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What are your favorite TINTIN books?

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Recently started going through the Tintin adventure series, all written and drawn by Belgian cartoonist Hergé (real name Georges Remi). There are 24 adventure stories published between 1930 and 1986, though output during the last couple decades was slow.

 

Some friends from Germany told me about how many people in Europe grew up reading these cartoons, while in the U.S. nobody I knew had even heard of it. When asked, many people say "You mean the dog?" (referring to Rin Tin Tin, whereas Tintin is a young man and his dog is named Snowy). The cartoons were serialized but formed very long-form adventure arcs with lots of action and comedy, and they read almost like cinematic storyboards. (Another well-liked European cartoon series is called Asterix.)

 

Of course, in 2011 there was a CGI- and motion-capture animated "Tintin" movie done by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, which is where I heard of it. Spielberg didn't know about Tintin until after he made "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and somebody noted the similarity -- since the Tintin adventures are very much like an Indiana Jones adventure, with lots of mystery and puzzles across a wide geography, with exotic cultures and spies and danger around every corner, along with a dose of humor. Supposedly a 2nd Tintin movie is in the works, to be directed by Jackson, but it has been plagued by delays so who knows if/when it will be released.

 

I've only read 4 of the stories so far -- which have well-crafted cartooning with lots of detail. There are pretty good paperback versions for most of the books, many of which add color to the originals that were in black and white. I started with "The Black Island" which is a stand-alone and pretty good. Then I tried "Tintin in Tibet" because it's recommended as one of the better late-era books, even though it has no villains to speak of. I also dug into "Secrets of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure," a two-part series, which were the main basis for the 2011 movie. They're fun reads with some likable characters.

 

You have to get into a 10-12-year-old's mindset a bit, but there are many adult flourishes as well, and the running gag with Captain Haddock is what an outrageous drunk he is. (I'd be interested in knowing what people recommend as similar to Tintin but going into more depth with the adventures and mysteries. Probably have to rely on text novels for that.)

 

Anybody read these? And if so, what are your favorites? Here's my research on the books and which ones are worth reading versus the so-so or avoidable ones. I Googled "favorite tintin books" or "what are the best tintin books" and took note of what people recommended in various articles and message boards:

 

Recommended doubles:

-- Cigars of the Pharaoh & The Blue Lotus (recommended as "first great Tintin adventure," especially Blue Lotus, though still rough)

-- The Secret of the Unicorn & Red Rackham's Treasure (basis for 2011 movie due to well-defined mystery/adventure story)

-- Seven Crystal Balls & Prisoners of the Sun (almost everybody recommends these and 2nd movie will probably be based on them)

-- Destination Moon & Explorers on the Moon (both recommended, 2nd said to be better than 1st; the most sci-fi of all Tintin stories).

 

Recommended stand-alones:

-- The Castafiore Emerald (pure comedy, no adventure; late-era work)

-- The Crab with Golden Claws (earlier adventure many recommend because it introduces Capt. Haddock)

-- King Ottokar's Sceptre ("pure adventure" set in Eastern Europe)

-- The Calculus Affair (well-liked later-era story, Cold War based and more adventure than humor)

-- The Shooting Star (well-liked)

-- Flight 714 (to Sydney), from late 1960s

-- The Red Sea Sharks (mid-late era with lots of adventure and previous villains showing up)

-- The Black Island (Scotland; lots of action and intrigue)

-- Tintin in Tibet (Yeti story; very confident and well-paced storytelling)

-- Tintin and the Picaros (Herge's last completed Tintin adventure)

 

Less essential:

-- The Broken Ear (not a lot of people call this a favorite)

-- Land of Black Gold (apparently shelved for a long time before finishing, and it shows; but also said to be the lead-in to the two moon books)

 

Said to be avoidable -- but who knows?:

-- Tintin in the Land of Soviets (called rough and dogmatic)

-- Tintin in Congo (first adventure, described as racist)

-- Tintin goes to America (not particularly kind to America or native Americans)

-- Tintin and Alph-Art (said to be poorly drawn since it was pieced together from sketches and notes after Herge died)

-- No good: Tintin and the Lake of Sharks (based on stills from poorly received 1972 movie)

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I read these as a kid in Children's Digest in my Dentist's office. The problem was they were so long you'd never finish them and the copy would be gone when you made your next visit. I really liked them but didn't get much exposure to them. In 1983, we sold albums in my store, along with Asterix., and Lt Blueberry(?)

