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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Un tome rigolo et rythmé avec des personnages sympathiques et un capitaine Haddock toujours complètement barré !
When a giant meteor approaches the Earth, Tintin thinks that the world may be doomed, and a crazy prophet is blaming him for the impending cataclysm. But when the doomsday turns out to be a false alarm, Tintin joins an expedition to seek out a fragment of the meteor that did strike the Earth, landing in the Arctic and carrying an newly-discovered element.
Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, and a crew of eccentric scientists (and thankfully, one actually-competent seaplane pilot) find themselves in a race with a powerful corporation determined to make a profit off of the new element, and willing to resort to sabotage to achieve their goals.
This was a really fun adventure, loaded with Herge's normal array of twists and turns, on every page. I'm always impressed by how rapidly Herge can introduce new problems, perils, and twists.
With the limited cast, this story doesn't get into some of the issues with stereotypes that I've encountered in other Tintin volumes. The characters are quirky, sometimes to the extreme, and a few of the jokes around Captain Haddock's relationship with whiskey are a bit heavyhanded, but there are some good witty bits as well. The dieselpunk feel of the story provides some fun flavoring, and Herge's artwork makes great use of the small-panel layouts.
Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, and a crew of eccentric scientists (and thankfully, one actually-competent seaplane pilot) find themselves in a race with a powerful corporation determined to make a profit off of the new element, and willing to resort to sabotage to achieve their goals.
This was a really fun adventure, loaded with Herge's normal array of twists and turns, on every page. I'm always impressed by how rapidly Herge can introduce new problems, perils, and twists.
With the limited cast, this story doesn't get into some of the issues with stereotypes that I've encountered in other Tintin volumes. The characters are quirky, sometimes to the extreme, and a few of the jokes around Captain Haddock's relationship with whiskey are a bit heavyhanded, but there are some good witty bits as well. The dieselpunk feel of the story provides some fun flavoring, and Herge's artwork makes great use of the small-panel layouts.
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tintin is what it is. I liked the adventures as a kid, so I read them all.
This was boring, substanceless and quite the let down as I read it expecting one of the usual entertaining Tintin's full of mystery, action and evil villains. It is nothing to cry about or anything; it is just not up to par with the other books in the series and thats a shame. Do yourself a favour and read another Tintin instead.
1 3/4 for this one. I can't give it 1 as I try to reserve that score for books I actually hated but this was not up to par with most of the Tintin books, especially as the book wore on (the spider on the planet near the beginning was awesome though. That was my favourite part both as a child and now).
If you love Tintin then I know you are going to read it, and I wouldn't try to talk you out of it. But if you are just discovering Tintin now...maybe dont start with this one
If you love Tintin then I know you are going to read it, and I wouldn't try to talk you out of it. But if you are just discovering Tintin now...maybe dont start with this one
As with all the early Tintin books, we're getting roughly the same plot over and over: Tintin is visiting a foreign country where he runs afoul of a criminal organization doing something wacky. He tracks down various clues as a couple of crooks try to kill him. Each time, he miraculously survives by pure luck. Then he beats a whole roomful of large, armed men to a pulp and escapes in a stolen aeroplane.
All the plot points are convenient and interchangeable, built on haphazard coincidences and luck. So, while Tintin is always charging forward, he isn't always a particularly active character, since he's not as much planning and overcoming as much as blundering through.
I know it's old and I know it's juvenile, but comparing it to Winsor McCary or Carl Barks, it's pretty tame. The backgrounds are lovely, and the character design is getting stronger--I love the ligne claire look--but it's not standing out against the competition, yet.
The whole premise of this one with the giant floating meteor made of a 'new element' that somehow causes all living things to grow--except Tintin and Snowy--is so nonsensical it was hard for me to know what to make of it. Here's a story that, on one hand, is about multinational drug cartels, where the hero wanders the streets of European cities with a drawn pistol braving very real dangers. The contradiction between these two extremes makes the tone of the work rather difficult to make sense of.
If it were the Little Prince or something where the universe is surreal and dreamlike, it would be easy to accept, but the odd combination seems to be at odds with itself. Even in Barks' work, where the characters are cartoon animals, there is a greater sense of narrative unity in what we are meant to take seriously as plot and what is light fun.
Another odd entry as I wait for Herge to hit his stride.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
All the plot points are convenient and interchangeable, built on haphazard coincidences and luck. So, while Tintin is always charging forward, he isn't always a particularly active character, since he's not as much planning and overcoming as much as blundering through.
I know it's old and I know it's juvenile, but comparing it to Winsor McCary or Carl Barks, it's pretty tame. The backgrounds are lovely, and the character design is getting stronger--I love the ligne claire look--but it's not standing out against the competition, yet.
The whole premise of this one with the giant floating meteor made of a 'new element' that somehow causes all living things to grow--except Tintin and Snowy--is so nonsensical it was hard for me to know what to make of it. Here's a story that, on one hand, is about multinational drug cartels, where the hero wanders the streets of European cities with a drawn pistol braving very real dangers. The contradiction between these two extremes makes the tone of the work rather difficult to make sense of.
If it were the Little Prince or something where the universe is surreal and dreamlike, it would be easy to accept, but the odd combination seems to be at odds with itself. Even in Barks' work, where the characters are cartoon animals, there is a greater sense of narrative unity in what we are meant to take seriously as plot and what is light fun.
Another odd entry as I wait for Herge to hit his stride.
My Suggested Reading In Comics