Kenneth
Thursday 2nd April 2009 2:28am [Edited]
5,447 posts
Quote: Danny K @ April 1 2009, 8:56 PM BST
Look at the expresion on the pall bearer at the back compared to the two at the front.
Forgive my pedantry, but they're not carrying Tintin off to his funeral/burial! He's in a sedan chair being transported by bearers (or carriers).
Jack Massey, you should also get hold of the 1931 facsimile of the first edition as it (like Soviets) shows how Herge was still developing his style and has the school lesson bit about "your country Belgium" (removed from later editions).
As a child, I never took much notice of the unflattering depictions of the Congolese in Tintin in the Congo, but rather I was fascinated by the scenes of Tintin's brutal hunting of big game. Here he dispatches a rhino by drilling a hole in its back and filling it with dynamite.
Lest anyone start bewailing this extreme lack of respect for animals, remember that it was only Herge's second book and he was still quite naive (and it was 1931). Within just two years, in Cigars of the Pharaoh, Tintin went off to live with some elephants and learned their language.
EDIT: Tintin fans should get hold of a documentary film called Tintin et Moi - all about the life of Herge. The Australian release of the DVD Tintin and I has been crammed full of extras, including a booklet, postcards, an additional documentary and more. Whereas the UK release consists only of the original documentary with no extras.