The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec Vol. 1

Reviews Annabelle Dolidon | September 10, 2026 The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec Vol. 1 Jacques Tardi. Translated by Kim Thompson Fantagraphics Books $29.99 196 pages Buy Now First things first: Fantagraphics has delivered a beautiful new edition of Tardi’s classic series, collecting the first four volumes of The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec: Pterror Over Paris, The Demon of the Eiffel Tower, The Mad Scientist, and Mummies on Parade. The cover is sleek and elegant – although I admit I preferred the rougher feel of the 2010 edition – and the interior is printed on smooth, high-quality paper, something that will matter to anyone who resorts to reading graphic novels digitally only when absolutely necessary. Colors have been harmonized; for example, all the captions on page 48 now share the same orange hue, and the text in speech balloons has been carefully rearranged to fit the smaller format. A few place names in French have also been altered. On the opening page of the first volume, for instance, the editors – no doubt to gain space – dropped “Jardin des Plantes” to keep only the English translation “Botanical Gardens.” I am probably being overly picky,...