They were solid, if not spectacular sellers. I think they retailed for $5 so it was selling ten comics, and they had a shelf life of more than a month.

I hated the movie. It was very disappointing.

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I like the one where he meets a bald schoolteacher, drives out to the Grand Canyon in a Mazda (and keeps the guy from falling off!), and encounters the Hulk before gambling in Vegas and experiencing an epiphany at Graceland while eating Cadbury Creme Eggs.

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I liked the movie.

Just seeing Tintin on the big screen was a real treat. But it wasn't only that. I liked the story too.

 

I like the movie also and bought a DVD of it about 6 months ago. Have watched it 25 times already as background sound while working on other art projects.

 

I also have a whole set of Tin Tin books and though my comic book collection has expanded and shrunk with time..... I have never and will never sell my Tin Tins. They are wholesome ....or something. Sorta like Barks Ducks or Uncle Scrooge stories. I read them every few years.

 

My favs are The 7 Cyrstal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun. Cigars of Pharoah and Crab with Golden Claws are excellent too.

 

IMG_20160428_173411735_HDR_zpsmhmnlgyc.jpg

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The doubles as you call them are the best:

 

in order, my preference:

 

Seven Crystal Balls & Prisoners of the Sun

The Secret of the Unicorn & Red Rackham's Treasure

Destination Moon & Explorers on the Moon

 

Of the singles,

 

King Ottokar's Sceptre

The Black Island

 

Up until recently, Netflix had the entire animated series available. It was there a couple of years ago then dropped but recently added back? You might find them on YouTube. Well done adaptations of all the material. Fun watching. Try to find those.

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Around 1984 or 1985, I saw the Thompson Twins in concert at a few different venues and in between songs they showed snippets of b&w animated scenes of their namesakes.

Anyone know where these are from, and they are available?

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The doubles as you call them are the best:

 

in order, my preference:

 

Seven Crystal Balls & Prisoners of the Sun

The Secret of the Unicorn & Red Rackham's Treasure

Destination Moon & Explorers on the Moon

 

Of the singles,

 

King Ottokar's Sceptre

The Black Island

 

Up until recently, Netflix had the entire animated series available. It was there a couple of years ago then dropped but recently added back? You might find them on YouTube. Well done adaptations of all the material. Fun watching. Try to find those.

 

Wow, they ARE on youtube!

From around 20 minutes long, to around 40 minutes long, to some over an hour long. :whee:

 

 

 

 

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I liked the movie.

Just seeing Tintin on the big screen was a real treat. But it wasn't only that. I liked the story too.

 

I like the movie also and bought a DVD of it about 6 months ago. Have watched it 25 times already as background sound while working on other art projects.

 

I also have a whole set of Tin Tin books and though my comic book collection has expanded and shrunk with time..... I have never and will never sell my Tin Tins. They are wholesome ....or something. Sorta like Barks Ducks or Uncle Scrooge stories. I read them every few years.

 

My favs are The 7 Cyrstal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun. Cigars of Pharoah and Crab with Golden Claws are excellent too.

 

IMG_20160428_173411735_HDR_zpsmhmnlgyc.jpg

 

I think you've nailed the sentiment.

There is nothing like TinTin. He is awesome.

 

 

 

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I watched and enjoyed the movie and the cartoon on tv. I have never read or even seen the comics anywhere. Now I will have to go look for them. I wonder if they are available at my local library.

