eviecantread's review
4.0
Crab with the golden claws: introduction to everyones favourite captain, while slightly underwhelming with its setting (i just feel they could have done MORE with it, see land of the black gold) 3/5
Shooting star: outside of its historical context, this is just a weird drug trip. INSIDE? A haunting glimpse at pre-invasion Belgium’s mindset in the lead up to nazi control, and then after Hergés complete shut down over the reality he’s now facing 5/5
The secret of the unicorn: chefs kiss, they made this one into a movie for a reason, fun story, excellent build up with a lot of good comedy. I just really love snowy okay 4/5
Shooting star: outside of its historical context, this is just a weird drug trip. INSIDE? A haunting glimpse at pre-invasion Belgium’s mindset in the lead up to nazi control, and then after Hergés complete shut down over the reality he’s now facing 5/5
The secret of the unicorn: chefs kiss, they made this one into a movie for a reason, fun story, excellent build up with a lot of good comedy. I just really love snowy okay 4/5
phileasfogg's review against another edition
4.0
I've very very slowly been re-reading Tintin for the past 10 years or so. At last with this volume it feels like the Tintin I remember from my childhood. Captain Haddock has been introduced, the plots feel inventive and surprising, and there's a good mix of slapstick and more sophisticated humour.
I dare say there's a thesis of some kind to be had from the (obvious?) observation that Tintin and Captain Haddock each represent aspects of the mind that can't really exist healthily on their own: Tintin is so proper and selfless, he's dominated by the superego; Captain Haddock, with his insatiable appetites and hair-trigger fury, is dominated by the id. They work much better together than on their own, which may be why it took me years to re-read the pre-Haddock Tintins.
The scene where a drunk Captain Haddock relates the story of his ancestor's battle with the pirate Red Rackham is a classic, one of the great moments in the series. If I recall correctly, it was retained virtually unchanged in the movie from a few years ago.
A bibliographic note
The people who publish these Tintin omnibus books did a very confusing thing while I was buying them. When I bought the first three, the publishers didn't include the first two Tintin stories in their 'canon'. Later, they did, and those stories were collected into a new volume 1, with all the other volume numbers in their series incrementing by 1. Hence the book I'm reviewing is volume 3, but is labelled volume 4 in later editions.
This was a very very poor choice for several reasons: firstly, the early stories are terrible; secondly, they're highly offensive to all decent enlightened humans. Especially Tintin in the Congo, which should've remained an art book for adults with an interest in cultural history, with large warnings that it wasn't suitable for children, as was the case when I first saw it in the early 1990s.
Probably lots of people who would love the stories in this (original) Volume 3, which is now Volume 4, but who feel compelled to start the series at the beginning, would be repulsed forever by the those early stories.
In summary, I highly recommend not reading the stories in the current Volume 1 in this series of omnibuses. If you must, either leave them until last, or swear you'll read the next three books before dismissing the series.
Hergé
By all accounts Hergé was a complete **** (insert preferred obscene pejorative for Nazi-sympathising collaborators and propagandists). If I hadn't fallen in love with these books as a child, if I'd first heard about Hergé as an adult, I probably never would have read him, due to his being such a ****. I'm a bit judgemental that way. I think it's a testimony to how good the good Tintin books are, that they're popular despite their author being well-known to be a total ****. They're Exhibit A in the question of whether books should be judged by the moral qualities of their authors. They're better than him. They come from the part of Hergé that knew he was an utter **** and wished he was something better.
I dare say there's a thesis of some kind to be had from the (obvious?) observation that Tintin and Captain Haddock each represent aspects of the mind that can't really exist healthily on their own: Tintin is so proper and selfless, he's dominated by the superego; Captain Haddock, with his insatiable appetites and hair-trigger fury, is dominated by the id. They work much better together than on their own, which may be why it took me years to re-read the pre-Haddock Tintins.
