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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 10, 2017 11:29:12 GMT -5
A brilliant review, Confessor! Bravo!
And now I'm off to see what those Chinese signs say!!!
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Mar 10, 2017 18:00:54 GMT -5
The Blue Lotus (French: Le Lotus bleu) Original publication dates: August 1934 – October 1935 First collected edition: 1936 (partially redrawn colour edition published in 1946) Author: Hergé Tintin visits: India (Gaipajama), China (Shanghai, Hukow) Overall rating:   Great review of a genuine classic Confessor. When I was young part of the reason I liked The Blue Lotus so much was the strong period feel of the story. A lot of Tintin stories are timeless but this, in a good way, can only be set in the 1930s and that gives it a real sense of history. It also allows Hergé some great vehicles - a suitably intimidating Japanese armoured car or battleships lit by moonlight are immediately evocative. Really the art throughout is just stunning. The scene of the Thom(p)sons in full Manchu-era garb walking down the street is one of my favourite panels in the whole series. Funny, clever and gorgeous art all at once. While you rightly mention the Japanese and British imperialism there is also a very unpleasant American villain (well two counting Rastapopoulos). Gibbons the businessman must be one of the most repellent characters in the franchise precisely because his afwulness is so down to earth and realistic; he isn't a career criminal or a spy, just a monstorously petty and self entitled racist. Speaking of Americans, is that man in the glasses listening to the radio reporting the railway bombing meant to be Bobby Smiles? We even see what looks like a reinforced steel door behind him suggesting a prison cell. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 10, 2017 21:46:55 GMT -5
I'm certainly not the most knowledgable of fans, but I can tell you I'd never heard of Tintin before the movie, and even after I'd never seen it in print (despite having been in MANY comic book stores) until slightly after that when my local library ordered hardcover library-ish reprints.
I've since mentioned the series here and there to people, and have still yet to find someone how had even heard of it, much less read it.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 11, 2017 10:19:32 GMT -5
When I was young part of the reason I liked The Blue Lotus so much was the strong period feel of the story. A lot of Tintin stories are timeless but this, in a good way, can only be set in the 1930s and that gives it a real sense of history. It also allows Hergé some great vehicles - a suitably intimidating Japanese armoured car or battleships lit by moonlight are immediately evocative. Really the art throughout is just stunning. Yeah, the nighttime scenes in this book are especially nice. While you rightly mention the Japanese and British imperialism there is also a very unpleasant American villain (well two counting Rastapopoulos). Gibbons the businessman must be one of the most repellent characters in the franchise precisely because his afwulness is so down to earth and realistic; he isn't a career criminal or a spy, just a monstorously petty and self entitled racist. Yeah, Gibbons is a pretty repugnant character. I don't see him as being a true villain though -- at least not in the same way as Rastapopoulos or Mitsuhirato. He's just a racist a***hole...and a very realistically depicted one, as you say. Speaking of Americans, is that man in the glasses listening to the radio reporting the railway bombing meant to be Bobby Smiles? We even see what looks like a reinforced steel door behind him suggesting a prison cell. Hmmm...I don't think it is supposed to be Bobby Smiles. For one thing, he's in a business suit, smoking a cigar, whereas the jailed Smiles would be in '30s era prison clothing, surely? The heavily riveted door behind this guy and his mode of dress makes me think of a wealthy bank manager. That said though, you might be right. It certainly looks very close to how Hergé drew Smiles. Good catch and an interesting theory. |
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Mar 11, 2017 21:07:02 GMT -5
Yeah, the nighttime scenes in this book are especially nice. Agreed! I particularly like the series of panels on pages 12 to 13 with Tintin going through the afterdark streets of Shanghai in search of a house with a lit lantern. Wonderfully eerie and atmospheric. Good point. I think Hergé was experimenting with a larger and more complex supporting cast with this book: aside from Rastapopoulos, Mitsuhirato and the Thom(p)sons we also get Dawson, Gibbons, Wang Chen-yee (and family) and, above all, Chang. Each of these characters appear in multiple sections and have their own subplots unlike, say, Tintin in America which seemed to a lot more 'one page' or 'one panel' gag characters like the drunken sheriff. We see a similar 'ensemble' in The Broken Ear. I was actually thinking of the relative luxury Tintin's other Chicago foe Al Capone enjoyed at Eastern State Penitentiary:  In fairness it only looks a 'bit' like Smiles but I was wondering if that was due to the older art in The Blue Lotus. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 12, 2017 13:10:31 GMT -5
