Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts

The Goon: Chinatown (Goon (Unnumbered)) Review

The Goon: Chinatown (Goon (Unnumbered))
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The Goon: Chinatown (Goon (Unnumbered)) ReviewThe Goon's past is explored in this book focusing on his first love, Isabella, and how it changed him. In the present, he's sorting out his relationship with a nightclub singer, Mirna, while battling a mysterious new enemy called "Mr Wicker".
The book seeks to add depth to the character of the Goon and give him a more fleshed-out personality to explain his emotional distance. Powell not only handles Goon's relationship with Isabella perfectly with just the right amount of subtlety but also adds resonance to Goon's relationship with Franky.
Powell's artwork has also never been better. Beautifully painted images on nearly every page leap out at you and make you pause and look closer.
This is the best Goon book Powell's produced yet as he goes for a more sober tone to his usually funny approach to storytelling. The more thoughtful treatment works brilliantly in this book and it's easy to see why it won two Eisner Awards in 2008. Great stuff.The Goon: Chinatown (Goon (Unnumbered)) Overview

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A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream Review

A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream
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A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream ReviewWhat a beautiful story and what a great writing style for telling it!
I read this book in two days, as I just could not stop. The story of Zhongmei is inspiring and moving. It sets an example of how talent and especially will can take you to achieve your goals, no matter the how high you are aiming at and the many obstacles life is disseminated with.
But it also sets an example of how the struggle for your goals does not forcely turn you in a cold hearted person.
I will present this book as a gift to the persons I love most.A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream Overview

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Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China Review

Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China
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Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China ReviewThis is an absorbing traveller's tale which I began reading late at night and couldn't go to bed before finishing. Not only didn't I find it boring but I disagree with most of the criticisms in Thy Tran's review. Firstly, Delisle made it clear that he tried hard to converse with and get to know his translator but received no encouragement, which he found quite disheartening. The incident where they only begin to talk a short while before he leaves, when the formality and apparent awkwardness inherent in their situation fall away and parting is suddenly close at hand, is entirely true to life and happens to all sorts of people both within and across cultures. Also, Delisle obviously tried several places to eat and a variety of dishes with varying success and for him to settle on reliable favourites, as a semi-permanent resident, is quite natural. We all do it both at home and abroad while keeping our curiosity and options open. It seems to me that Delisle does all this in an understandably human way and I cannot see how this reflects badly on his attitude. He is obviously frustrated by many things and makes no bones about it, but he remains curious about the world he finds himself in and tries to find a way into it through the thing he knows and loves best, drawing - and by seeking out the work of Chinese artists that he has a powerful response to. I also fail to see any of the stereotyping that Thy Tran seems to infer from the book and on another flick through it I cannot readily see any of the "buckteeth" he finds so annoying. Like Delisle's "Pyongyang" this is a highly enjoyable and very human book and I recommend it.Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China Overview

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After the Golden Age Review

After the Golden Age
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After the Golden Age ReviewIf Superman and Wonder Woman had a child, you might expect Superboy or something like that. Even if they had no powers - maybe a Batgirl or something. The author here went against the 'conventional wisdom. Celia is the daughter of a Superman (Cpt Olympus) and something like a Human Torch (Spark). She has no super powers, no desire to be a superhero, and her teenage rebellion was being the henchman of a supervillain, just to honk off her father.
Anyhow, Celia grows up and becomes a CPA whose specialty is forensic accounting - sort of like a detective who only does financial records. She tries to live apart from her parents and their super friends. She is working hard to make her own life, but things don't seem to let her - her parents have been `outed,' and everybody knows who they are, and who Celia is. She gets kidnapped a lot.
She gets called in on a tax evasion case against an aging supervillian - the one whom she helped once. Most of the book is about the trial - where she gets outed as once having helped "the Destructor,' the aging supervillian. From there, Celia's life gets turned upside-down, and she has to find it within herself to fix things.
If I go further, I think I might give away a lot of the fun stuff.
Anyhow, the book is a fast read - I got through it in about a week. I liked a lot of the characters - and I liked looking at them through Celia's eyes. If you liked the Disney movie "Sky High," you'll probably like this - but it's not a kids/young adult book. People die (shooting, strangulation, drowning, radiation) - but not very graphically, and mostly `off screen.' One major character dies and although the death is described, it is not excessively violent/graphic. There are corrupt politicians in the story. There are oblique references to characters having intimate relations in the book - but again, nothing graphic.
If you like comic books, and you're looking for something different, this is neat.After the Golden Age Overview