The scene where a drunk Captain Haddock relates the story of his ancestor's battle with the pirate Red Rackham is a classic, one of the great moments in the series. If I recall correctly, it was retained virtually unchanged in the movie from a few years ago.
A bibliographic note
The people who publish these Tintin omnibus books did a very confusing thing while I was buying them. When I bought the first three, the publishers didn't include the first two Tintin stories in their 'canon'. Later, they did, and those stories were collected into a new volume 1, with all the other volume numbers in their series incrementing by 1. Hence the book I'm reviewing is volume 3, but is labelled volume 4 in later editions.
This was a very very poor choice for several reasons: firstly, the early stories are terrible; secondly, they're highly offensive to all decent enlightened humans. Especially Tintin in the Congo, which should've remained an art book for adults with an interest in cultural history, with large warnings that it wasn't suitable for children, as was the case when I first saw it in the early 1990s.
Probably lots of people who would love the stories in this (original) Volume 3, which is now Volume 4, but who feel compelled to start the series at the beginning, would be repulsed forever by the those early stories.
In summary, I highly recommend not reading the stories in the current Volume 1 in this series of omnibuses. If you must, either leave them until last, or swear you'll read the next three books before dismissing the series.
Hergé
By all accounts Hergé was a complete **** (insert preferred obscene pejorative for Nazi-sympathising collaborators and propagandists). If I hadn't fallen in love with these books as a child, if I'd first heard about Hergé as an adult, I probably never would have read him, due to his being such a ****. I'm a bit judgemental that way. I think it's a testimony to how good the good Tintin books are, that they're popular despite their author being well-known to be a total ****. They're Exhibit A in the question of whether books should be judged by the moral qualities of their authors. They're better than him. They come from the part of Hergé that knew he was an utter **** and wished he was something better.
bunnyhero's review
i still love the clean art & the straight-ahead adventure stories in tintin books. things i don't like: almost complete lack of female characters, and problematic portrayals of alcoholism and non-white races. a question to others: how much of a pass do you give a work like this that was written in a different era? i suppose it might depend on the context... even though i enjoyed these when i was young, and enjoyed re-reading these as an adult, i don't know if i'd feel comfortable recommending this for a child today.
evieisilliterate's review
4.0
Crab with the golden claws: introduction to everyones favourite captain, while slightly underwhelming with its setting (i just feel they could have done MORE with it, see land of the black gold) 3/5
Shooting star: outside of its historical context, this is just a weird drug trip. INSIDE? A haunting glimpse at pre-invasion Belgium’s mindset in the lead up to nazi control, and then after Hergés complete shut down over the reality he’s now facing 5/5
The secret of the unicorn: chefs kiss, they made this one into a movie for a reason, fun story, excellent build up with a lot of good comedy. I just really love snowy okay 4/5
Shooting star: outside of its historical context, this is just a weird drug trip. INSIDE? A haunting glimpse at pre-invasion Belgium’s mindset in the lead up to nazi control, and then after Hergés complete shut down over the reality he’s now facing 5/5
The secret of the unicorn: chefs kiss, they made this one into a movie for a reason, fun story, excellent build up with a lot of good comedy. I just really love snowy okay 4/5
mattsitstill's review
4.0
Things really start kicking into gear over here. Although I was disappointed by "Crab with the Golden Claws" (which is like a remake of "Cigars of the Pharaoh"), "The Shooting Star" was a pleasant surprise and things really kicked into gear with "The Secret of the Unicorn." Hergé was one of the best cartoonists of all time, and watching his skills grow and develop has been an additional treat of these books. (Though yes, they're all the redrawn color versions, but the storytelling in them continually becomes more confident and assured.)
holly21's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pantsyreads's review against another edition
3.0
Thundering typhoons!! A Tintin comic collection I didn't despise!!
martialia's review
5.0
Tintin is fabulous fun, fast moving adventure with sudden laughs and great details. The art is crisp and gives notable added details. Totally a winner!
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