rossn
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Post by rossn on Apr 10, 2020 13:07:27 GMT -5
Tintin in Tibet (French: Tintin au Tibet) Original publication dates: September 1958 – November 1959 First collected edition: 1960 Author: Hergé Tintin visits: France (Vargèse in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), India (New Delhi), Nepal (Kathmandu, Himalayas), Tibet (Gosain Than Massif in the Himalayas, the Khor-Biyong monastery). Overall rating: I think I did read Tintin in Tibet when I was a kid but I have only a fuzzy memory of it. I think I only really digested it properly as an adult a few years ago. Objectively this a huge improvement on The Red Sea Sharks in every way. Sharks felt ramshackle and while there were many individual moments of charm, wit and excitement the weakness of the story really let it down. As I said before Sharks felt generic which makes it a surreal counterpoint to the intensely personal Tibet. As you noted Confessor Hergé poured a lot of his personal troubles into this book and while it will probably never be one of my favourites it is still a special, remarkable book. To begin with Tibet is a very good looking book. It is remarkable how Hergé managed to take his nightmares and give us such striking and beautiful snowscapes and despite the dominance of snow and rock the landscape never feels dull. I also love the artistry of the Tibetan monasteries and lamas and as you rightly point out that splash panel with Tintin shouting 'Chang' is stunning. While it isn't the funniest book or the most exciting it is still full of humour and life and it feels like a great character study. I've read another reviewer who advanced the idea that in these later books it is Captain Haddock who is the 'real' hero and reading Tibet I can see his point. As moving as Tintin's search for Chang is, what really gets me is the support Tintin gets from his friend who believes Tintin to be wrong but follows him anyway. Now you make a good point about the orientalism Confessor and I have to agree there is definitely a vibe of the mystic Orient, which was a thing at the time and for many years thereafter. That said I'm less convinced by the idea that this is a white man knows best narrative for the simple reason that everyone thinks Tintin is nuts including the very European Captain Haddock. It doesn't matter whether one is a deeply spiritual monk or a cynical and self consciously rationalist British sea captain the whole world seems to view Tintin as chasing a mirage of hope. For me at least the fact that Haddock is the most prominent proponent of the idea that Chang is beyond rescue pushes this book out of a straight orientalist reading. Every Tintin book has elements from the era it was made. This was partly why The Black Island chimed so oddly for me with it's updated 1960s art clashing with its very strong 1930s themes - the shades of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935), King Kong (1933) and the Loch Ness Monster (which first came to international attention in the early 1930s.) Tibet is not as overtly 'Fifties' as the moon books or The Calculus Affair (all of which have Cold War trappings) but it still comes from a decade in which Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgaz conquered Mt. Everest. It was also the decade in which Bernard Heuvelmans was at his most prolific. Heuvelmans was a friend of Hergé and a legendary figure in cryptozoology. I personally know of him from reading Darren Naish's highly entertaining TetZoo blog which has existed in several variations and often covers cryptids. While Heuvelmans is most famous for his work on the yeti I tend to think of his 'research' on sea monsters. (I am very sorry Tintin never tangled with a sea serpent!)
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Apr 2, 2020 12:29:18 GMT -5
Oof, just looking at the stars for the The Castafiore Emerald I think I'm going to strongly disagree with your review when I get to it in detail Confessor (still have to post my thoughts on Tibet first.) One of my favourites.
