Tintin in America: The Official Classic Children’s Illustrated Mystery Adventure Series (The Adventures of Tintin)

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Gaipajama, an Indian principality that is based on those that existed during the British Raj, is mentioned in Cigars of the Pharaoh. The Adventures of Tintin continue to charm more than 90 years after they first found their way into publication. Since then more than 230 million copies have been sold, proving that comic books have the same power to entertain children and adults in the 21st century as they did in the early 20th. Thompson, Harry (1991). Tintin: Hergé and his Creation. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-52393-3. When I first read Hergé's Tintin en Amérique in German translation (as Tim in Amerika) as a child (and I guess I must have been about nine or ten years of age), I did indeed find the general storyline somewhat and mildly amusing. But even then (even at that time), I was already thinking that Hergé had been rather strangely loose with his fusing together 1920s-1930s Chicago gangster and organised crime culture with what can only be considered and described as the so-called Wild West (and its utterly stereotypical late 19th century Cowboys and Indians thematics and scenarios). Now the ethnic stereotyping, the cultural insensitivity to Native Americans did not chafe me so much as a child (especially since in Germany at that time, the rather similarly constructed and conceptualised tales of "Noble Savages" and especially the stories penned by authors like Karl May were both popular and often readily available as children's novels or in my case, as abridged vinyl record audio recordings of said tales), but already then did I most definitely feel that from a logical point of departure, the details presented in Tintin en Amérique did not really make all that much sense by any stretch of the imagination (and that 1930s Chicago, with its gangs, its prohibition era rum running, with Al Capone and other such villains simply did not fit in any fashion with the Wild West scenarios also depicted, as that was not the early and middle 20th, but the late 19th century).

During the banquet, appears a man that was a visual prototype of the comic seres main antagonist Rastapopoulos, who made his first appearance in " Cigars of the Pharaoh" and eventually return in " The Blue Lotus", " The Red Sea Sharks" and in " Flight 714". En esta tercera entrega (1931 a 1932) encontramos al fin algo parecido a un argumento o hilo conductor, pero Hergé falla al darle cohesión y vuelve a leerse como una sucesión de persecuciones, secuestros, peleas, torturas e intentos de asesinato que terminan convirtiendo la historia en una aventura tediosa.Terrific world-straddling adventures. (Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Ten Essential Children’s Books, Books for Keeps, 2020) - Knight's Armor Hideout: Tintin sneaks into the castle where the members of the KIDNAP Inc. meet. He hides inside a knight's armor in the corridor and takes out one unsuspecting baddie after the other as they pass by. Big Bad Ensemble: Bobby Smiles is the principal villain of the story, but Al Capone is actually the first gangster who Tintin runs up against, and a separate gang tries to go after Tintin in the closing sections, after Smiles has been caught. In the Ellipse-Nelvana animated adaptation all the Gangsters Tintin encounters work for Al Capone.

This sure was some silly fun. I doubt I would have enjoyed it as a kid; I was more of an Archie comics gal, but for normal children, this would be a swell read. Grievous Bottley Harm: One villain charges Tintin with a bottle but then the latter pulls out gun and the fight is over.

Tropes:

What the Fu Are You Doing?: Tintin attempts to use his lasso, only to end up lassoing himself and his own horse instead.

Las aventuras racistas de Tintín por el mundo. Ya lo vimos manifestar su aria superioridad sobre los malévolos eslavos, los salvajes congoleños, y algún estúpido oriental que pasaba por ahí. Hoy es el turno de los indígenas estadounidenses. Sí, estadounidenses, porque la “América�� del título, de más está decirlo, comprende solo a los Estados Unidos. The Great Depression: This story takes place during Prohibition in the Great Depression era, and the impact is shown in society, like sit-down strikes which have been common when workers wages were cut. Americans Are Cowboys: Once Tintin leaves Chicago and its mobsters, pretty much every American he encounters in the countryside is a cowboy or some other kind of frontiersman. Somewhat justified, as the cowboy era was not long dead. The trope is Played With in the same book, however: A Boom Town is built overnight in an area that used to be pretty Wild West. The next morning, Tintin finds himself the only person in the city still wearing his cowboy outfit, and receives a chiding from a police officer who tells him to put on something proper. The boomtown story is not shown in the animated version. The McArdle horse Tintin In America, a top pacer of a few years ago and a dual Harness Jewels champion, is a young sire – he was foaled in 2005 – already well on the way to proving a success with his first racing crop.

NOTE TO BILINGUALS: I read this in French and English for comparison. Honestly, I'm horrified by the English translation! It completely takes away the atmosphere of the French version. It's just silly and ridiculous instead of humorous and dignified. I feel like it could have been translated better. Also, the English translation removed some things and changed others (names and phrases, for example). The only good thing is that the English translation turns French swear words into euphemisms. (It's horrible that in French, outright profanity is considered okay for children!!) Also, in English, they remove the parts about “lyncing n**roes” that appear twice: once, in a radio bulletin, and the second time during the bank robbery. However, I was disgusted with how they did the Mexican. In French, he is given an accent, which gives him flavor and authenticity. In English, he speaks broken English and looks downright stupid. In English, however, they speak Italian with an accent, which does not happen in French. Tangier: Cigars of the Pharaoh (In the original edition, it is implied that Tintin passed through Morocco on his way to Egypt on board the SS Epomeo)

Borduria is the historical rival of Syldavia and attempts a fascist annexation similar to the 1938 Anschluss of Austria in King Ottokar's Sceptre. Borduria is ruled by the military dictator Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch, who oppresses his own people and attempts to influence Third World conflicts by sending "military advisors" to countries such as San Theodoros. The final unfinished adventure, Tintin and Alph-Art, saw Tintin being led out of his cell to be killed, although it is very unlikely that he dies at the end of the story. Here We Go Again!: The Animated Adaptation ends with Tintin finishing his report, before getting a phone call about an unknown situation and leaving to solve it. He even mentions the trope name. Since this was also the last episode aired, it also qualifies as And the Adventure Continues. Pilchardania and Poldavia are both mentioned in The Blue Lotus. Pilchardania is mentioned on a newsreel that Tintin views while he hides in a cinema from the police. The Poldavian consul gets mistaken for Tintin in a beard and wig in the Blue Lotus opium den. Assouline, Pierre (2009) [1996]. Hergé, the Man Who Created Tintin. Charles Ruas (translator). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-539759-8.Hergé was in love with the idea of America, though he did not actually make his way to the country until much, much later in his life. The information mostly came from pictures from a magazine issue published in 1930, fully devoted to Americans. Here, we start to see a dedication to research and accuracy, though pangs of caricature do remain. Beneath this all, there is evidence that “though [Hergé] could be politically naïve in some of his own personal judgements, [he] had an acute political conscience, always supporting the underdog and minority groups.” We see this in a poignant picture of Tintin’s encounter with the Natives of America: Michael Farr deemed Tintin to be an intrepid young man of high moral standing, with whom his audience can identify. His rather neutral personality permits a balanced reflection of the evil, folly, and foolhardiness that surrounds him, allowing the reader to assume Tintin's position within the story rather than merely following the adventures of a strong protagonist. Tintin's iconic representation enhances this aspect, with comics expert Scott McCloud noting that the combination of Tintin's iconic, neutral personality and Hergé's "unusually realistic", signature ligne claire ("clear line") style "allows the reader to mask themselves in a character and safely enter a sensually stimulating world."