Tintin in America (French: Tintin en Amérique) Original publication dates: September 1931 – October 1932 First collected edition: 1932 (redrawn colour edition published in 1945) Author: Hergé Tintin visits: United States of America (Chicago, Redskin City) Overall rating:   Plot summary available here. Publisher's synopsis: Tintin goes to America, to Chicago, the territory of gangster Al Capone; the world of cowboys and Indians and the Wild West. Undaunted, Tintin and Snowy make their way through hilarity and danger to yet another triumph of virtue over crime. And again I'm behind. This is definitely a step up from Soviets and Congo. Particularly the art, though, as has been pointed out, the book was completely re-drawn. there really are artistic moments of brilliance The story, while a small step forward, really didn't work well for me. The episodic nature made it feel like I was reading a number of vignettes rather than a fully realized story. And I didn't find any of them overly compelling. The plots, to the extent there were any were fairly nonsensical beyond the whole someone is chasing someone else. In that respect it wasn't far beyond a Roadrunner cartoon. I didn't feel it was clear from the ending of Congo/beginning of this book that Tintin was really going to the U.S. to confront Capone. It seemed that the organized crime figures all just arbitrarily decided to pick a fight with the invincible little reporter. While I'll agree there was social commentary on the Native Americans treatment, the depiction wasn't faultless. Much like the native Congolese, they were depicted as easily duped and superstitious. Naive little people who fell prey to the words of the gangster that Tintin was out to attack them...and needing their sacred tomahawk to do anything about it. As a personal aside, the omnipresence of all the cacti bugged the heck out of me. While the majority of the Blackfoot nation's traditional grounds were in Canada, there is a Blackfoot reservation in Montana...so it's not super far from my stomping grounds. And I'm gonna tell you there ain't cacti growing everywhere. Replace them with sagebrush and we'll talk. Certainly a step forward. But still this isn't going to make me a Tintin fan. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 13, 2017 6:16:51 GMT -5
I particularly like the series of panels on pages 12 to 13 with Tintin going through the afterdark streets of Shanghai in search of a house with a lit lantern. Wonderfully eerie and atmospheric. Yeah, those were exactly the scenes I was thinking of when I said about the nighttime sequences as well. Love that lantern...beautiful colouring on those pages. I was actually thinking of the relative luxury Tintin's other Chicago foe Al Capone enjoyed at Eastern State Penitentiary: In fairness it only looks a 'bit' like Smiles but I was wondering if that was due to the older art in The Blue Lotus. Ah, OK. Yeah, you may be right then. I had never seen that picture of Capone's prison cell before. You might be on to something. |
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Post by antoine on Mar 13, 2017 11:30:11 GMT -5
I told my wife (who's not into comics at all!) that I was reading a great review thread on Tintin. I did not believe her when she told me she never read a single one as a kid, although she knew who he was. I gave her the Blue Lotus, and she liked it. I will send her the link to this thread so she can read the review.
I'm on my way in a couple hours to buy the complete collection of Tintin books. I use to have them all, but I lend them to friend's kids and they never came back.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 13, 2017 11:33:24 GMT -5
I told my wife (who's not into comics at all!) that I was reading a great review thread on Tintin. I did not believe her when she told me she never read a single one as a kid, although she knew who he was. I gave her the Blue Lotus, and she liked it. I will send her the link to this thread so she can read the review. I'm on my way in a couple hours to buy the complete collection of Tintin books. I use to have them all, but I lend them to friend's kids and they never came back. Mmph. "If you lend a book to a friend, you'll lose a book and you'll lose a friend". My Incredible Hulk collection shared the fate of your Tintin collection (although presumably not because of the same friend!) |
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Post by antoine on Mar 13, 2017 11:36:18 GMT -5
I told my wife (who's not into comics at all!) that I was reading a great review thread on Tintin. I did not believe her when she told me she never read a single one as a kid, although she knew who he was. I gave her the Blue Lotus, and she liked it. I will send her the link to this thread so she can read the review. I'm on my way in a couple hours to buy the complete collection of Tintin books. I use to have them all, but I lend them to friend's kids and they never came back. Mmph. "If you lend a book to a friend, you'll lose a book and you'll lose a friend". My Incredible Hulk collection shared the fate of your Tintin collection (although presumably not because of the same friend!) I'm glad that they can be enjoyed. They also have most of my Astérix, and some Spirou et Fantasio. I'm buying them again for my 3 girls. 80$ is not too bad for 23 books, plus he said he has a few Schtroumpfs he'll put in the box. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 14, 2017 9:54:35 GMT -5
Tintin in America (French: Tintin en Amérique) Original publication dates: September 1931 – October 1932 First collected edition: 1932 (redrawn colour edition published in 1945) Author: Hergé Tintin visits: United States of America (Chicago, Redskin City) Overall rating: Plot summary available here. Publisher's synopsis: Tintin goes to America, to Chicago, the territory of gangster Al Capone; the world of cowboys and Indians and the Wild West. Undaunted, Tintin and Snowy make their way through hilarity and danger to yet another triumph of virtue over crime. The story, while a small step forward, really didn't work well for me. The episodic nature made it feel like I was reading a number of vignettes rather than a fully realized story. And I didn't find any of them overly compelling. The plots, to the extent there were any were fairly nonsensical beyond the whole someone is chasing someone else. In that respect it wasn't far beyond a Roadrunner cartoon. I think that's fair. The books does still suffer from the episodic, cliff-hanger