My review, as posted in Tintin Books

As the first "Tintin" book for which Hergé was legitimately excited, 'Tintin in America' shows the early traces of the author's consummate professionalism in research. It's not complete yet - the two main settings are anachronistic to say the least! - but he substitutes the unexpectedly lush Congo for a more atmospheric downtown Chicago. The plight of the Native Americans is quite dimensional, with their oppression and bigoted treatment at the hands of the white man. However, they still remain simpler savages: a trope that would remain with Herge until "The Blue Lotus". Already, though, Tintin and his adventures had attracted scores of fans, and Herge would be able to widen his scope even further in future albums.

The quality of the drawing is certainly markedly improved, but the first third of the album is just Tintin being attacked on every page, and escaping on the next. There is no greater depth to the story. The portrayal of the Native Americans improves over the course of the book, but starts out very very weak. They're noble, of course, but also easily misled by the white man. Still, Herge is working through a lot of the elements that he'll eventually refine for the remainder of the (very good) Tintin works. Reaching the end, and this is certainly a bewildering little piece. Tintin runs a marathon race here, being brought to death's door and escaping on every. single. page. It's also quite a peripatetic little story, with the 'Tintin beats Capone' story followed quickly by the Native American episodes, followed by a Snowy kidnap plot and a general 'North by Northwest'-esque chase drama. Not a great work, by any means. ( )

Hooray! It's Tintin, in color!
The comic's very pretty with the color overhaul, certainly better-looking than the previous 2 books. And speaking of the previous 2 books, this one's only 60 pages, unlike the 120-pagers I read before. I like this, provides a nice, concise story. But, with that being said, the story still feels episodic and overstays its welcome.

Another issue is, which I found surprising to see in this book, is that Tintin isn't exactly as heroic as he was before. There are multiple examples where Tintin was in peril, and that the only reason why he managed to survive is because of an unlucky mishap made by the bad guys, or because Snowy managed to sneak in. It feels contrived, I don't like it. And, to reference my review of the previous book, I feel that Hergé doesn't quite understand what happens outside of his country. Tintin goes to America and visits the Wild West and Urban Chicago, facing Cowboys, Indians, and Gangsters. I refuse to believe that Hergé actually thinks that Cowboys and Gangsters existed at the same time in the 30s. He's writing these books for European kids, forming stereotyped versions of countries around the world. And while it's perfectly fine to introduce foreign places in a simpler fashion for kids, I can't help but feel that this was all mean-spirited. American citizens drink to show the 18th amendment sucks and's not working, and he makes fun of those poor Indians, what'd they ever do to you, Hergé?

In short, this the best one out of the first three books, if not for the story, then for all the pretty colors. ( )

This would sound like blasphemy to my younger self, but I really don't think the early Tintin books are all that good. The story is very haphazard, the characters are one-dimensional, and it would all be very predictable if half of the time, the solution to any problem wouldn't be "Tintin has a very lucky escape".

If my memory isn't completely off, the books get good once Captain Haddock is introduced, and the stories have a proper arc (Le secret de la Licorne was my favorite book as a child). These 30's travel books (Congo, America) simply don't live up to modern standards. ( )

CCA-4

I thought it was funny when I was wee small. Much less so now that I can follow along with the racism. ( )