The gaze that says it all

As mentioned in class, Jacques Tardi is very similar to Hergé in the use of ligne-claire as a drawing style. Furthermore, he does the drawing and the dialogue of his graphic novels. This narrative was visually stunning and created an inclusive atmosphere where the reader is invited into the scene, but is observing at a safe distance. Furthermore, the panels help establish pace and movement. The first few pages mimick movement, with panels that ingress/regress. But it was especially interesting to see what Tardi does  in the panels to characterize Adele.

First off, Adele's last name literally translates to pale-dry (Blanc=white/pale; sec=dry), and is probably an allusion to her demeanor. As is reflected in the required movie for class this week, Adele is a very stoic, confident (borderline pompous) and competitive character. Her body's orientation, posing, cross-hatching and color patterns in the spreads help reinforce this character portrayal. Unlike hyper-sexualized heroines like wonder woman, and Barbarella, Adele is a leader, respected by her friends and enemies alike. With Tardi's goal of creating a French nationalistic heroine, it makes sense that she is not a glorified sex idol and relies exclusively on her wit and grit. Take for example the last panel of page 12. Adele is having a conversation and ends by giving the reader the stereotypical squint of something that is skeptical/plotting a scheme. Without any emanata or though bubbles, it is clear that her, for lack of a better word BS-o-meter, was going off. It is also interesting that rather than depicting the heroine looking at another person, Adele's gaze is fixed on the reader and light laps on the fourth wall without breaking it. With just a squint, it is immediately clear that the gears are turning, reminiscent of fellow detective and adventurer Indiana Jones.