A review by jgkeely
Adèle et la Bête by Jacques Tardi
3.0
Another classic Franco-Belgian series in ligne clair style familiar to fans of Tintin, Pilote, and Spirou (or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which takes obvious cues from Adèle). We have the beautifully rendered backgrounds, with especial care and attention paid to architecture and vehicles, and in the foreground, the people, who are evocative, cartoonish caricatures. As Scott McCloud points out, this is a very effective technique, as it combines the immersive realism of the world with relatable, symbolic characters.
Unfortunately, some of the characters are not quite idiomatic enough, and we sometimes get lost in a sea of mustachio'd men in bowlers and spectacles who are not immediately easy to differentiate. This book is also reminiscent of Tintin in a less appealing way than the art: like early Tintin, it takes itself rather lightly, and the plot, structure, and characterization leave much to be desired. The constant disguises, twists, betrayals, flashbacks, and exposition make a simple adventure needlessly complex. One of the characters even jokes that the plot is 'too convoluted to make a good novel', suggesting that Tardi is doing it deliberately, but I'm not sure why an author would choose to purposefully weak such havoc on their own structure.
I think it could have worked if it had been more madcap, like De Crecy, placing action and wit above all. Sure, it could work to put a straight, driving story into the middle of such convolutions, but there needs to be a central thread to be followed, and the twists should be there as jokes or absurdities set around the main plot, not as the central focus. By the third time some character pops in to explain through flashback what really happened earlier, we've lost all focus.
Adèle herself is particularly lost in the muddle here, neither villain nor hero, motivations and relationships undefined. However, even by the next volume, we can see Tardi beginning to settle in to a more serious, dark tone, and beginning to find a voice that works.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
Unfortunately, some of the characters are not quite idiomatic enough, and we sometimes get lost in a sea of mustachio'd men in bowlers and spectacles who are not immediately easy to differentiate. This book is also reminiscent of Tintin in a less appealing way than the art: like early Tintin, it takes itself rather lightly, and the plot, structure, and characterization leave much to be desired. The constant disguises, twists, betrayals, flashbacks, and exposition make a simple adventure needlessly complex. One of the characters even jokes that the plot is 'too convoluted to make a good novel', suggesting that Tardi is doing it deliberately, but I'm not sure why an author would choose to purposefully weak such havoc on their own structure.
I think it could have worked if it had been more madcap, like De Crecy, placing action and wit above all. Sure, it could work to put a straight, driving story into the middle of such convolutions, but there needs to be a central thread to be followed, and the twists should be there as jokes or absurdities set around the main plot, not as the central focus. By the third time some character pops in to explain through flashback what really happened earlier, we've lost all focus.
Adèle herself is particularly lost in the muddle here, neither villain nor hero, motivations and relationships undefined. However, even by the next volume, we can see Tardi beginning to settle in to a more serious, dark tone, and beginning to find a voice that works.
My Suggested Reading In Comics