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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Racism
Ik had deze nooit gelezen en het is beter dan in verwachtte. Spannend en met een coherent plot. De tekeningen zijn in orde. Niet adembenemend, maar ook niet zo slecht of inconsistent dat het afleidt. Er is soms wel een soort van achtergrond, al zijn er nog steeds veel tekeningen bij met een egaal kleurvlak als setting.
Als er een nieuwe uitgave zou komen waarin karakters een speech niet steeds afsluiten met 'ik heb gezegd', dan zou ik hem een ster extra geven.
Als er een nieuwe uitgave zou komen waarin karakters een speech niet steeds afsluiten met 'ik heb gezegd', dan zou ik hem een ster extra geven.
I'll review these three stories separately as I get round to reading them.
Tintin in America (read 14th May 2013)
This has similar themes to the first two books, skirting some fairly insensitive and stereotyped depictions of Americans, both native and otherwise. Whether it's mob rule, infighting Indians or lynch happy cowboys its all a bit over the top. The serial nature of it is still obvious, jumping from one brief set piece to another and not much in the way of cohesive storytelling. The miraculous escapes and seemingly immortal/untouchable Tintin makes for annoyance and a somewhat boring and predictable story. From what I've heard it's all uphill from here. I hope so. 2 stars.
Cigars of the Pharaoh (read 6th Oct 2013)
There's definitely a step up in execution here. To be fair, there's still an element of racial stereotyping and the coincidental nature of the plot and situations still pushes way beyond credulity but it's seems to flow a lot better, makes more sense and has more of an engaging mystery. It's odd, given he's a journalist and the situations he finds himself in, Tintin is pretty dumb at times. The art is brilliant, full of detail, exact and stylised all at the same time and the colours hum. Some of the larger shots of the Arabian Palaces and Indian Jungle really are spectacular. The action works and Hegre has a puntastic time with some of the names (is this where Pratchett got his Djelababi from?). Gay pyjamas indeed. If you can accept the stereotyping and still fairly racist approach as 'of the era' then it's an enjoyable romp and I'm starting to get more of a sense of why it's so loved. 3 stars.
The Blue Lotus (read 19th July 2014)
My last sentence seems a bit redundant again. This really did nothing for me despite being tauter and slightly less down to sheer coincidence and luck. The continuation of the previous story at least provides a conclusion but it's tough work at times. Racial stereotyping is in full force despite a brief segment where Tintin explains to a 'native' how some poorly educated Europeans think of the Chinese, in an effort to tackle stereotypical views. Hmmm. 1 star.
In summary, hmmmm. I've got the next collection from the library and I'm willing to give Tintin a bit more time but it better pick up.
Tintin in America (read 14th May 2013)
This has similar themes to the first two books, skirting some fairly insensitive and stereotyped depictions of Americans, both native and otherwise. Whether it's mob rule, infighting Indians or lynch happy cowboys its all a bit over the top. The serial nature of it is still obvious, jumping from one brief set piece to another and not much in the way of cohesive storytelling. The miraculous escapes and seemingly immortal/untouchable Tintin makes for annoyance and a somewhat boring and predictable story. From what I've heard it's all uphill from here. I hope so. 2 stars.
Cigars of the Pharaoh (read 6th Oct 2013)
There's definitely a step up in execution here. To be fair, there's still an element of racial stereotyping and the coincidental nature of the plot and situations still pushes way beyond credulity but it's seems to flow a lot better, makes more sense and has more of an engaging mystery. It's odd, given he's a journalist and the situations he finds himself in, Tintin is pretty dumb at times. The art is brilliant, full of detail, exact and stylised all at the same time and the colours hum. Some of the larger shots of the Arabian Palaces and Indian Jungle really are spectacular. The action works and Hegre has a puntastic time with some of the names (is this where Pratchett got his Djelababi from?). Gay pyjamas indeed. If you can accept the stereotyping and still fairly racist approach as 'of the era' then it's an enjoyable romp and I'm starting to get more of a sense of why it's so loved. 3 stars.
The Blue Lotus (read 19th July 2014)
My last sentence seems a bit redundant again. This really did nothing for me despite being tauter and slightly less down to sheer coincidence and luck. The continuation of the previous story at least provides a conclusion but it's tough work at times. Racial stereotyping is in full force despite a brief segment where Tintin explains to a 'native' how some poorly educated Europeans think of the Chinese, in an effort to tackle stereotypical views. Hmmm. 1 star.
In summary, hmmmm. I've got the next collection from the library and I'm willing to give Tintin a bit more time but it better pick up.
Herge is able to create more dynamic movement with simple panel layout than most artists are able to achieve with more 'dynamic' layouts, throw in the beauty of the colour and you have one of the most enjoyable comics visually of all time. Add to that a great script filled with gags that vary from the slapstick to the surprisingly satirical (the almost abstract industrialisation gag is a wonderfully dark gag right in the middle of an otherwise light-hearted adventure), the only negative would be some of the sour gags about the names of Native Americans but even then Herge still falls on the side of the plight of the Native community.
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced
adventurous
fast-paced
Rather horrific bit of racism here and just not a great story. Lots of action, but there are many better choices in the world so I would rather read something else.