Jacques Tardi: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec 2

After establishing the world of the prickly heroine with the first two episodes of this classic series (combined in Fantagraphics The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Volume 1), Jacques Tardi plunges us back into Belle-Epoque Paris for another double dosage of heroic derring-do, evil and crazy malefac- tors, mad actresses (yes, Clara Benhardt makes a return appearance) and monsters! In The Mad Scientist, the science that brought us revived dinosaurs now results in a pithecanthrope stalking the streets of the City of Light, climaxing in an amazing car chase involving a foe from the previous volume. Will the perpetually inept Inspector Caponi just make things worse? Probably. Then in the second episode, A Dusting of Mummies, the mummy glimpsed in Adele s apartment in previous episodes comes alive! The volume concludes with the sudden startling (and delightful) incursion of some characters familiar to Tardi fans, and a shocking climax that leaves the future of both Adele and this series in doubt as World War I erupts. (It s the only story in the entire series not to feature an in our next episode teaser.) The Extraordinary Adventure of Adele Blanc-Sec, Volume 2, is the lucky seventh book in Fantagraphics acclaimed series of Tardi reprints, showcasing the rich variety of graphic novels from one of France s greatest living cartoonists.