The Role of Panel Shape in Adele Blanc-Sec

In Adele Blanc-Sec: Pterror over Paris, Jacques Tardi employs skillful and intentional manipulation of panel shape to perform several tasks, such as suggesting simultaneous action between panels, shifts in time or setting between panels, and continuous action between panels. Specific examples are as follows:

1. Panel Shape as an Expression of Simultaneous Action:
   Examples can be seen on page 10 (top right corner) where the pterodactyl startles Armand Faillers while Boutardieu bites his finger in attempt to keep control of the beast, as well as page 20 (bottom row) in which readers are given insight into Zborowsky's dream. In both examples, panels are inserted within one another to literally place the actions depicted inside each other. This can be seen again on the bottom of page 32.
   In the scene in which the pterodactyl is shot (pp. 34), however, we see a more traditional scene-to-scene transition in which Boutardieu's posture and gestures visually reinforce that of his reptile counterpart, suggesting simultaneous action in a more conventional manner.

2. Panel Shape as an Expression of Shifts in Time or Setting:
   Examples can be seen on page 5 (second row) and page 19 (second and third row). In each of these instances, the orientation of the panels (vertical/horizontal) is altered, which both constitutes a literal break in the visual telling of the story and suggests a break in the continuity of the content, creating a visual reinforcement of the narrative transition.

3. Panel Shape as a Way of Setting the Scene:
   As seen on the bottom right hand panel of page 13, panel shape in Adele are also used in order to suggest scenery and setting. The way that the panel arcs upward towards the right hand side, both affording readers a view of the bell tower and also mimicking an architectural feature itself.

4. Panel Shape as a Way of Creating Suspense:
   I think it's also worthy of note that the briefcases and question mark in the circular panel on page 48 are very successful in creating a sense of mystery and suspense. In some way reminiscent of Little Nemo (particularly the comic about flying to the moon), this composition is grounded by a large circular panel placed in the middle of the page. Unlike previous circular panels, however, the panel shrouded by the large question mark is not overlapped with other panels. The gutter space around the panel on page 48 is relatively large, creating a sense of suspense and unease.

In short, I thought that the use of panel shape and orientation in Adele Blanc-Sec is worthy of note because of the sheer variety of functions it plays in the visual grammar of the work. Particularly unique to this comic is the skillful use of panel-over panel or panel-within-panel layout to suggest aspect-to-aspect or temporally synchronized scene-to-scene transitions.