Like every reader, there are plenty of unread classics in my life, things that I've heard so much about, but haven't found the time or drive or impetus to read just yet. With so many classic pieces of literature already in existence and more being written every day, I know that I'll never get to them all, but I finally decided to sit down with one of the more revered comics of all time and see how Hergé's TinTin holds up decades after its debut.
Written & Illustrated by Hergé
Published by Little, Brown, and Company
'Rama Rating 9 out of 10
The Adventures of TinTin Vol. 1 collects the TinTin stories TinTin in America, Cigars of the Pharaoh , and The Blue Lotus. Each story clocks in at slightly over 60 pages, but those 60 pages are a stark contrast to modern, decompressed comics.
TinTin's adventures race from setting to setting, with nearly a dozen cliffhangers per story, and plenty of engaging twists, turns, and spills. Hergé doesn't waste even a single panel – everything moves the story forward with breakneck urgency, yet still takes just enough time to make the characters relatable and enjoyable to read about.
Hergé's open, clean cartooning is deceptively simple, pulling the reader in and allowing them to identify with the simple face of the protagonist, but the precise storytelling and intricate backgrounds always ground the scene in a clear, specific reality. Hergé takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the world, from prohibition Chicago and Indian reservations to Egypt's Valley of the Kings, India, and '30s Japan-occupied China.
There is an interesting dichotomy in how Hergé portrays race. In TinTin in America, his black characters are the most offensive, black-face burlesque, and his depiction of Native Americans as easily confused, borderline savages were extremely hard to get past. However, he seems to take great pains to present rounded, researched images of Asian Indian and Chinese societies in the later tales. I can't say what caused the change, but there is a definite concerted movement to make the foreign characters more than simple stereotypes in the latter two stories.
TinTin in America is the least satisfying story for more reasons than cultural racism, though. It also has the most haphazard plot, with TinTin coming to America to shut down Chicago's mafia. After a brief encounter with Al Capone, TinTin begins a long-running feud with fictional gangster Bobby Smiles. After capturing Smiles, Hergé shoehorns in another 17-page scene of a Chicago tough guy for the intrepid reporter to bring low. It seems disjointed and rambles when the denouement of the Bobby Smiles' chase should have brought a sense of closure. The humor and action are forced and unnatural, to the point where TinTin survives an exploding train by being thrown into a tree, effectively dashing whatever drama might have been.
Fortunately, both of the remaining stories in the book were quite satisfying. As noted, the indigenous peoples are depicted in a much more realistic fashion, and the story twists all fit together with the narrative's main objective. TinTin starts out with a mystery to uncover, and through all of the side-quests and distractions, he remains on task and fishes out the villains at a satisfying conclusion.
The frequent cliffhangers are an interesting element. TinTin often escapes due to nothing more than sheer luck, which detracts somewhat from his status as a resourceful, heroic reporter who always gets his man, but the finale of each story displays TinTin's ability to properly bait a trap and solve the more perplexing riddles.
Although some elements clearly mark TinTin as a product of its time – the simple humor, the occasionally racist caricature – the stories still have a brisk, lively feel that most readers should be able to appreciate. One can only hope that today's comics will hold up this well in eighty years.
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