The Four Color Media Monitor

A writer at the Daily Signal recommended one of the most questionable of European adventure comics, Tintin, as something great for children's adventure reading:

I can’t recall what first inspired me to pull the first thin, colorful volume of Tintin off the shelf at my childhood library. But I do remember the hours I spent poring through “The Blue Lotus” and “Red Rackham’s Treasure.” Aerial battles, long-forgotten tombs, thugs with cigars. It was everything a kid could want.

Except maybe some women to appreciate? Because the only recurring woman in the cast, Bianca Castafiore, as I'd mentioned in some past posts, embodies the phrase "it ain't over 'till the fat lady sings", in the most appalling way possible. Let's also consider the political leanings the series came to be built upon, which were otherwise left-wing, as Tintin and the Picaros made clear by the end of the original run, not counting the incomplete Alph-Art, which was only published posthumously after George Remy's passing as more of a manuscript in 1986.

This masterful series by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi (who wrote under the pen name Hergé) feature the travels of the resourceful young reporter Tintin. With a collection of quirky sidekicks, most notably his faithful dog Snowy and the creatively cantankerous Captain Haddock, Tintin busts drug rings in China, tracks down counterfeiters in Scotland, hunts for lost treasure in the Caribbean, and even takes a journey to the moon.

Parents should exercise some caution. Non-graphic violence drives the plot, some stories contain scary elements, and Captain Haddock’s alcoholism is treated as a punchline. Tintin shows the utmost respect to all he meets, but a few of the books contain insensitive or stereotypical portrayals of minority characters.

And for the 2nd book, those stereotypes were so dreadful that as a result, Tintin in Congo wasn't officially translated to English until the turn of the century. And it still remains a source of controversy to the point where a recent edition had its cover illustration changed. Which was appalling, but still doesn't make the book something to write home about.

Herge’s artwork bursts with energy, the characters are vibrant and familiar, and the plots whisk Tintin to every corner of the globe. In addition to being brave and ingenious, Tintin demonstrates a near- superhuman virtue. From gangsters to poachers to pirates, he doesn’t give the bad guys an inch. Then again, Tintin is not meant to be a real person. He’s the epitome of the plucky, unassuming hero, the freedom fighter we all aspire to be.

The books can be purchased as a new set, or used individually. “The Secret of the Unicorn” and “Red Rackham’s Treasure” are an excellent starting place, and also inform the plot of the acclaimed 2011 animated film.

Some might ask, however, if Remy depicted Tintin being lenient on communism in Tintin and the Picaros, which again, was a very questionable way to all but conclude the original series. Can Tintin really be considered a freedom fighter viewed in the context of how, by the story's end, San Theodorus remains an autocracy, with no serious improvement? Unfortunately, that story, and even a few before it, make it all a most dubious claim.

Since the subject of Tintin's public domain status continues to make headlines, CBR announced there's a French artist/writer who did work in the USA who's now planning a new story based on the character, and it sounds fishy:

After decades of dormancy, Tintin, the beloved young reporter created by Hergé in 1929, is set to return to the comic book page, following the character’s recent entry into the public domain. Tintin’s last official comic appearance was in 1986’s Tintin and Alph-Art. Now, French-born comic book writer Fabrice Sapolsky is bringing the iconic hero back to life with his newly announced The Big Lie. [...]

In the U.S., works published before 1978 are granted 95-year copyright protection. Tintin's term expired on January 1, 2025, leaving the character's 1929 debut in Tintin in the Land of the Soviets open for public use. Creators can now adapt or reimagine this early iteration of Tintin, but fans should temper their expectations. Several key recognizable elements and characters developed later on in the canon. Iconic companions like Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus remain under copyright and unavailable for use.

The Big Lie will reimagine Tintin, alongside his faithful dog, Snowy for modern readers in a 2025-set mystery. Sapolsky, an Eisner Award nominee and the co-creator of Spider-Man Noir, brings a wealth of experience to the project, making him well-suited to deliver a fresh, reverent take on the character.

The title of the planned modern take on Tintin reminds me of a GN the artist/writer Rick Veitch once did at Image called The Big Lie, which was a left-wing statement on 9-11, and one can only wonder if that's what Sapolsky's planned Tintin adaptation will be like. If the new tale is a form of liberal apologia for communism, in example, then this "reimagining" will only be an opportunistic excuse to defend woke values. Maybe that's why, for now, it's a good thing it'll take several more years until Capt. Haddock can be cast more easily in a new Tintin story, because I hesitate to think what ends he'll serve as a character. A "fresh" take won't mean anything if wokeness is what it builds upon.

There's certainly plenty of interesting items now turning up in public domain, but unless somebody with more common sense decides to take advantage of the status for newer stories, this news won't amount to much at all.

Labels: comic strips, Europe and Asia, history, msm propaganda, politics