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Prisoners of the Sun (The Adventures of Tintin) Review

Prisoners of the Sun (The Adventures of Tintin)
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Prisoners of the Sun (The Adventures of Tintin) ReviewPrisonersof the sun is the best Tintin adventure yet. One can never get tired of reading a book like that. It starts off a bit boring but once the search in the forest begins, the book is really gripping. It has a lot of humor, mainly from the Captain, but Calculus' hearing problem also brings a few laughs in the ending. This is a great book. Herge's idea of Tintin &his friends escaping with the help of an eclipse is brilliant. The pictures are very well drawn too. The whole idea of the book is great.Prisoners of the Sun (The Adventures of Tintin) Overview

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The Red Sea Sharks (The Adventures of Tintin) Review

The Red Sea Sharks (The Adventures of Tintin)
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The Red Sea Sharks (The Adventures of Tintin) ReviewTintin is one of the most famous comic book characters in the world. Unfortunately he is not as well known in the U.S. Hopefully I can help change that. The Tintin albums were created by the Belgian comics writer and artist Georges Prosper Remi under the pen name Hergé. His first Tintin album "Tintin in the Land of the Soviets" appeared in the pages of Le Petit Vingtième on January 10, 1929 and his last completed album was "Tintin and the Picaros" in 1975/1976. The Tintin albums are primarily for children but they are written so that adults also greatly enjoy them.
Tintin is a Belgian investigative journalist who gets drawn into all kinds of dangerous and eventful adventures around the world. Already in the very first album "Tintin in the Soviets" he is aided by his talking dog, a fox terrier called Snowy. In Swedish and in French Snowy is called Milou. In "The Crab with the Golden Claws" he meets the grumpy but hilarious Captain Haddock. A lot of the best comic situations arise from Captain Haddock's bad temper in combination with his bad luck and above all his creative use of words. As a sailor Captain Haddock is expected to swear a lot but all swear words have been replaced by expressions like "billions of blue blistering barnacles", "you Mameluke", "Macrocepahlic Baboon", "odd-toed ungulate", "and troglodyte "," Pithecantrophus", but never real swear words. Another source of many comic situations is the genial but hearing-impaired Professor Cuthbert Calculus (Kalkyl in Swedish, Tournesol in French). Other prominent supporting characters are the incompetent twin detectives Thomson and Thompson (Dupond and Dupont), and the constantly joking and laughing but irritating insurance salesman Jolyon Wagg.
In this album from 1958 Tintin and Captain Haddock unexpectedly meets an old friend of Tintin, the former dictator from South America, General Alcazar. It turns out that General Alcazar is trying to purchase weapons from a shady arms dealer who is also illegally selling arms to two fighting parties in the Middle East. The son of the emir Ben Khalish Ezab (one of the fighting parties) the rambunctious Abdullah is staying with Captain Haddock (and Tintin) and is playing all kinds of tricks on everyone. To get away from this Arab Dennis the Menace and all his pranks they go see the emir himself and end up getting deeply involved in an incredible adventure. They also stumble upon an organization that is selling African slaves (slavery still existed in the Middle East and Africa in 1958). A lot of old crooks and friends from other books show up here, including Captain Allan, Rastapopolous, and the lovely but highly irritating Prima Donna and opera singer Bianca Castafiore.
This album is fast paced, action packed and very exciting and quiet interesting. It is difficult to put the book down even for an adult. The humor is superb and there are laugh out loud moments on almost every page.
It is my experience that American kids will love the Tintin albums once they have been acquainted with them (an album is a hardback comic book with the pictures in series). My kids love them and their friends love them as well. As a child, I read all of the Tintin books in Swedish, and as an adult living in the U.S., I am reading them again to my children, but this time in English. This book is intensely exciting and full of action and therefore it is one of my favorites, and one of my children's favorite. I highly recommend this Tintin album to young and old.
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Tintin in Tibet (The Adventures of Tintin) Review