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Post by rossn on Apr 1, 2020 8:39:21 GMT -5
KING OTTOKAR'S SCEPTREBuying and reading these out of sequence in the 1970s made it somewhat confusing when it came to chronology or continuity. This one always seemed to me like it must be one of the early ones. No Captain Haddock yet, but the Thompsons already knew Tintin. Re-reading it this morning, in one go (insomnia AGAIN!!! --it's been a problem since the 1970s), it was quite NOTICABLE how the art seemed somehow "primitive" compared to the previous book. While the Thompsons continue to leap to the wrong conclusions, at least they weren't suspicious of Tintin AGAIN when they saw the unconscious man or the broken window. I seem to have missed what they were doing there at his apartment in the first place, though. The really odd thing was the total LACK of mangled phrases. Were some of the other books transdlated more than once, or have dialogue modified in subsequent editions? If this was indeed the earliest one translated into English, that could explain this oddity. Like so many things, it took me ages to connect with " THE PRISONER OF ZENDA". Outragiously, my first exposure was in-- of all places-- " GET SMART", where they did a stand-alone story doing a parody of it, followed a year later by a 2-part sequel! Don Adams got to play the dual role of his normal character Maxwell Smart and his identical look-alike King, who is being plotted against. More than a decade later, I saw the DOCTOR WHO tribute (that show did so many), " THE ANDROIDS OF TARA", from season 16 (Tom Baker's 5th). This changed and complicated the story by having a robot replica of the King, as well as by having The Doctor's assistant Romana be the exact image of a Princess, allowing Mary Tamm to play no less than 4 characters in one story (Romana, the Princess, a robot Romana and a robot Princess). A real highlight is the climax, where The Doctor gets into a swordfight with the charming baddie Count Grendel (Peter Jeffrey), who, at the end, runs off after saying, " NEXT time, I will not be so LENIENT!" It wasn't until somewhere in the 2000s that I FINALLY got around to watching the real thing, " THE PRISONER OF ZENDA", on TCM. By that time, via several other films, Ronald Colman (who Don Adams had been doing a take-off on) had become one my favorite actors. He gets to play the dual role of the traveller who gets mixed up in court intrigue due to looking exactly like the King, teams up with David Niven and eventually swordfights with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The story has been adapted to film several times, and TCM actually ran the later version with Stewart Granger less than an week after I saw it, but somehow I wasn't in the mood that week and still haven't seen that version.
I read " OTTOKAR" some years after " DESTINATION MOON" / " EXPLORERS ON THE MOON" and so recognized the main baddie was the same in both. It's remarkable how Tintin went thru so much, including getting arrested, before finally being face-to-face with the King, but if he hadn't PUNCHED out the King's assistant right in front of him, he might never have been able to tell the guy about the plot against him. That the King recognized his sincerity so quickly is amazing, considering HOW MANY people in his administration was involved in the plot. King Ottokar's Sceptre is my favourite pre-Captain Haddock Tintin. The art is just gorgeous, Syldavia is wonderfully realised and it has a great pace of adventure and paranoia. I also love the period setting. I've read The Prisoner of Zenda (and it's sequel Rupert of Hentzau) but have somehow never seen the film despite being fond of 1930s cinema. I have read a great anecdote about Douglas Fairbanks Snr convincing his son to play Rupert when he was reluctant to go for a supporting part: "Because not only is The Prisoner of Zenda one of the best romances written in a hundred years and always a success, but Rupert of Hentzau is probably one of the best villains ever written. He is witty, irresistable, and as sly as Iago…Whoever plays Rupert, in any stage production in any country, will always be a big hit, even though the leading part is a double role. If you play this part of Rupert, people will forget any slump you’ve had. You’ll be on top again right away!…That part is known to be actor-proof! Nobody has ever played Rupert and failed to steal the show, on either stage or screen! It is so actor-proof, in fact, that Rin-Tin-Tin could play the part and walk away with it!"
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Apr 1, 2020 8:31:11 GMT -5
Apologies for digging into the vaults but I've been away a while and I hadn't seen these newer reviews - great work as ever Confessor! Hey! rossn! Good to see you back round these parts, and thanks for the compliment. I liked The Red Sea Sharks a lot as a child, but like you it has definitely fallen down my personal list. It particularly I think it seems quite weak compared with the stories surrounding it - The Calculus Affair does everything this book does better (with the possible exception of the art) and Tintin in Tibet is a very different, very personal sort of story. I guess in some ways The Red Sea Sharks is essentially 'generic' post-war Tintin. Yeah, "generic post-war Tintin" is a great way to describe the book. There is definitely more than a slight senss that we, as fans of the series, have seen it all before and seen it done better. There is a bit of fun in seeing all the recurring characters, and I love the joke of Captain Haddock literally running into General Alcazar seconds after complaining about exactly that, but they also give the story a bit of a cobbled together feel, like it was sewn together from various story beats Herge couldn't quite work into full plots on their own. I quite agree. The plot seems really haphazardly put together. Still there are plenty of charming elements. The sentiment is admirable (even if the depiction of the African pilgrims is... not great) and overall the art is of an excellent standard whether it is an evening stroll through Brussels or a crashing aircraft (as you noted a great action type picture.) And yes i quite like Skut too, even if I can't say why - though the fact that he got to fly a Mosquisto, one of the coolest planes ever built might be part of it! So... a weak Tintin, but still a Tintin story with action, humour and fantastic art. A nice read for a rainy afternoon sort of book. Yeah, The Red Sea Sharks certainly isn't terrible, by any means. But it's not great either. As for the appeal of Skut, like I said in my review, I think a big part of it is his dashing attire -- leather flying jacket, olive drab pilot's jodhpurs, pirate-like eyepatch. He certainly looks the part, even if he's actually quite a forgettable character. Thanks and glad to be back. In a way The Red Sea Sharks reminds me of The Crab with the Golden Claws. They both have a lot of action at sea and are named after sea life and they both also feature deserts. Unfortunately that similarity extends to them being fairly forgettable except for the first appearance of Captain Haddock in Crabs and all the cameoes in Sharks. Oh and the awesome art of course!
