This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators are saying about our releases this week, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec Vol. 1: Pterror Over Paris and The Eiffel Tower Demon
by Jacques Tardi
96-page full-color 8.5" x 11.5" hardcover • $24.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-382-8
"Being Fantagraphics’ fourth entry in its current effort at bringing the great Jacques Tardi to English, this time starting up a full-scale sub-series dedicated to the artist’s long-running, rather droll evocation of turn-of-the-century fictions, centered on an awesomely controlled, never-smiling heroine prepared to tangle with any peril, be it a prehistoric creature or mad science." – Joe McCulloch, Comics Comics
"The first American volume = the first two French volumes of Jacques Tardi's semi-parodic 'adventuress in the weird Paris of 1911' series…" – Douglas Wolk, Comics Alliance
"Fantagraphics' Tardi roll-out reaches new heights with this first in a series of books translating Tardi's fun and of course beautiful-looking turn-of-century adventure series." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter
"There's several noteworthy, oddball trades out Wednesday. …Fantagraphics is reprinting Jacques Tardi's The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec in English — the first installment features the adventurer battling a pterodactyl…" – Cyriaque Lamar, io9
"Jacques Tardi’s mystery adventure stories set in pre-WWI Paris are being retranslated and republished by Fantagraphics in a new series of books. I’ve only read The Eiffel Tower Demon, but if Pterror Over Paris is anything like that, then this should be a great package." – J. Caleb Mozzocco, Newsarama
"My top choice of a splurge item is Fantagraphics first volume of The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec… I can’t resist a French, turn-of-the-century pterodactyl hunter." – Michael May, Robot 6
Toys in the Basement
by Stéphane Blanquet
32-page full-color 8.5" x 11.25" hardcover • $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-402-3
"Also Fanta, also French…, a sort of plastic-body-horror take on Toy Story in which a pair of costumed ankle-biters journey to a land of mutilated playthings. At 32 pages, I believe this qualifies as the first-ever longform Blanquet work released on its own in English." – Joe McCulloch, Comics Comics
"Stéphane Blanquet draws this uncharacteristically kid-friendly, Toy Story-gone-sour tale of a secret sanctuary for abused toys invaded by a pair of kids who haven't always treated their stuffed animals as kindly as they ought to have." – Joe McCulloch, Comics Comics
"[A] graphic novel… that [is] more slipping out than arriving on the stands with fanfare, …from [a] quality cartoonist… with [an] impressive creative pedigree… I look forward to reading [it]." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter
"I’m extremely curious about Fantagraphics’ new kids eurocomic line, which kicks off this week with the release of Stephane Blanquet’s Toys in the Basement. I’m especially curious in this case as Blanquet isn’t up till this point an author known for his all-ages friendly material. In fact, it’s quite the opposite; his work is usually typified by ugly, sweaty people doing horrible, disturbing things. So, yeah, I want to see how he dials it down (if at all) for the kiddies." – Chris Mautner, Robot 6
"…I like the idea of a kid-friendly comic that isn’t afraid to be creepy, and this one — in which a boy dressed in a pink bunny suit stumbles into some weird French version of the Island of Misfit Toys — looks like a challenging read." – Brigid Alverson, Robot 6