Tintin in Tibet (The Adventures of Tintin)
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Tintin in Tibet (The Adventures of Tintin) ReviewThis album was first published in 1960. It is my favorite Tintin. Tintin has a vivid dream in which his friend Tchang is in serious danger. They soon find out that his friend was on a plane that crashed in the Himalayas. There were no survivors reported, but Tintin is still convinced that Tchang is alive. Tintin and Captain Haddock flies to India and then they go to the Nepalese/Tibetan border. The adventure that follows is gripping and full of mystery and it has some great humor. The cold and harsh Himalayan Mountains provides nearly insurmountable challenges and both strange and dangerous things will happen.
Despite the hardships Tintin forges ahead against all odds and against all advice. This story is a little bit slower and more philosophical than most other Tintin adventures, and it includes some paranormal phenomena. However, it is still exciting and gripping, and the humor is superb. I always get a good laugh out of this book no matter how many times I re-read it. The story is very much about the human spirit, hope, and the power of compassion. One thing that stayed with me forever was the lonely cry of the Yeti.
This is my favorite Tintin adventure because it is more than just an adventure. It was also my favorite Tintin album when I was a kid. However, younger children may like "Blue Lotus" or the "The Crab with the Golden Claws" better. I would recommend this album for adults and mature children before any other Tintin album, with the slight reservation that it is an untypical Tintin album and that you may also want to read a couple of the other albums. I should say that I loved the Tintin books as a kid and I still like them, and so does my American kids (I am Swedish). In fact my American X-Box and Wii playing kids read them all the time and like them even more than I did.
Finally I would like to list all the Tintin albums in order from my favorite to the one I liked the least. I will make this list into a list mania list next but put it here for easy access.
Skip this list if you don't want to read it (I know it is very long).
(1) Tintin in Tibet (5 stars). It was published 1960. It is my favorite Tintin. Tintin's friend Tchang (from Blue Lotus) is lost in a plane crash in Tibet. Everyone thinks he is dead, but not Tintin, who sets out to find him against all odds. It contains adventure, humor, and mystery; however, it is also about the human spirit, and compassion. Therefore it is also a very inspiring and thought provoking adventure.
(2) Blue Lotus (5 stars). This is Herge's first master piece; it is one of my favorites. This Tintin adventure from 1934 takes place in 1931 but is still the second best Tintin (after Tintin in Tibet) as far as I am concerned. Tintin is fighting Opium gangs in China when Japan invades. This adventure is dark, scary, exciting and fun. It is also a history lesson to a certain extent.
(3) Flight 714 (5 stars). This book was published in 1968. Tintin and his friends are invited to fly in the private jet of the billionaire Lazlo Careidas. The private jet is hijacked and they are taken by their kidnappers to a very mysterious Island. This adventure is filled with surprises, humor, it is fast paced and exciting, and is therefore one of my favorites.
(4) The Crab with the Golden Claws (5 stars). This was the first Tintin I read as a kid (in Swedish). It was also the first Tintin movie I saw. This is the book where Tintin met Captain Haddock for the first time. Just like the other later works by Herge it is exciting, and well drawn, but this is one is also very funny. It will make you and your kids laugh out loud.
(5) The seven Crystal Balls (5 stars). This Tintin published 1948, is eerie, mysterious, and exciting. It is the first one of a series of two, the second being "Prisoners of the Sun". In this adventure the members of an expedition that investigated the tomb of Rascar Capac an Inca King, become sick with a strange horrible disease. The mummy taken from the tomb mysteriously vanishes (escapes?) during a fierce thunderstorm.
(6) Prisoners of the Sun (5 stars). This is the second book of a series of two. Tintin and company end up in Peru. They save a boy Zorrino from Peruvian racists. Zorrino guides them to the Inca Empire which still exists underground in the Jungle. Towards the end Tintin saves himself and his company by using his knowledge of a coming solar eclipse. It was later plagiarized by Mel Gibson in Apocalypto.
(7) The Castafiore Emerald (5 stars). This adventure was published 1963. It is absolutely the funniest of them all. It is filled with a lot of good humor. However, to get all the jokes you need to be familiar with Tintin and Captain Haddock already. So I would not recommend this as your first Tintin.
