The titular character in the story we read for Tuesday's class seems at odds with the subject of the subtitle. Supposing Adele Blanc-Sec occupies the center of the work, her reasons for involvement in the story are muddled. They don't get explained until penultimate scene of the first comic. Though we know relatively early on that she wants the machine that Edith's father is in the process of creating, we do not know why.
It turns out that her lover committed a bank robbery and was abandoned by his partner in crime after hiding the loot. In order to complete this story of obtaining a flying machine to break a man out of jail and negotiating the robber's fight over money, Tardi could have left out the Pterodactyl.
This makes the inclusion of a psychically birthed and controlled 136 million year old pterodactyl into the story somewhat questionable as a meaningful part of the plot. Rather than add to the plot, the Pterodactyl spreads action more evenly throughout. It adds depth and mystery to the sightings of the actual flying machine, which would have been easily recognizable. I think that the Pterodactyl acts most importantly as a blind for the flying machine and its pilots than adding any character development from Adele or the others.
Also, for me because the pterodactyl was real, I was not expecting Pazuzu to just be Clara Benhardt in a costume! The effect of having Caponi pull off the mask reminded me a lot of Scooby Doo. The mixture of pretend monsters with real ones made me question which is more monstrous.
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