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Post by rossn on Mar 25, 2020 10:57:24 GMT -5
The Red Sea Sharks (French: Coke en stock) Original publication dates: October 1956 – January 1958 First collected edition: 1958 Author: Hergé Tintin visits: Belgium (Brussels, Marlinspike), Lebanon (Beirut), Khemed (Wadesdah, Kadheh, the Jebel Kadheïh desert, unidentified ancient temple). Overall rating: Apologies for digging into the vaults but I've been away a while and I hadn't seen these newer reviews - great work as ever Confessor! I liked The Red Sea Sharks a lot as a child, but like you it has definitely fallen down my personal list. It particularly I think it seems quite weak compared with the stories surrounding it - The Calculus Affair does everything this book does better (with the possible exception of the art) and Tintin in Tibet is a very different, very personal sort of story. I guess in some ways The Red Sea Sharks is essentially 'generic' post-war Tintin. There is a bit of fun in seeing all the recurring characters, and I love the joke of Captain Haddock literally running into General Alcazar seconds after complaining about exactly that, but they also give the story a bit of a cobbled together feel, like it was sewn together from various story beats Herge couldn't quite work into full plots on their own. Still there are plenty of charming elements. The sentiment is admirable (even if the depiction of the African pilgrims is... not great) and overall the art is of an excellent standard whether it is an evening stroll through Brussels or a crashing aircraft (as you noted a great action type picture.) And yes i quite like Skut too, even if I can't say why - though the fact that he got to fly a Mosquisto, one of the coolest planes ever built might be part of it! So... a weak Tintin, but still a Tintin story with action, humour and fantastic art. A nice read for a rainy afternoon sort of book.
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Post by rossn on Jun 25, 2019 19:56:09 GMT -5
Yeah, that's true. But I think this "third phase" of Tintin, as I called in in my review, has more complexity and depth to the stories than those earlier adventures do. That's true. I think, as I've said before, I'd probably separate Tintin into four eras rather than three - for me the political, suspense driven Tintin solos of the 1930s have a different enough feel from the high pulp Tintin and Haddock adventures of the 1940s, even though both periods are 'classic'. Exactly! And this is kinda what I'm talking about, regarding a greater complexity or depth than the pre-war books. Nothing is black and white, and no-one is to be trusted in The Calculus Affair. Yep! I wonder if in-universe the Syldavian government fell over the moon project? Think about it from the point of view of someone in Klow; the Syldavian government sank vast resources into the rocket while the traditional enemy was still making aggressive noises. Not only that but both Syldavians aboard turned out to be traitors (yes we know Wolff sacrificed himself but he was still involved in espionage and aiding a known traitor in the ulamented Colonel Boris Jorgen.) Think of the scandal! Certainly if the new Syldavian government is a little less proud of their work with Professor Calculus it might be a reason why they played quite so rough with him. As I noted in my review, the Kûrvi-Tasch ("curvy [mous]tache") name is an invention of Hergé's English translators, Michael Turner and Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper. In the original French the Bordurian leader is named Plekszy-Gladz ("plexiglass"). I know, I meant the tease came from Turner and Lonsdale-Cooper as a bit of a meta-joke at Hergé's omnipresent facial hair - I didn't live in 1950s Belgium but were beards and mustaches really that common? And I'd go a step further and say that he is deliberately annoying too. Insofar as Hergé wanted him to annoy the readers as much as he does the central characters. As I said earlier, that's quite a risky creative decision, because there is definitely the potential to alienate the reader and spoil the story. Hergé gets away with it...but only just. I find him the single most annoying character in the Tintin books -- but I think that's the point! I think we're supposed to find him an annoying character. Heh. I maybe find him a little less annoying than yoo, but yes I agree the irritation is deliberate!