(8) The Red Sea Sharks (5 stars). This adventure was written in 1958. Tintin stumbles into an organization selling African slaves (slavery still existed in the Middle East and Africa in 1958). A lot of old crooks from other books show up here, including Captain Allan, Rastapopolous, Dr. Muller, etc. This book is intensely exciting and full of action and is therefore one of my favorites.
(9) Tintin and the Picaros (5 stars). This adventure published 1976 is full of fun and adventure. Castafiore is being held by General Tapioca innocently accused of plotting against him. Well if you know Castafiore you now feel sorry for the poor old dictator.
(10) Explorers of the Moon (5 stars). Written 1954 this is the second book in a series of two. This book is a lot more exciting and fun compared to the first (Destination moon). The movie is, however, better than the comic book (they are the same but this comic makes a good movie). However, reading this science fiction style comic book is a lot of fun.
(11) Land of the Black Gold (4 stars). This book was published in 1950 (original version 1948). It takes place in the middle east and is about oil, war, and the fight against criminals like Dr. Muller (German villains were no longer taboo). Prince Abdullah the son of the Emir of the Arab Emirate of Khemed is kidnapped and Tintin and company sets out to rescue him.
(12) Red Rackham's Treasure (4 stars). This is the second book in a series of two, the first one being "The secret of the Unicorn". In this adventure Tintin and Captain Haddock goes on an expedition to find the treasure of Sir Francis Haddock. It is in this book we meet Professor Calculus for the first time. His underwater machine turns out to be invaluable, even though Tintin and Captain Haddock at first reject it.
(13) The Secret of the Unicorn (4 stars). This adventure was published in French 1943. This is the first book in a series of two (the second being Red Rackhams treasure). In this adventure it is discovered that Captain Haddocks forefather was a feisty sea captain who fought pirates and left a treasure behind. It is not as fast paced as many other Tintin adventures and contains a considerable amount of detective work.
(14) The Calculus Affair (4 stars). In this adventure Professor Calculus is kidnapped in Geneva and Tintin and Captain Haddock set out to save him. It turns out that Professor calculus is working on a secret weapon that the fictional country of Borduria really wants to have. It is an exciting adventure but not as humor filled and exhilarating as some of the other adventures. It was written 1956.
(15) The Cigars of the Pharaoh (4 stars). The Cigars of the Pharaoh is the first of the better Tintin books. In this adventure Tintin is on a holiday cruise but ends up traveling to Egypt and India on a dangerous adventure. It is an exciting and mysterious adventure that is not objectionable (unlike the three first ones).
(16) The broken ear (4 stars). This story from 1937 takes place in South America. Tintin fights dangerous crooks, gets caught up in political turmoil, is nearly executed, travels through the rain forest, encounters piranhas, and lives among the Arumbaya Indians. This is where Tintin meets General Alcazar for the first time. Lots of action but it is still not a top quality Tintin.
(17) King Ottokar's Sceptre (4 stars). Published in 1939 this book is an allegory for fascist aggression. In this adventure Tintin visits the mythical Kingdom of Syldavia. The leaders of Borduria, a neighboring country, plot to unseat King Muskar. They attempt to seize the symbol of the Syldavian monarchy, which is "King Ottokar's Scepter". This adventure was exciting but still not a favorite of mine.
(18) The Black Island (4 stars). FOUR STARS: This one was written 1937. It takes place in England and Scotland. I saw the movie version, and read the book in several languages. In this adventure Tintin is hunting down a gang of forgers. The drawings have a higher quality than "The broken ear" and the story flows smoothly. However, I find the story to be somewhat tedious and too British for me, and this is not one my favorites.
(19) Destination Moon (4 stars). First published 1953, this is the first book in a series of two (the second being Explorers of the moon). It is a very good concept, a sort of Tintin science fiction. However, it is not fast paced and at times tedious.
(20) Tintin and the lake of the sharks (4 stars). Published 1974 and based on a film from 1972, it is a little different than the other Tintin adventures. It is not directly written by Herge, but Herge supervised the creation of the film. The drawings are not typical either; they look like still pictures from the movie. It is also a little shorter. However, it is still a good adventure and my kids like it, so I give it four stars.
(21) The shooting star (4 stars). In this adventure (from...Read more›Tintin in Tibet (The Adventures of Tintin) Overview

