io9
Director Luc Besson's company EuropaCorp announced today that they have acquired the rights to Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adele Blanc-Sec, a French graphic novel series that's been published since 1976. Adele Blanc-Sec, a popular novelist turned journalist, investigates mysterious happenings as a sort of one-woman X-Files unit who wasn't afraid to "drink, smoke, and shoot like a man."
Jacques Tardi illustrated Adele's adventures, although he had to find a way to move her from the 1910s and out of World War I where "Her feisty nature made it impossible to provide her with a place in the war. She would not have been allowed to fight, and could no more have settled for being a nurse, than she could have remained home rolling bandages." So, he had her get stabbed through the heart, and then frozen until World War II, when she could have a much larger role.
Adele frequently had run-ins with prehistoric creatures, mad scientists, and conspiracy theories. She also wasn't afraid to dish out both bullets and fisticuffs, and she was sometimes aided in her escapades by a resurrected mummy which was brought back from the Middle East by her great grand-uncle. EuropaCorp is planning a three movie Aventures series to begin hitting theaters in 2009, and we wouldn't mind seeing a gun toting Audrey Tautou go head to head with a pterodactyl and Adele.
Besson buys 'Aventures' rights [Variety]
Comments
just don't bore us, Luc, we still haven't forgotten that Jeanne d'Arc debacle...
Must...read...these!
I live for this sort of thing! I just spent at least half an hour trolling for some English-language versions of this comic. Now I've got Cheval Noir #1-8 on the way, and I'm pretty psyched for the whole "international anthology" concept. Thank you for the awesome tip!
I read these comics a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised. There's a dream-logic quality to the storytelling that combines with a weird penchant for burlesque comic relief. And although it might not always be totally coherent, the style, setting and dialogue are provocative and intriguing.
I totally recommend the read.
As for Mess. Bessons ability to convey this with a movie-adaptation without making Adele Blanc-Sec into a jumping, crouching, gun-toting Leeloo-of-the-40's....we'll just have to see.
Adèle is awesome! I discovered her only recently (yay public libraries) but found her compelling from the start (well, just after the start: at first it's 'what is this?' and then you just keep coming back to it, which is a sign of greatness in any art, I think). I don't quite know if she reaches WWII, since she is only frozen until the end of WWI and 'thawed' on the last day of the war, after which she continues her adventures with disgust at the patriottism and a slew of traumatised war heroes. The author and artist, Jacques Tardi also made a graphic novel about the Great War that's supposed to be even better (I haven't read it).
these look awesome. Are they available in English?
I'm so glad Adele is rediscovered. I read the books years ago. Her adventures could be great adventure-games because the artwork is fantastic.
Might be as good as Benoit Sokals' works turned into the games Syberia I and II.
And look out for the game Nikopol, coming soon, based upon the art of Enki Bilal.
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