and "Mummies on Parade" |
| 04 | "Momies en folie" | April–June 1978 in BD #28–39 | September 1978 | ||
| 05 | "Le Secret de la salamandre" | June–October 1980 in (À suivre) À Suivre or was a Franco-Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house.... #29–33 |
April 1981 | "The Secret of the Salamander" | TBA |
| 06 | "Le Noyé à deux têtes" | May–October 1984 in (À suivre) #76–81 | September 1985 | Literally "The Drowned Man with Two Heads" | |
| 07 | "Tous des monstres !" | August–October 1994 in (À suivre) #199–201 | October 1994 | Literally "Monsters All!" | TBA |
| 08 | "Le Mystère des profondeurs" | Not serialised | October 1998 | Literally "The Mystery of the Depths" | |
| 09 | "Le Labyrinthe infernal" | June–August 2007 in Télérama Télérama Télérama is a weekly French magazine owned by Le Monde S.A. Its primary contents are television and radio listings, though the magazine also prints film, theatre, music and book reviews, as well as cover stories and feature articles of cultural interest. The name is a contraction of its earlier... #2998–3006 |
October 2007 | Literally "The Infernal Labyrinth" | TBA |
| 10 | "Le Bébé des Buttes-Chaumont" | TBA | TBA | Literally "The Baby of Buttes-Chaumont" |
Translations
The first five stories were translated by Randy and Jean-Marc LofficierJean-Marc Lofficier
Jean-Marc Lofficier is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier .-Biography:Jean-Marc Lofficier was born in Toulon, France in 1954...
. They were published, as The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, first by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in their Cheval noir
Cheval Noir
Cheval Noir was a comics anthology published by Dark Horse Comics, containing mostly English Language reprints of European comics. The title features work by some of Europe's best known comics artists, with contributions from some American and Japanese artists too...
title and then released in book form by NBM Publishing
NBM Publishing
NBM Publishing is an American publisher of graphic novels. The company specializes in non-superhero comic genres and has translated and published over 150 graphic novels from Europe and Canada, as well as several works by Americans...
(1990–1992).
- Adèle and the Beast (June 1990, ISBN 0918348854)
- The Demon of the Eiffel Tower (1990, ISBN 1561630012)
- The Mad Scientist and Mummies on Parade (1996, ISBN 1561631566)
- The Secret of the Salamander (1992)
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
have signed a deal with Tardi to translate and release his work and series editor Kim Thompson
Kim Thompson
Kim Thompson is an American comic book editor, translator, and publisher, best known as vice president and co-publisher of Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books. Along with co-publisher Gary Groth, Thompson has for almost thirty years used his position to further the cause of alternative comics in the...
has said that the Adèle Blanc-Sec books will be translated but it is not his highest priority:
The Fantagraphics titles are:
- Pterror Over Paris and The Eiffer Tower Demon (96 pages, hardcover, 2010, ISBN 1606993828)
- The Mad Scientist and Mummies on Parade (96 pages, hardcover, 2011, ISBN 160699493X)
Adaptations into other media
The popularity of the comic has made it much in demand for adaptation into other media, the first to be approved by Tardi being a projected trilogyTrilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
of live-action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s adapted and directed by Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
, the first of which, also titled The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec was released in France on April 14, 2010 and latterly in numerous other markets, including the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.