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Battle at Ice Palace (Sonic X) Review

Battle at Ice Palace (Sonic X)
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Battle at Ice Palace (Sonic X) ReviewOnce again Charlotte saves my behind by keeping my kids busy through a chaotic weekend. With the latest book, we are actually stopping the kids from reading to go outside and play !
What's more is that Charlotte, the author actually emailed the kids !!!! Having been huge fans of Charlottes for years now, my kids went crazy when an email arrived from Sonic's Author. Charlotte thank you so much for paying attention to my kids -- The Best of Luck to You !!!!!Battle at Ice Palace (Sonic X) Overview

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The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 4: Red Rackham's Treasure / The Seven Crystal Balls / Prisoners of the Sun (3 Volumes in 1) Review

The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 4:  Red Rackham's Treasure / The Seven Crystal Balls / Prisoners of the Sun (3 Volumes in 1)
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The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 4: Red Rackham's Treasure / The Seven Crystal Balls / Prisoners of the Sun (3 Volumes in 1) ReviewOf course we've all grown up with so many fiction characters from DC/Marvel comics, Disney, Archie's`etc., each of them with its own appeal and flavour ...
What sets Tintin apart from all the rest, I feel, the brilliant quality of the artwork. The level of detail, right from the wheels of flight 714 about to land on that tiny island (flight 714), to the shadow effects of walking in a hidden passage to the Inca empire (prisoners of the sun), to the shape of the waves on which Tintin in a coffin is floating (cigars of the pharaoh), or the jaguar in which Tintin chases the gangsters (the calculus affair), the details are just fantastic and the right amount, without creating too much noise and distraction - as is the case with many of the DC comics - iron man, the incredible hulk, etc.
The stories range from contemporary to looking ahead in the future - swing wing planes, rockets to the moon, hidden cameras/espionage. The subject matter is political, and in my opinion slightly controversial at times. Especially the way Herge stereotypes native people in India (Cigars of the Pharaoh, Tintin in Tibet), or in the jungles of Amazon (The Broken Ear). But even here, Herge is way above the shady and simplistic plots of the like of Phantom and Flash Gordon.
The collection is more readable towards the later comics, some of the earlier ones contains situations which are too improbable and rely far too much on luck for Tintin to get himself out of danger.The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 4: Red Rackham's Treasure / The Seven Crystal Balls / Prisoners of the Sun (3 Volumes in 1) Overview

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The Shooting Star (The Adventures of Tintin) Review

The Shooting Star (The Adventures of Tintin)
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The Shooting Star (The Adventures of Tintin) ReviewAfter a string of stories loosely based on mystery/crime plots, 'The Shooting Star' initiates the formula that would become fairly standard in the Tintin books to come: the science-fiction adventure, a kind of modernist Jules Verne. A huge meteorite flying past earth splinters a large fragment which lands near the North Pole. Containing a new metal called phostlite, named after the astronomer who detected it, Tintin and Snowy join an expedition of world-class scientists to lay claim to the rock, in a ship captained by one Haddock, now unlikely President of the Society for Sober Sailors (despite smuggling crates of whiskey for the journey). Their quest, however, is pre-empted by another expedition, financed by crooked Sao Rico banker, cigar-chomping (anti-Semitic caricature?), Bohlwinkel.
The first dozen pages of 'Star' are unequalled in literature for sustaining a nightmare mood of unaccountable suspense and anxiety (appropriate given the Occupation context [1941] in which the story was written). The meteor is introduced as both a speedily growing incandescence in the night sky, and by a melting heat afflicting the usually drizzly Brussels, the tar on the roads melting, armies of rats fleeing the gutter, car-tyres popping and mad prophets pronouncing millenarian judgements. The spangled blackness of the sky is offset by the dreamlike twilight blue that illuminates the streets. When Tintin rushes to the observatory, he finds the spanking, steely modern technology run by an eccentric gaggle of Dickensian relics, all black frock-coated dodderers, running around in the vicious circles of their own self-absorption, headed by the appropriately-named, anvil-headed Phostle. When he encourages Tintin to look into the giant, cannon-priapic telescope for himself, he sees a colossal spider heading towards the planet.
No work could keep up that sweat-making momentum, and Herge wisely lets the narrative dip, mixing comedy (including Haddock's pathetic attempts to sneak a nagan, Snowy's incessant raids on the kitchen, and the sight of the world's finest minds keeling over in green-faced sea-sickness) with race-against-the-clock suspense as our heroes strive to reach the meteor, despite various chilling sabotage attempts by their rivals. The meteor itself is a creation worthy of Swift, soon erasing memories of 'The Black Island'. The affirmative faith in science that propels the action is undermined by the instabilities of the sinking meteor, with its magnified lifeforms (including flies and spiders) and exploding toadstools (among the book's many great visual effects, the best is possibly the shrinking in successive frames of our hero as the mushroom enlarges). The massive apples that knock Tintin on the head may be an ironic allusion to the great Enlightenment hero Newton, who could be said to usher in modern science, and the famous fruit in the Garden of Eden (like Adam, or Columbus, Tintin explores virgin land), a warning against the dangers of pursusing too much knowledge (earlier predicted by the decline into madness of the scientist Philippus); nature will always fight back, in ever more aggressive and distorted forms.The Shooting Star (The Adventures of Tintin) Overview