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greetings from the land of tin tin.

 

I live down the road from the Herge museum, its great.

ELOTSbJ.jpg

 

Around Brussels you will find some huge bandes denai art including Tin Tin

tdmqSMQ.jpg

 

and

XKT5sZr.jpg

 

also in the subway terminal

sRQy5Di.jpg

 

and even some "street artists" incorporate Tin Tin

rVcgRIy.jpg

 

Ive read some TinTin since moving here... my favorites are:

Destination Moon & Explorers on the Moon and the Tintin in Tibet story...

 

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I liked the movie.

Just seeing Tintin on the big screen was a real treat. But it wasn't only that. I liked the story too.

 

I like the movie also and bought a DVD of it about 6 months ago. Have watched it 25 times already as background sound while working on other art projects.

 

I also have a whole set of Tin Tin books and though my comic book collection has expanded and shrunk with time..... I have never and will never sell my Tin Tins. They are wholesome ....or something. Sorta like Barks Ducks or Uncle Scrooge stories. I read them every few years.

 

My favs are The 7 Cyrstal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun. Cigars of Pharoah and Crab with Golden Claws are excellent too.

 

IMG_20160428_173411735_HDR_zpsmhmnlgyc.jpg

 

Awesome photo! Glad to hear there are several Tintin readers in the forums (even Pontoon, who appears to have read Tintin while high on something). Senormac, how's that Tintin game book?

 

Lots of variation in response to the movie. It's definitely frenetic compared to the casual pace of the cartoons. That long-take action sequence at the end is amazing -- you could watch it 10 times and still catch new details in it.

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greetings from the land of tin tin.

 

I live down the road from the Herge museum, its great.

ELOTSbJ.jpg

 

Around Brussels you will find some huge bandes denai art including Tin Tin

tdmqSMQ.jpg

 

and

XKT5sZr.jpg

 

also in the subway terminal

sRQy5Di.jpg

 

and even some "street artists" incorporate Tin Tin

rVcgRIy.jpg

 

Ive read some TinTin since moving here... my favorites are:

Destination Moon & Explorers on the Moon and the Tintin in Tibet story...

These photos are great!

 

Now at least two people here have strongly recommended the Destination Moon/Explorers on the Moon books. Those are definitely next on my list.

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Back in 07' I was talking to a friend of mine from India about my comic book collecting and he started telling me about Tintin books, I go what are those? He said he use to read them when he was a kid in India. He told me when he was going to a tech college here in the states that there was like a Tintin following among all the college nerds for lack of a better term, that would read and collect these books, not necessarily for their value, but just to find any copy to read and share among them whether it was a 1st print or 5th print didn't really matter.

 

I guess the fascination among them regarding Tintin was partly due to many of them coming from different countries and many of them had read the same Tintin books as kids even though they came from different languages. Anyways when I started looking into the books and how rare the original 1930's editions are and the amounts of money they have sold for I was intrigued and eventually got hooked.

 

After I did some research I knew I wanted to collect the American versions "Golden Press" 1st editions 1958-1960. They only printed six different stories as a test market (print runs of around 10k each on the first four and even less on the last two books) and they were fairly hard to find in any decent shape back then and even harder now. They also printed the six stories in a library version with these plain one color canvas covers that are even have less of a print run.

 

After that I decided to also look for the English "Methuen" 1st editions because they were more readily available (bigger print runs) and I could get to read all the stories besides the six American versions. I still keep an eye out for these books and try and upgrade here and there, a lot of these books are well loved and very hard to find in near mint condition, especially the "Golden Press" editions with their cardboard and paper hinge spines.

 

The stories and art are awesome! A ton of printing history, censorship history, translation history, etc. just a ton of fun to delve into and learn about. :)

 

 

 

 

American Golden Press first editions,

 

IMG_2554_zpsqwobdlpn.jpg

 

Most of the English Metheun first editions,

 

IMG_2553_zps7nttzsuq.jpg

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