after cliff-hanger format as the earlier books do. But what has changed for me is that the dynamic of the action has changed, insofar as the action is more entertaining and has more pace or "zip" to it. I didn't feel it was clear from the ending of Congo/beginning of this book that Tintin was really going to the U.S. to confront Capone. It seemed that the organized crime figures all just arbitrarily decided to pick a fight with the invincible little reporter. I think you're right as far as we just get vague talk of "an important job lined up" when Tintin gets back to Belgium. As for Capone and the other gangsters, their reason for picking a fight with the boy reporter is, as explained on page 1, panel 2, that they've somehow caught wind of his intention to come to Chicago in order to clean up organised crime. In Capone's case, he's especially wary of and angry at Tintin for smashing his diamond smuggling racket in the Congo in the previous book. I agree that Hergé doesn't really go into much detail about motive, but I think the gangster's reasons for attempting to kill Tintin are sufficient, albeit rather one-dimensional. While I'll agree there was social commentary on the Native Americans treatment, the depiction wasn't faultless. Much like the native Congolese, they were depicted as easily duped and superstitious. Naive little people who fell prey to the words of the gangster that Tintin was out to attack them...and needing their sacred tomahawk to do anything about it. I don't disagree with any of this, but I still think that the overwhelming takeaway from Hergé's depiction of the Native Americans is one of sympathy towards this exploited and unfortunate people. While it might still be slightly condescending, and slightly un-PC by today's standards (I'm thinking of his habit of referring to them as Redskins here), comparing it to the author's depiction of the Congolese is like comparing chalk and cheese. Hergé is clearly "on the Indian's side" and extremely critical of both the oil industry and mainstream America's exploitation of the country's native race. As such, I'd say that his portrayal of the Blackfeet is hugely progressive for a book written in the early 1930s. As a personal aside, the omnipresence of all the cacti bugged the heck out of me. While the majority of the Blackfoot nation's traditional grounds were in Canada, there is a Blackfoot reservation in Montana...so it's not super far from my stomping grounds. And I'm gonna tell you there ain't cacti growing everywhere. Replace them with sagebrush and we'll talk. Ha! Yeah, this doesn't surprise me at all. As I noted, Hergé also draws the plains a little bit too green -- a little bit too much like European meadow land -- to be truly accurate as well. Certainly a step forward. But still this isn't going to make me a Tintin fan. Tough crowd!  Personally, I think there's a lot to enjoy about this book. It has many flaws, without doubt, but I really like Tintin in America in spite of its shortcomings. It has a lot of charm, plenty of pace and action, and it's actually laugh out loud funny in places, which is a first for a book in this series. |
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Post by Confessor on Mar 14, 2017 9:57:00 GMT -5
I told my wife (who's not into comics at all!) that I was reading a great review thread on Tintin. I did not believe her when she told me she never read a single one as a kid, although she knew who he was. I gave her the Blue Lotus, and she liked it. I will send her the link to this thread so she can read the review. I'm on my way in a couple hours to buy the complete collection of Tintin books. I use to have them all, but I lend them to friend's kids and they never came back. Glad to have you and your wife on board and I'm pleased that she enjoyed The Blue Lotus. Now that you have a complete collection of Tintin books again, hopefully you (and possibly your wife) will be chiming in on future reviews. |
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Mar 14, 2017 10:28:56 GMT -5
In fairness Slam_Bradley you might find The Blue Lotus is closer to what you want, not necessarily to quality (though it is of higher quality than Tintin in America) but tone.
Tintin books come in more comedic and more serious shades. The Blue Lotus is a more serious adventure.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 14, 2017 10:38:50 GMT -5
In fairness Slam_Bradley you might find The Blue Lotus is closer to what you want, not necessarily to quality (though it is of higher quality than Tintin in America) but tone. Tintin books come in more comedic and more serious shades. The Blue Lotus is a more serious adventure. I'll get there. Luckily Confessor isn't pumping out reviews at the rate Shax is over on Atari Force. And I still can't keep up. |
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Mar 14, 2017 17:26:03 GMT -5
In fairness Slam_Bradley you might find The Blue Lotus is closer to what you want, not necessarily to quality (though it is of higher quality than Tintin in America) but tone. Tintin books come in more comedic and more serious shades. The Blue Lotus is a more serious adventure. I'll get there. Luckily Confessor isn't pumping out reviews at the rate Shax is over on Atari Force. And I still can't keep up. Cool. One of the weird things of course is that Confessor is reviewing a series than ran for nearly fifty years (1929 to 1976, or even 1983 if you count the unfinished album Hergé was working on at the time of his death.) While there was only one main writer/artist (with assistants) throughout, that is a long time. The Calculus Affair (1956) for instance is a Cold War story. The Broken Ear (1937) and Tintin and the Picaros (1976) are set in the same fictional country but even aside from the art differences one is definitely 'Thirties' and one is definitely 'Seventies'. |
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