Meeting Tintin at the Inn

Every now and then when I visit the nearby used bookshop in my neighborhood, Wee Book Inn, I am lucky enough to come across an awesome find. Amidst the crazy slog that was my thesis writing, it was equally important that I maintained my mental health. Taking a walk around the neighborhood helped a lot in that aspect, and of course visiting the bookstore (after a period of closure due to the pandemic) was an additional bonus.

This time around, my little adventure to the store, led me to a reunion with a childhood friend,

My first encounter with Tintin followed his adventures on a TV screen rather than on print. On the occasional trip to Chennai, the capital state of my home state Tamil Nadu, India, we would transit at my parents’ favorite go-to hotel at one Hotel Maurya. (It is still there to this day!) This would provide my younger counterpart the luxurious opportunity to watch cartoons on cable TV (something that we lacked back at my home). It was on one such occasion that I got to watch an episode of The Adventures of Tintin TV series.

I was hooked! But, it wasn’t until a few years later when my family moved to Egypt that I got to read the actual comics as part of my French language studies during middle school. Given this history, it didn’t take much persuasion, on my part, to purchase this particular copy from Wee Book Inn which was very fresh in state, despite being used.

In the days that followed, my breaks from writing my thesis largely involved falling back into Tintin’s world. Among the three adventures in this book, I would have to say The Blue Lotus, covering his adventures in China during its period of invasion by Imperial Japan, was my favorite. Reading Tintin’s adventures as an adult has also provided fresh perspective on how the material has aged with time. Though there remains cultural and ethnic stereotypes that are glaring under the current atmosphere of societal norms, these stumbles are waylaid by the continued appeal I feel for Tintin in its primary themes of friendship beyond borders, loyalty, adventure, learning, honor, and compassion.

The comic book medium also provides the reader the choice to build beyond the world provided by the writer/artist in their imagination of how they interpret the main characters of a work. While Tintin and his world may reflect the knowledge and views of Hergé during the era of the early 1900s, we as readers can build our own perspective on the famed protagonist while also learning from the maligned visions of the world he occupies. While one may also argue extensively about the political events referenced in Tintin’s adventures, the takeaway message from Hergé’s work is on the irreplaceable value of human compassion, the importance of friendship, and the honor in standing up for the afflicted and those who you love.

Reading Tintin as a kid widened my view of the world. Having experienced my personal share of racism and bullying, in my teen years, Tintin certainly was one of my heroes. While he seems ordinary at the outset, Tintin’s wits, quick thinking, honesty, compassion, kindness, and all-around good nature make him a hero of timeless values, and one that serves to be inspiration. I certainly was inspired by him as a kid. Still am to this day. His adventures, uncanny luck, and ability to solve mysteries is also something that I’m sure all readers would love to have.

I would later find out that this particular volume is the first of eight in a set, which is now in my wish list. While the complete set has a high price tag of $200, it is a must-have collection for Tintin fans. Alternatively, one could also go for the DVD Box Set collection of the TV series which follows the comics by the panel, and lastly, The Adventures of Tintin movie inspired by three volumes of the Tintin series – The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943) and Red Rackham’s Treasure (1944) is an entertaining watch and available on Netflix and other streaming sites.