Sounds like quite an excellent story and it would be a great read for children! Now, are all Tintin stories like this or do other tales glorify the “freedoms” of social democracy?

All the adventures are action-packed and exciting. Herge did extensive research to develop plots. For instance in Blue Lotus, set in Shanghai in the 1930s, Herge draws on the conflict between the Japanese and the Chinese and the Mukden Incident. Also in another book, Tintin and Snowy go to the moon and this edition was first published in 1953. Analysing the political subtext of these stories would take some time (King Ottokar’s Sceptre being another) but all very exciting stuff.

Terribly funny comment from an Amazon review:

“As far as the content, one must keep in mind that this Tintin was written in the 1920s – a time when Europe felt threatened by Communism, and also written for an anti-Communist church-run newspaper. The Russians are therefore depicted in the most unfair way, a bias that Herge had to apologize for later in life. Unlike his thorough research for later adventures, Herge bases Tintin’s Soviet experiences on just a single book he had read, written mostly for propaganda purposes. Despite this major weakness, I would highly recommend this Tintin adventure. The political views therein are merely a sign of the times.”

Too cartoonish. Like, making an action comedy out of all-too real tragedy.

The point it misses is that the “officials” were not cartoonish villains; they vere normal people, not much different from us, often honest and decent. Just terribly deluded in their insane belief in the Collective.

The point it misses is that the “officials” were not cartoonish villains; they vere normal people, not much different from us, often honest and decent. Just terribly deluded in their insane belief in the Collective.

Can’t remember the last time I made a whole village of ‘dissenters’ disappear into a ditch

Tintin stories and their success are mainly living through their “humor of exactitude”. It’s not as funny as the bold French Asterix humor, but it is probably one of the finest comics Belgium has ever exported.

Certainly, there’s some “poetic license” also… and in this first catholic boy-scout comic everything is mostly “over the top”, but the depiction of his contemporary world is quite realistic in other details of the Herge series.

Many of the Tintin plots often rely on the inefficiency of the friendly police force (Thomson and Thomson), while the real work of catching the bad guys is done by Tintin the kid, and his dog. This should please every libertarian kid… and that is also the ironic level at which it should be read.

Herge saw himself more as a “medium” depicting very elegantly, the views of his times… but to give him great political clear sight is in fact not to understand the person or his work: Many stories have a strange though not pungent taste of “racism” in them… which may be only a natural human feature, and still, Tintin has always be part of “the system”, never questioning it too much (except the last south American album… admittedly, is a critic of… foreign governments ).

This being said. Herge is considered by many a vile collaborator in Nazi occupation times because he continued working under the “nazi direction of the newspaper “le Soir” where his stories were published. However, the “active resistance” to which he always refused to participate, in occupied France and Belgium asked for its toll of innocent victims and so did the purges afterwards. Moreover, much of that “resistance bravery” caused indeed the communists to seize the power after the war in Europe.

My grandfather in his glorious days, worked together as a journalist with Herge at the “Petit Vingtième”, but I never met the man though.

Tintin was for us a great example . The way HERGE was demonstrating the good from the bad in all these fantastic books during the years of my youth was always very pedagogic and helpfull for young people looking for adventure. The only one we didn’t have was “TINTIN CHEZ LES SOVIET” otherwaise we read them all . The accusations against HERGE to be a collaborator to the Nazis does not hole water, I agree. during the “occupation” one had to work for the occupiyng forces . nearly the whole of EUROPE did this , to be able to live . Working for the german. I do not like this comment of accusation , specially not comming from Australians , knowing that Australia stopped “child slavery ” (14 years old aborigenese children) in 1960. And this could probabely be similar for the English. I do not like to talk about this . Specially not for my new country that I love , but these are facts.