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Post by rossn on Jun 23, 2019 16:22:05 GMT -5
The Calculus Affair (French: L'Affaire Tournesol) Original publication dates: December 1954 – February 1956 First collected edition: 1956 Author: Hergé Tintin visits: Belgium (Marlinspike, Brussels), Switzerland (Geneva, Nyon), France (Cervens), Borduria (Szohôd, Fortress of Bakhine). Overall rating: Yes, my favourite thread is back! As always a great look at things Confessor! I definitely agree this story marks a shift in Tintin. In some ways it almost feels like a return to the more political stories that immediately preceeded the war - The Blue Lotus, The Broken Ear and King Ottokar's Sceptre. Even the 'odd man out' of that period, The Black Island has the suspiciously German Dr. Müller, who would be an even more obvious agent of the Reich in Land of Black Gold. In contrast the books of the Forties have been mostly about Titin the non-political detective or explorer. Maybe with the war receding in the background Hergé felt he could bring back a bit of the old international affairs bite. Only this story and Tintin and the Picaros actually focus on the Cold War, but it is fascinating stuff. Most intriguingly you have the depiction of the Syldavians. Now to be fair the Syldavians aren't as villainous as the Bordurians - we don't get an equivalent of the Bordurian officers delight at the (fake) destruction of New York. Still this is a definite shift where even the 'good guys' are willing to play pretty dirty in kidnapping Professor Calculus and perhaps a hypothetical climax in Klow would not have been so different from the one in Szohôd. It is a rather cynical take, but it works and gives the story a nicely paranoid flavour.
On the subject of politics I wonder what the confirmation of a Second World War in the Tintin-verse does for the political situation. Syldavia appears to be 'Western' (and possibly still a monarchy) while Borduria is an interesting mix of Fascism and Communism, that appears to be pursuing its own foreign policy. Maybe the Tintin-verse Borduria is that timeline's equivalent of Yugoslavia, which under Marshal Tito broke with Moscow.
I do love the Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch pun incidentally. I wonder if it was a deliberate teasing of Hergé, given what seems to have been a fascination with facial hair. I know our lead character has a clean shaven youthful look, but elsewhere I think beards and mustaches strongly outnumber men without facial hair - Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, the Thom(p)sons, General Alcazar, Oliveira de Figueira, Dr. Müller, Wolf, Colonel Boris, King Muskar, Roberto Rastapopoulos... actually, excluding women and children, I think only four significant reoccurring characters don't have facial hair: Allan, Nestor, Colonel Sponz and Pitor Skut.
Anyway I am very fond of this book. As you well say Confessor the art is absolutely top notch and the humour is wonderful throughout, especially the encounters between Haddock and both the Milanese Nightingale (in her finest hour) and Jolyon Wagg.
Wagg himself is a fascinating character in that he is, deliberately, so mundane. Almost every character in the Tintin stories has some fascinating or romantic job - boy detective/reporter/explorer, brilliant but absent minded inventor, crusty old sea dog, globally famous opera diva, South American dictator-turned-knife thrower. Even Thompson and Thomson, inept though they are, are still police detectives. Wagg is an insurance salesman! It's like he parachuted into this pulpy universe from an altogether more humdrum one. I actually like him - in the sense I find him funny, I'm sure in person he'd drive me mad - but in his own bizzarely mediocre way he feels like the most different character we've seen in a long time.
