Tintin in the Congo

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Tintin in the Congo (originally known as Tintin au Congo) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero.

It appeared between June of 1930 and June of 1931 in Le Petit Vingtième (the children's supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle). The story was published as an album in 1931, in black and white form. It was re-drawn in 1946, with additional changes in 1975.

1 Storyline
2 Colonialism and Racism in Tintin in the Congo
3 Trivia
4 External links

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Storyline

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Tintin in the Congo is the second in the series. The story begins with Tintin and Snowy departing from Antwerp on a ship bound for the Belgian Congo. Snowy has several accidents on board the ship, but eventually they arrive safe and well in the Congo. Here, they rent a car and hire a "boy" called Coco. They set out into the Congo, but soon they find out that they are not alone. A thief has stolen their car, so Tintin goes out to hunt. Several scenes follow, depicting Tintin being cruel towards animals. Later on, they find their way to a native village. However, the crook who has been following them has not given up, and together with the village medicine man, Aniotas of the Anyotos he tries several times, all unsuccessfully, to dispose of Tintin. In his last attempt, the crook tries to hang Tintin above a river full of crocodiles so that they can eat him, but Tintin is rescued by a Belgian missionary. Tintin and Snowy are taken to a missionary station where the ever-persistent crook once again tries to get at Tintin. He is not as lucky as in previous attempts, and it costs him his life. Tintin finds a letter telling the crook to get rid of him. The letter is signed A.C., which stands for Al Capone, who is operating a diamond smuggling ring in the Congo. Tintin reveals the operation, and the gang is captured. Finally Tintin can get back to enjoying the African wildlife. However, Tintin and Snowy end up getting chased by a horde of Buffalo. Before he is trampled, a plane swoops down and saves Tintin and Snowy, and brings them home to prepare for their next adventure, Tintin in America.

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Colonialism and Racism in Tintin in the Congo

Tintin in the Congo is the most controversial of the Tintin albums. Tintin in the Congo has often been criticized for its racist and colonialist views, as well as several scenes of violence against animals. Hergé has later claimed that he was only portraying the naïve views of the time. When the album was redrawn in 1946, Hergé removed several references to the fact that the Congo was at that time a Belgian colony. This failed to mollify critics, however. Because of its controversial subject matter, the album has only been published as a facsimile black and white edition in English. However, a colour English edition was finally published in September 2005, by Egmont Ltd with a foreword explaining the historical context (a similar move had been employed for the 1983 translation of The Blue Lotus).

It was out of print for a long time (due to its content), but was reprinted in 1970 after a request from a major newspaper in Zaire (today Congo-Kinshasa) to Herge. They asked why they weren´t allowed to read the adventure "depicting our ancestors". Permission was given.

When the album was to be published in Scandinavia, the publishers objected to the infamous scene on pg. 56 of the colour album, where Tintin blows up a rhinoceros with a stick of dynamite. They asked the page to be redrawn, and Hergé complied. Instead of blowing the animal to pieces, the rhino accidentally fires Tintin's gun, gets scared and runs away. This page was also used in the English translation; it is only present in these two editions.

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Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, this is not the first album in which the Thompsons appear. Their first appearance was in Cigars of the Pharaoh. They were added to Tintin in the Congo when it was redrawn in 1946.