Tintin in the Congo

Tintin's second adventure after Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (which having never been revised and coloured, seems to remain outside the official canon) has only been published in English relatively recently, and with its political and racial innocence (some might put it a little more strongly than that), there's good reason why it remains one of the lesser Tintin adventures. Written before Tintin had fully developed into an investigative journalist chasing master criminals across the globe, under the seas and into space, it's the travelogue aspect that is the primary purpose behind the early Tintin adventures, the story revelling in the exoticism of foreign lands and alien cultures. Drawn also before there was a wider selection of reference material for Hergé, and being very much of its racially insensitive time, the depiction of the Belgian colony of the Congo and the natives is consequently potentially offensive to some readers. In reality, it's no more cartoonish than any other aspect of Tintin in the Congo including the depiction of Tintin himself. Written primarily as an entertainment for very young children in a running serial in 1930, with there never being any intention of it having any kind of longevity, the exploits of Tintin and Snowy here are rather unsophisticated fun and slapstick, Tintin visiting the African nation as a reporter, but only in the capacity of a travel writer, taking time to indulge in big-game hunting and seemingly single-handedly massacring half the animal population of the continent. There is some familiarity in the crime-fighting aspect of later Tintin stories in several incidents he has with a criminal who has stowed away on Tintin's ship to Africa, but it's far from the global conspiracies of the greater Tintin adventures. Reworked into its new format for colour album publication in 1946, the artwork is much improved and the offensive colonial elements are toned down, but even so Tintin in the Congo is still a good notch or two below the standard we expect from the best Tintin adventures. This is far from essential Tintin, and may still even be offensive to some readers, but it's an intriguing look at the origins of one of the greatest creations in the comic world that still has some innocent entertainment value and, as such, it's not entirely without interest.

I used to enjoy Tin Tin adventures when I was young and was horrified to learn that there were moves to ban the story Tin Tin In The Congo.It would appear some surely misguided people consider it to be racist and demeaning to African people. Unless of course it was a clever marketing ploy.In which case it got me as I bought several copies for friends and relatives.For goodness sake it is a childrens book written in 1931 when there were many differences in attitudes towards colonial peoples compared to today. Treat it as such and enjoy the story and compare the attitudes to wildlife conservation too! Kids love it.

Apparently there are people trying to get this classic book banned because they think it's racist. Lighten up for god's sake! It was written in 1931 and is a reflection of the times, it's not tryig to be racist at all. This is a very important book as it's one of the very earliest Tintin stories and probably the hardest to get hold of. Thankfully I have one and I might just purchase another one for my nephew who is just starting to get into TinTin. Banning or censoring any book is wrong in my opinion and smacks of totalitarianism. The PC brigade should get a life and stop deciding what everyone should think.

I enjoyed all these books as a child. I bought this one due to all the p.c. hype about it lately. I believe people that judge this book racist are themselves guilty of generational prejudice. We live in different times, but there is no reason to throw everything away that does not meet our current standards.

There is a reason why there are so many endangered animals in Africa, it's because Tintin killed most of them in the 30's. Every animal he meets be it lion, elephant, monkey, various snakes et al. are promptly dispatched to the after life. The story line is not that great either. Herge really upped his game on the later books and they are all the better for it.

Ok will say it's not the most exciting of the TinTin stories but I quite enjoyed it. It was a product of its era and should be read as such. Of course there are many a sad PC imbecile about who just loves to decry it but sod em I liked it. Africans were drawn with 'woolly' hair and thick lips because they have 'woolly' hair and thick lips as was depicted in almost all books and cartoons of that era. People believed and thought differently about other races back in the 30s. If you are offended then grow up and take it for what is was. I for one am happy to give it to my kid to read while mentioning that it was written in a bygone era.

Only fans will like this one. Ignoring the racist aspects of this book for the moment, I will say that the illustrations are poor, the characters unlikeable, and the story just plain bad. Nothing happens except Tintin saves Snowy, then everyone else, then himself, then Snowy again, then he hunts some more, saves Snowy and....I think you get my point. Put it simply, its pretty dull. I will admit I find this book particularly distasteful. Every colonial stereotype and myth is written into this children's book. It was deliberately written to tell children about the Belgian colonization of the Congo, how it portrays this as a wonderful, peaceful event, bringing civilization, and progress to the child-like and foolish Congolese is frankly sickening if you are even remotely aware of the realities of that period. This entire piece is created for the sole purpose of indoctrinating the colonial myth in younger generations. Not to mention the derogatory visual stereotypes Herge has used. I could go on but this is meant to be a small review, Im sure people will disagree with me- people always love the classics, simple because they are that- classics. I have just written an entire dissertation looking into the racism and the colonial stereotype in this one book. As for the argument it was a reflection of the time, well then Id ask people to wake up. This was written in 1931, published again in 1946, 1975 and now 2005, not 1831. Do I think it should be banned? No. I think we should learn from it and use it to show children a bit of colonial history. Do I think it should still be in print. Well, no I dont. By re-printing these images we are only contributing to the problem, every reiteration of these types of stereotypes only re-enacts race and racism. But I suppose the die hard fans do need to complete their set.

Time hasn't been too kind to this 1930s tale of Tintin's adventures in the Congo. Judged by today's standards, the book strikes a rather jarring note, with its patronising depiction of the Congolese and its treatment of the local wildlife. But before we jump in to heap abuse on Herge, we should remember that this book simply reflects attitudes that were commonplace in the 1930s, however much we may deplore them now. The story such as it is, is very patchy and episodic, and consists mainly of a series of chase and escape sequences. The drawings too are rather basic and are a long way off the standard Herge reached in the 1940s. So all in all, this is really a book only for the real Tintinologist, who must have the whole set, but probably won't get this particular one off the shelf too often!

I am not quite sure why people are up in arms about this book. It is no different to the old Tom and Jerry cartoons with the servant who kicks old Tom out all the time. Yes it wouldn't be written today but, this is how things where perceived at the time it was written. I have been a life long Tintin fan and was surprised on a holiday to France when I noticed 2 books that I had never seen before I was about 13. The other being Tin Tin in Moscow. My French is poor so I never bought (or got my parents to anyway) copies. Years later I bought both while in Belgium in English Print. The Story is typical Tintin but, in my opinion is the weakest after his Moscow adventure. Herge was still creating the character and finally hit gold with the next in the series Tintin in America. Funny how people don't think this is racist with the Native Indians? The book deserves 3 stars and can the PC Brigade please lighten up its Tintin for heavens sake.

I am not quite sure why people are up in arms about this book. It is no different to the old Tom and Jerry cartoons with the servant who kicks old Tom out all the time. Yes it wouldn't be written today but, this is how things where perceived at the time it was written. I have been a life long Tintin fan and was surprised on a holiday to France when I noticed 2 books that I had never seen before I was about 13. The other being Tin Tin in Moscow. My French is poor so I never bought (or got my parents to anyway) copies. Years later I bought both while in Belgium in English Print. The Story is typical Tintin but, in my opinion is the weakest after his Moscow adventure. Herge was still creating the character and finally hit gold with the next in the series Tintin in America. Funny how people don't think this is racist with the Native Indians? The book deserves 3 stars and can the PC Brigade please lighten up its Tintin for heavens sake.