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Post by rossn on Apr 16, 2019 10:59:36 GMT -5
Explorers on the Moon (French: On a marché sur la Lune) Original publication dates: October 1952 – December 1953 First collected edition: 1954 Author: Hergé Tintin visits: Outer space, Adonis asteroid, the Moon (Hipparchus and Ptolemaeus craters in the Sea of Nectar), Syldavia (Sprodj Atomic Research Centre). Overall rating: Once more an awesome review Confessor. As I said the last book left me a bit cold. Destination Moon is I feel objectively very good, but it simply doesn't deliver what I want out of Tintin: exotic locales, adventure, period feel. I mean I suppose yes technically the rocketry base was pretty accurate to the 1950s but it just all felt so sterile and clinical to me. I guess I'm just not that into the space race element so the technical detail - as much as I could recognise it - didn't help. While Explorers on the Moon will never be among my favourites in the series I do like it more than the preceeding volume. Explorers has a strong sense of, well, exploration. The addition of Colonel Boris Jorgen gives us a villain with a genuine sense of menace and Wolff's famous sacrifice really give the story a weighty human feel that isn't always present in the Tintin stories. We also have the invigorating scenes of the return to Earth and the real drama over whether our heroes will make it. While there are still elements that are lacking for me - the jagged lunar landscape and the inky blackness of space get a bit overpowering after a while, and it is maddening that the story still evades the status of King Muskar - there is notably more I like here. A particular highlight is Tintin yelling at the Captain. It is always fun to see Tintin lose his cool; I mean I am very fond of our boy reporter/detective/explorer/astronaut but it is good to see him express foibles every so often!
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Post by rossn on Apr 9, 2019 12:44:01 GMT -5
I think that's a perfectly valid response to the two Moon adventures, rossn . Myself, I've been interested in space exploration since I was a child -- especially the mid-century American space exploration of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. So, obviously my enjoyment of these books is going to be coloured by that interest. If you're not much into astronomy, rocket science and space exploration, then I guess these probably unlikely to be your favourite Tintin stories. As noted in my review, my big criticisms of Destination Moon are that Tintin himself gets rather overshadowed by Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus, and that the "hard science" you refer to sometimes makes the dialogue a bit of a slog. Thanks, and yeah I think that's a big part of it really. Intellectually I understand the work Hergé put into this and admire but since meticulous space exploration isn't all that thrilling to me it leaves me a bit cold. I agree Tintin is a bit sidelined here. I suppose realistically there just isn't much for him to do given the nature of the setup; bright as he is our hero isn't a rocketry expert or astronomer and he certainly can't fill the comedic role Captain Haddock is holding. Again, this is a fair enough opinion. However, I would counter slightly by saying that I've always regarded the authentic period detail and strong sense of geographical place you mention to be by-products of Hergé's meticulous dedication to accuracy. Whatever else they might be, the Moon books are definitely meticulously accurate (at least by the standards of early 1950s science and knowledge). So, I think Hergé is again on point as far as authentically conjuring a specific place and time goes, it's just that this time it's a secret rocketry complex, rather than an exotic foreign location. Oh, I agree it stems from very much the same source it is just that for me a secret rocketry complex is artistically quite drab and ugly certainly combined with a mid-century cityscape or the wilderness. The palette is stark and industrial throughout, with even the mountains largely barren of trees or snow and while it feels technically exact it leaves me feeling claustrophobic and unsatisfied. I might not mind so much but we are not so far removed from the riot of colours and locations that marked the Inca duology. Good point. I hadn't thought of that. I suppose it's certainly possible that the Syldavian royal family didn't survive the Second World War. I think this might have been in part because of Hergé's commitment to realism. In 1950 all of the pre-war Balkan monarchies had been replaced by communist dictatorships, except for Greece which was only just coming out of a bitter civil war (and was thus entirely unsuited as a model for other reasons.) It would have been difficult to portray a 'realistic' monarchical Syldavia that had remained unchanged since King Ottokar's Sceptre. On the other hand Hergé himself was a committed Belgian royalist and personal friends with King Leopold III ( whose own position was very unstable during the period these stories were written) so I don't think he would have wanted to display Syldavia as a republic, let alone a communist republic, so he evaded the issue by not mentioning the government at all. I've always assumed that Dr. Wolff is Syldavian myself, as are the other technicians and scientists at the Sprodj Atomic Research Centre. As for Borduria, my memory's hazy about mentions of the place in later Tintin books, but in King Ottokar's Sceptre it is clearly analogous with the Axis powers of WW2. Is Borduria even shown as being hostile towards Syldavia after King Ottokar's Sceptre? I think the more in-depth answers to these questions will have to wait for The Calculus Affair. I think Hergé would've probably agreed with that sentiment. As successful as the Moon books were, and as important as they clearly were to Hergé himself, I think it's telling that, afterwards, the Tintin books return to the more familiar mystery/detective themed stories that we associate with the series. Hergé obviously realised that he was in unusual territory for Tintin with these books; right from the moment he started writing them he was careful to cut out anything fanciful or unrealistic from the two-parter. I mean, there are no Moon monsters encountered in the next book, for example. Nor would Tintin and/or Calculus venture out into space again. It's as realistic a tale as it can be, and, as such, would clearly be difficult to sustain as a new direction for the series. I agree!