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The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 5: Land of Black Gold / Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon (3 Volumes in 1) Review

The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 5: Land of Black Gold / Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon (3 Volumes in 1)
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The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 5: Land of Black Gold / Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon (3 Volumes in 1) ReviewOf the seven volumes that make up the "Adventures of Tintin," Volume 5 is my favorite. It includes both the first story by Hergé that I ever read with "Land of Black Gold," and also my favorite two-part Tintin adventure when out young intrepid reporter, Snowy, and their friends head for the moon. I realize the science fiction aspects of that particular pair of tales makes them atypical Tintin adventures, but Hergé's attention to detail makes the story stand out quite well, even in comparison to science fiction films that were putting men on the moon at that time.
Because "Land of Black Gold" was the first Adventure of Tintin I ever read it has a special place in my heart. It seems that all around the world cars (or lighters) using petrol are exploding. In a storyline eerily prescient of what would happen decades later with the rise of OPEC, the world is on the brink of an oil crisis. In the Middle East the evil Sheik Bab El Ehr tries to overthrow Sheik Ben Kalish Ezab, so Tintin heads to the Middle East to save the day. Throwing a monkey wrench into the proceedings, in addition to the omnipresent evil agents and hapless Thompson brothers, is Abdullah, son of Sheik ben Kalish Ezab, who pulls a constant string of practical jokes on everybody in sight (Historical Note: This is where the Thom(p)sons first develop their habit of becoming extremely hairy at inopportune moments).
I always think of Tintin as constituting "realistic absurdity," which reflects the way our hero plunges on despite the lunacy around him, which exists mainly in the characters rather than the situation. This delicate balance seems to be reflected even in Herge's artwork, where his "clear-line" style combines iconic characters with unusually realistic backgrounds, appeals to me. I also admire his remarkable restraint with Snowy, who "talks" less than any other "talking" dog in comic book history. These are truly timeless tales (More Historical Notes: "Tintin in the Land of Black Gold" was the adventure in progress in "Le Vingtieme Siecle" when German troops invaded Belgium on May 10, 1940. Herge suspended the story for eight years and actually began another adventure, "The Crab with the Golden Claws," in the interim, which was published in "Le Soir," one of the few newspapers authorized during the German occupation).
"Destination Moon" ("Objectif Lune") gives a detailed account on the preparation and the launching of the expedition to the Moon from the Sprodj Atomic Research Center in Syldavaia using the rocket designed by Professor Calculus. This involves the Thom(p)sons in what they think is Syldavian national dress and a whole bunch of bear clubs who love honey sandwiches. Of course the mission is in danger from enemy spies from Klow trying to thwart the mission, so there is some political intrigue and danger mixed in with the science fiction (and danger). This Tintin adventure has one of my favorite sequences in the entire series and it was not the cliffhanger ending with Tintin and the crew heading to the moon. It comes when Captain Haddock dismisses the preparations and accuses Calculus of "acting the goat." The normal placid professor goes off the deep end and drags the captain to show him the spaceship destined for the moon, demanding to know if that is what the good captain means by "acting the goat." The worm finally turning is one of those great moments you cherish in a series because it has been so long in coming.
What makes "Explorers on the Moon" ("On a Marche Sur La Lune") so fascinating is the documentary detail that Herge infuses into the story as Tintin walks on the moon (where he declares: "I've walked a few steps!...For the first time n the history of mankind there is an EXPLORER ON THE MOON!"). I cannot think of a 1950s science fiction film that predicts as accurately what happened when Apollo 11 went to the moon a decade and a half later. One of the chief charms of Herge's artwork has always been the way his caricature drawings of Tintin and friends are contrasted by the realistic backgrounds, and this artistic style achieves its apex when we see the spaceship approaching the moon. "Explorers on the Moon" would work as a straight-forward first man on the moon type story, but, of course, in Herge's hands it becomes so much more. Together these volumes constitute Tintin's greatest adventure if for no other reason than how can you top being the first man on the moon?The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 5: Land of Black Gold / Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon (3 Volumes in 1) Overview

