don't know your dad so cant give an answer …

I see how you're skyving there. So what do YOU do that is useful to society?

This was an interesting thread. It would be a shame if it was locked because some people can't play nice.

It was indeed a very interesting thread. I'd even like to see a thread about comics in general (do we have one?)
So yes Tintin. The first few books weren't made as cartoons even in the late 80s/90s because they were inappropriate for the target audience. I still think the books are very good representative of an era.

Something we have in common then, from cousins and uncles to grandads and great grandads.

The one thing I notice with them is that they are, or were, honourable and surprisingly level headed. Funnily enough they weren't angry people.

Anger and honour do not walk hand in hand it seems.

Anyways, back on topic, all things have their day.

shuuush. trying to rerail thread here . And PLEASE do not feed him

I think I've read more than half of the Tintin adventures, but not the Congo, and a few of the other more famous ones. Don't know how that happened.
I own most of the books I have read but I think my nephew may be receiving them soon.

Asterix was also a favourite and I have read almost all of them.

That’s the bit a lot of people don’t get. It’s historical context that needs to be taken into account when considering such materials. While we may balk at the portrayal of the African nations in such a simplistic style today, we must remember that the average European in the 1920s knew very,. very little of what Africa was like. What Hergé drew at the time was what most people knew. To ignore that ignorance of the time means that we lose an important part of history. We many not like it, but to censor it will not make it go away, nor will it make out knowledge of the past any more complete.

As time progressed, as I have said before, Hergé (and indeed other cartoonists) improved their world knowledge and output. Hergé became the master of observation in his medium. The Tintin books are a very good catalogue of events in the 20th century.

In fact you may be interested to know that Tintin has been censored many times in his history, mostly to appease the English speaking nations.

Example 1: After World War 2, in order to preserve the oil supplies, and to stabilise the Middle East, the whole area was re-drafted. This is where Iraq comes from, and where Kuwait originates. Prior to this, they were part of Persia. The UK and USA were instrumental to this, and it seems fitting that we are discussing this in the context of a Tintin book. In the book The Land of Back Gold, there is a scene where Tintin is with some nomadic people in the desert. An aircraft, with Arabic markings flies over and drops leaflets on the people below (one of which is a bundle and welts someone on the head). This is a fairly comic moment, but in fact the original artwork tells us a lot more about what is going on. The original artwork for this sequence shows an RAF Spitfire doing the leaflet drop. When the book came to be translated, Methuen (the then publishers of the Tintin range) insisted on a re-draw of the panels. So we get a watered down version of the book, minus the British subjugation.

Example 2: You may remember the Ellipse/Nelvana cartoons of the 1990s. These were pretty good, but you will recall a number of the stories are set in South America. Hergé was aware of the USA’s dealings in South America, and was always critical of these goings on. There was one particular character who was an arms dealer who was selling guns and planes to each of the two fictional warring South American generals, as long as the conflict continued, he did well out of it. The character was, in fact, a very good likeness of a genuine American arms dealer who really did do this. These elements of the story (Red Sea Sharks IIRC) were removed, as were other elements of stories which were critical of US involvement in Southern American affairs. As a result, the stories were rendered impotent. A real shame.

All this explains the choices for the Spielberg films: Secret of the Unicorn and (no doubt) the Moon books. None of these carry any real “embarrassment” for a US audience. Also note that Spielberg, who is Jewish and has taken a keen interest in his heritage in both his media and elsewhere seems to have little problem with bringing a contentious and little known Belgian cartoon character to a US audience. I would imagine that if he felt that the books were in any way offensive, he’d not go near them.

I have all the original albums of Asterix from the 60's, they are brilliant, sadly don't translate that well into English ( even Asterix and the Britons) . If you like French/Belgian comics i really advise anything by Bourgeon ( comic writer for more mature audience) The modern Lanfeust de Troy is also very good. Thorgal ( complete now) is also a very good series to look at.

The first few books started as short strips in a children’s supplement for a newspaper, and really weren’t designed for a book. The first, Tintin Au Pays Des Soviets is uncharacteristically long, and really doesn’t portray TIntin in the form we know him. Much can be said of the Congo book, which was later re-drawn in colour. These two books for me are kind of curiosities - they are Tintin books, but don’t have the wit, fun and drive of the bulk of the stories. I have copies of them as I am a fan, but if I had them as a child they would have felt very wrong amongst the other Tintin books I had. I bought my colour French copy of Tintin Au Congo when I was 15, and it felt wrong - more primitive and undeveloped. The artwork was more advanced than the story and characterisations. Oddly, these two books work better for me in the original black and white renderings.

Possibly because the look more "ancient" and then content is more justified? I don't think a comic such as Tintin would be published today, possibly because of internet and the easy access to information about the rest of the world. I do like the land of black oil book a lot, and the secret of the unicorn. The first one i really remember reading/seeing is the crab with golden claws. When you're a kid and have that kind of suspence story, it's great!