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Post by rossn on Apr 8, 2019 12:29:47 GMT -5
Destination Moon (French: Objectif Lune) Original publication dates: March 1950 – September 1950 First collected edition: 1953 Author: Hergé Tintin visits: Belgium (Marlinspike, Brussels), Syldavia (Klow, Sprodj Atomic Research Centre), sub-orbital space. Overall rating: Another great review Confessor! I have to admit I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book and its immediate sequel. Technically they are masterpieces in art, design and research and (at least in the second part) they are very tense and well constructed adventures. I also loved some of the comedy here. Having said that... I don't know, much like Black Island I can appreciate the book rather than actually love it. I suppose my main issue - and I recognise that is very much personal taste rather than a flaw of the book - is that the extremely detailed technical work and the pretty hard science (certainly for a mid-century comic) just don't appeal me to me much. One of the big appeals to me of the Tintin series has always been the extremely strong place and period feel. I love the fact that King Ottokar's Scepter is so firmly of the 1930s and how even the wartime books that go out of their way to avoid contemporary events like Red Rackham's Treasure have a gorgeously pulpy globetrotting adventure feel. Looking ahead I'm fond of the Cold War-esque The Calculus Affair. Destination Moon just seems a bit cold and detached from all that. Instead of a lovingly detailed foreign country we get a sterile and industrial research lab; endless tubes and concrete corridors. I know it is set in Syldavia but really other than the Balkan-esque names it could really be anywhere with a set of mountains. Indeed we don't even know whether Slydavia is still a monarchy as King Muskar makes no appearance and gets no mention. For that matter one wonders why the Syldavian government with a hostile Borduria next door is so happy to throw money and vast resources at a foreign professor who seems happier to take his friends dog to the moon rather than one of their own countrymen - unless Wolff is meant to be from Syldavia (was his nationality given in the French version?) Again I will say that I think Destination Moon is objectively very good. It just isn't what I personally want from my Tintin.
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Post by rossn on Mar 27, 2019 14:24:50 GMT -5
Land of Black Gold (French: Tintin au pays de l'or noir) Original publication dates: September 1939 – May 1940 ( abandoned before completion) Subsequent publication dates: September 1948 – February 1950 ( started again and completed) First collected edition: 1950 Author: Hergé Tintin visits: Belgium (Brussels, Antwerp), Khemed (Khemikhal, Hasch Abaibabi, the Bir Kegg oasis, unidentified Bedouine encampment, and other unidentified desert locations). Overall rating: Yes! I was just thinking about these reviews earlier today, so awesome to see another one! Wonderful analysis as always Confessor! I've only ever read the 1972 version so it is fascinating to see those panels from the 'middle-period' version, which I've always thought sounded interesting. It is also intriguing to see things like the updating of technologies. Back in The Black Island (another Dr. Müller story oddly enough) I know I wasn't as enamoured with the story as you were, partly because Bob de Moor's 'updating' felt really jarring in a very 1930s story surrounded by two stories also felt very much of the 1930s. Here it doesn't bother me nearly so much because the story itself was updated and in any case has more of a timeless feel - an "episode in the perpetual war over oil" indeed! While Thom(p)son Twins were fun and I think I enjoyed Captain Haddock's non-explanation a little more than you for me the comedic highlight was Oliveira de Figueira and his wonderful, incredibly intricate stories seemingly invented on the spot. Very Baron von Munchausen-like and a very neat idea. I think in some ways Dr. Müller comes across as more threatening figure that Rastapopoulos, maybe because the good evil doctor seems willing to get his hands dirty in a proper fight and even die rather than be captured. Rastapopoulos always came across to me as smug and bloated, relying on henchmen. Overall, even if I liked parts a little more than you I can't quibble with your overall conclusion and rating. It isn't bad by any means but I think it shows in being a bit stitched together. And yes seeing Tintin in trousers broke my brain a little!