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The Adventures of Tintin, vol. 7: The Castafiore Emerald / Flight 714 / Tintin and the Picaros (3 Volumes in 1) Review

The Adventures of Tintin, vol. 7: The Castafiore Emerald / Flight 714 / Tintin and the Picaros (3 Volumes in 1)
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The Adventures of Tintin, vol. 7: The Castafiore Emerald / Flight 714 / Tintin and the Picaros (3 Volumes in 1) ReviewI have to admit I was a bit disappointed that none of the three tales collected in Volume 7, the final set of "The Adventures of Tintin," constitute classic examples of Hergé's beloved comic book stories. But that seems a minor concern when you consider the epic scope of Hergé's body of work. It is not that these are bad stories, especially compared to the ones collected in Volume 1 of this series, but rather that Hergé so often provided classic tales, with Tintin traveling to the Moon or diving beneath the sea, that these final three adventures do not measure up.
"The Castafiore Emerald" begins with Tintin and Captain Haddock out for a walk and discovering a band of gypsies camped near the rubbish dump. This offends the good captain, who offers the gypsies the use of a large meadow near his hall. However, no good deed goes unpunished and he receives a telegram announcing the imminent arrival of Biana Castafiore, the Milanese Nightingale. Meanwhile, the broken step on the front staircase earns Haddock a badly sprained ankle and the opportunity to roll around the adventure in a wheelchair. The diva and her entourage then descend upon the hall, literally adding insult to injury by giving the captain the gift of a parrot. But as Castafiore repeatedly points out, she has brought along her jewels, including an emerald given the signora by the Maharajah of Gopal. The gypsy fortuneteller had already predicted the theft of the jewels and we expect her prophecy to come true, even though Castafiore is constantly yelling about her jewels missing. "The Castafiore Emerald" derives its comedy from the clash of characters with Tintin staying out of the way for the most part. Of course, by this time in the series Hergé is completely comfortable with his cast of characters, which shows in the interplay, Hergé also does a delightful take on that new fangled invention, the television.
"Flight 714" is sort of the generic Adventure of Tintin, with a little bit of everything that . A Qantas Boeing 707, Flight 714 from London touches down at Kemajoran Airport in Djakarta, java, last stop before Sydney, Australia. Disembarking is our hero, Snowy, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus. As they stretch their legs the good Captain spots a forlorn figure and slips a $5 bill into the man's hat. Once again no good deed of Haddock's goes unpunished and it turns out the old man is Mr. Carreidas, "The millionaire who never laughs." Well, Professor Calculus quickly takes care of that and Carreidas insists on flying Tintin and his friends to Australia on his special jet. Haddock is looking forward to a pleasure trip, an ordinary flight and no adventures, but fate has something else in mind, to wit: a hijacking, a cutting edge prototype means of transportation, an exotic island in the middle of nowhere, an evil scientist with truth serum, a gigantic stone head pagan idol, a threatening lava flow, the return of an old familiar villain, a space ship, and Tintin running around a lot with a gun. Pretty much all of these elements have popped up in the previous twenty Adventures of Tintin that Hergé had told over the previous decades. For that reason this particular adventure strikes me as more of a curtain call for Tintin and his friends than anything else, even though this is the penultimate tale and the Thom(p)sons are no place to be seen.
"Tintin and the Picaros" is the final adventure of Tintin, although there is not any sense of this being the end of the road (except for the surprising discover that suddenly Captain Haddock can no longer stand the taste of alcohol). As the story begins the Captain and Tintin are discussing the state of affairs in San Theodoros, when General Tapioca's dictatorship continues to rule in place of their old friend Alcazar. Then news comes that prima donna Bianca Castafiore has been arrested by Tapioca as part of a conspiracy to over throw the government. But when Tapioca charges Haddock, Tintin, and Professor Calculus as being part of the conspiracy a series of charges and countercharges, as well as outright insults, fly back in the forth in the headlines between Haddock and Tapioca. Finally the Captain agrees to accept Tapioca's "invitation" to come to San Theodoros to discuss the matter. Haddock is pretty much trapped into agreeing, and Calculus insists on going to Madame Castafiore's rescue, but Tintin refuses to go, knowing this has to be a trap. The title of the book refers to the Picaros, which is the name of the rebels in the mountains who want to take back the government of San Theodoros and return Alcazar to power. In this final Adventure of Tintin we are back on familiar ground for the most part, both in terms of the geography and the characters. We know, of course, that Tintin has not abandoned his friends and eagerly anticipate some clever way of arriving upon the scene at a most opportune moment. However, this turns out not to be the case, and when Tintin does arrive on the scene you know that Hergé is providing a standard adventure for his hero and his friends, and not something special.
But while "Tintin and the Picaros" and the other two tales found here are average adventure at best, there can be no doubt that taken together these 21 stories (23 if you count the two earlier "flawed" adventures) are a major accomplishment in the field of comic books. I only wish I had made a point of reading these classics two or three decades earlier, because with "The Adventures of Tintin" Hergé created one of the landmark comic book series since Cortes discovered pre-Columbian picture manuscripts in 1519. In terms of owning these stories your choice is between these smaller, hardbound books collecting three stories each, or the larger softcovered versions. I admit I first read most of them in the larger format but have the smaller hardback versions for the comic book section of my library.The Adventures of Tintin, vol. 7: The Castafiore Emerald / Flight 714 / Tintin and the Picaros (3 Volumes in 1) Overview