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Post by rossn on Dec 5, 2018 10:35:46 GMT -5
Where--exactly--is there any on-screen moment of the others treating and/or considering him a joke? On Endor, Luke tells Han to take out the Storm Troopers quietly. Han says, 'Hey - it's me!' and the audience is supposed to laugh. Luke and Leia look at each other knowingly, like he's a liability. And low and behold, he steps on a twig, comedically, and messes up everything. A world away from the street smart Han of the first two movies. Amusingly the West End Games Star Wars roleplaying game used that exact scene as an emample of a botched skill roll... and then pointed out how it indirectly led our heroes to the Ewoks (as a point gamesmasters can make even bad luck for the players help the story.) To paraphrase the rulebook: 'The future of the galaxy turned on Han Solo failing a Stealth check.'
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Post by rossn on Nov 27, 2018 10:12:54 GMT -5
I very much enjoy Han in these comics but I think the old Brian Daley books from the late 70s/early 80s and A.C. Crispin's trilogy from the 1990s might have been more influential in Solo.
I strongly recommend all six books, they offer a great glimpse of young Han (Crispin) and immediately before ANY Han (Daely.)
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Post by rossn on Oct 13, 2018 8:20:00 GMT -5
Prisoners of the Sun (French: Le Temple du Soleil) Original publication dates: December 1946 – April 1948 First collected edition: 1949 Author: Hergé (with uncredited assistance from Edgar P. Jacobs)Tintin visits: Peru (Callao, Santa Clara, Jauga, Andes mountain range, Amazon rainforest, unidentified ancient Inca settlement). Overall rating: As always a wonderful overview Confessor! While I slightly prefer the Red Rackham duology (especially the second book which is up there with my very favourites in the whole run) I enjoyed this story a lot. The art (cartoon bear exceted ) is just wonderfully evocative from the jungles and mountains to the gorgeous attire of the Incas. It is amazing to contrast this with Hergé's last venture to South America. Don't get me wrong, I love The Broken Ear and in certain respects like humour it is arguably better than Prisoners of the Sun but this book is clearly a more polished work. I think The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun are the last we really see of 'pulp' Tintin - The Land of Black Gold feels very modern (probably because it went through so many revisions) and the Destination Moon duology brims with 1950s feeling in its scientific rigour and Cold War intrigue. Here though Tintin and Co. are firmly rooted in the world of the 1930s and 40s when the globe seemed to covered with fabulously exotic locales and undiscovered civilisations andclever and tough heroes went on adventures - I could totally believe Titin and Haddock bumping into Indiana Jones in one of these panels. The existence of actual magic - and as you say it is impossible to interpret the 'witchcraft' as anything else - also help the pulpy vibe. The world of Tintin here is mysterious and there strange things out there than science and rationality just can't explain. It's wonderfully evocative! I concede that the portrayal of the Incas is more problematic than occurred to me when I read this in my early teens and while I like the humour a bit more than you do (though I agree Haddock versus the llamas is the highlight!) I also concede it isn't always paced as well. Still, I love this book. Escapism at its finest and richly flavoured with period appeal.
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rossn
Full Member
Posts: 173
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Post by rossn on Sept 25, 2018 5:52:10 GMT -5
Say, I thought you'd get a kick out of this: the cover of Tintin #1 (reprinted in issue 40, 31st year, from 1976)... ...and the first page of The Temple of the Sun, as it saw print in that issue. As you see, it differs from the final version seen in the book! There was an exhibition of many original pages in Quebec City' Museum of Civilization, many years ago. Hergé drew the pages in this newspaper-friendly format (low than wide) and then cut and pasted the images to fit the book format, sometimes redrawing things (or having them redrawn by his assistants, one supposes). Ooh, those are very nice. I do think I slightly prefer the book version with the busybody fellow train passenger poking his nose in. It seems to fit the story theme nicely.
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