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The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 3: The Crab with the Golden Claws / The Shooting Star / The Secret of the Unicorn (3 Volumes in 1) Review

The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 3: The Crab with the Golden Claws / The Shooting Star / The Secret of the Unicorn (3 Volumes in 1)
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The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 3: The Crab with the Golden Claws / The Shooting Star / The Secret of the Unicorn (3 Volumes in 1) ReviewThis 3-in-One volume is smaller size than the regular Tintin books, making it harder to read and lessens the enjoyment of the illustrations. I am not sure if a large-size 3-in-one series exists.The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 3: The Crab with the Golden Claws / The Shooting Star / The Secret of the Unicorn (3 Volumes in 1) Overview

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The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 6: The Calculus Affair / The Red Sea Sharks / Tintin in Tibet (3 Volumes in 1) Review

The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 6: The Calculus Affair / The Red Sea Sharks / Tintin in Tibet (3 Volumes in 1)
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The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 6: The Calculus Affair / The Red Sea Sharks / Tintin in Tibet (3 Volumes in 1) ReviewTwo of the three adventures here have their genesis in earlier Tintin adventures. Red Sea Sharks takes Capt Haddock back to a ship, and this time we see his metamorphosis from the drunkard in Tintin and the Golden Crab to a responsible and almost noble person who tries his best (in his inimitable manner) to prevent Africans from being sold in slavery. 'Tintin in Tibet' sees Tintin off to Tibet (obviously), with a short stop in Delhi, to rescue his friend who he first met in 'The Blue Lotus'. We meet the yeti, see the captain's attempts at whistling, Snowy's bravery (unintended, as in The Black Island).
I read these adventures as a kid, and some twenty years later I still find myself enjoying these as much. I also enjoy HTML and CSS books now, but some things are too good to grow out of :)
A word of warning - try and buy the bigger versions of these adventures. The 3-in-1 format is convenient to be sure, but the big print of the indivudal comics is that much more satisfying!The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 6: The Calculus Affair / The Red Sea Sharks / Tintin in Tibet (3 Volumes in 1) Overview

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