Customer Reviews

Tintin: The Complete Companion

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is an amazing source of information for the real Tintin fanatics. For those of us who love Tintin, but aren't really up there with the fanatic Tintin worshipers, it's a bit too much.

To start with, note that "Tintin - The Complete Companion" is the English version of a book that, as far as I can determine, was published simultaneously in both English and French ("Tintin, le rêve et la réalité: L'histoire de la création des aventures de Tintin"). Michael Farr is bilingual and I'm guessing (although I don't know for sure) that the two versions are somewhat different. The English version, which I'm reviewing, is primarily focused on discussing the English editions of the Tintin books.

Following a 2-page Introduction the remainder of this book consists of 21 very detailed chapters, each of which discusses a single Tintin adventure. As three of the Tintin adventures are published as a pair of books this implies that all 24 of the Tintin books, from "Tintin in the Land of the Soviets" to "Tintin and Alph-Art" (the final unfinished adventure), are covered.

The amount of detail is incredible. Each chapter averages 10 pages, and although there are a lot of pictures and photographs from the Tintin books and other sources, there is also a lot of text.

The following material is present, and often very detailed:

- A synopsis of each story.

- Information about the historical background for each story, for example the Japan-China war, the build-up to WW II, WW II itself (a period of Tintin escapist stories), the Cold War, etc.

- Detailed discussions (sometimes excessively long-winded) about the characters and explanations of how many of them become members of "the Tintin family", reappearing regularly or occasionally in later adventures.

- Discussions of where Hergé found inspiration for stories, characters, locations, machines and other items that made their way into the drawings. There are often pictures from Hergé's files shown side-by-side with the resulting drawings. (The cover of this book is a masterful merging of a drawing from a Tintin book and the photograph that Hergé used as inspiration for the drawing.)

- Some of the Tintin adventures were revised and produced in new versions. For example, most of the stories that were originally in black and white were re-released in color, and sometimes revised once more later. The various versions of each story are compared to see what was changed.

- Although the English version of this book is primarily focused on the English versions of the Tintin books, there are many discussions of what was changed from the original French versions to the English translated versions.

- An analysis of Hergé's development as an artist and storyteller, from fairly primitive drawings and political naivety to sure artistic style and worldly understanding and finally political cynicism.

- Information about how Hergé's life was influenced by his work with Tintin. For example, Hergé was charged with being a collaborator after WW II because he had continued to produce Tintin during the war, and he had medical problems from the stress that accompanied his success.

- Similarly, there is information about how the Tintin stories were influenced by and reflected Hergé's private life: the down-beat "Tintin in Tibet" created while Hergé was depressed and getting divorced, and the hilarious "The Castafiore Emerald" created after his divorce and reflecting his happiness with a new love.

- Hergé's habit of putting himself and his friends into the stories.

- Occasional mistakes made by Hergé are uncovered.

The book ends with a comprehensive index.

If you set out to read this book then you should have a complete collection of the Tintin books in English at hand. And be warned: You will end up spending many, many days before you finally put this book aside. That's because you'll pick up a Tintin adventure to check up on something Michael Farr says about it, and end up reading the whole Tintin book before you return to "Tintin - The Complete Companion".

Even if you have all of the Tintin books on hand, you may still find yourself feeling overwhelmed when Michael Farr begins to compare the various versions of the adventures. Unless you're a die-hard Tintin fanatic you probably don't have the old black and white versions of the early stories in your possession.

I'm giving this book five stars, and it really does deserve it for the incredible amount of detail. But at the same time I'll warn once again that this is a book that is really intended for Tintin fanatics. For more down-to-earth Tintin fans such as myself it is over-kill. I would personally have preferred that Mr. Farr had written a shorter book that only touched on the highlights of his research.

Incidentally, Michael Farr participates in a wonderful little video called "Tintin et moi" ("Tintin and me"). Unfortunately, this video is not readily available, but you may be able to find it on an Internet auction site. Highly recommended. (Not to be confused with the book of the same name.)

Rennie Petersen

Any successful series tends to spawn a Guide and most of the time they add minimal value to the original series. Not so here. Farr and Remi have collaborated to produce a companion to Tintin that actually enhances the comic strip and makes you re-read them with a new awareness. The layout of the book makes it easy for you to focus on individual adventures, providing a four to six page commentary on the development, accuracy and major plot points. There is an opening section on Herge himself and how Tintin developed over forty-odd years.
It is only after reading this I have realised how accurate Herge was with his subject matter. Again and again you suddenly realise that all the backing images, all the characters are founded on intricate real detail and people to create authenticity.
Quite simply, any fan of Tintin must read this book. It supplies answers to questions you'd never think of and opens you to a whole new side of the hero and his creator.

Well, now that you have hungrily read and collected all the titles of Herge, the marvelous artist & story teller, this book completes your appetite, as a slurping dessert!.

Contains detailed background on each and every title that Herge published upto the unfinished 'Alph Art'. Contains several sketches and reference photographs the artist used. You live through the mind of Herge, the times and his efforts. How carefully he chooses realism, timely topics and authenticity to spin those wonderful tales of Tintin! It is fascinating to go behind the scenes of the favourite stories. contains tons of information.

This ought to serve as a wonderful reference for artists.

If you are a diehard fan of Tintin & Herge, this book is a must! Great paper quality & print too!

Anyone who has a complete set of Tintin's adventures on their bookshelves should really have this beautifully produced book to sit alongside them. Leading British Tintinologist and journalist Farr spent five years researching this book in his attempt to provide context for each book in the series. The result is a work that charts not only the personal and professional life of the Belgian cartoonist, but also shows how political, social, and technological changes influenced his storytelling. Each Tintin adventure gets about 4-6 pages, and each section is beautifully laid out, with perfectly reproduced color panels, along with photos and clippings from Hergé's files to show how reality was incorporated into the books. The main theme that emerges is how Hergé insisted that the stories be grounded in reality as much possible, and how he took great pains to create a realistic world for his little hero to operate in. It should be noted that the book is aimed at those who have already read the stories, and assumes intimate familiarity with the series. That said, longtime fans will immediately want to reread each book after reading about it in this companion.

The minor downside is that Farr writes from an unabashed fan's position, and at times he's a little overenthusiastic, repeating certain information. He's also very intent on explaining away the more unpleasant episodes in Hergé's life, such as his working for (some use the term "collaboration") with a German run newspaper during the Nazi occupation of Belgium, or his divorcing his wife after twenty years to take up with a much younger woman, and so forth. One wishes that he'd spent less space as an apologist for Hergé's human failings and done a little more analysis of the stories. It also would have been nice to have an appendix listing all the stories, as well as their dates of serial and collected publication. These are minor quibbles however, because the book is very handsome, a great value considering the lovely printing and production. It will rekindle any Tintin fan's enthusiasm for the series and contains ample material for explaining why Tintin is timeless and so popular worldwide.

My family collected Tintin and Asterix books when I was growing up. My parents have a complete set as do several of my sisters. "Tintin: The Complete Companion" was the perfect gift for them.

"The Complete Companion" discusses the political, scientific, and sociological climate present when Herge wrote the Tintin books. It is very satisfactory to read about the state of space travel and to know where Herge was citing research and where he was leaping ahead.

This is not a story book but inquisitive minds from 8-88 will enjoy it.

The first Tintin book I read was in 1963 when I found a hardcover edition of 'Destination Moon' in our grade school library...I was 8 at the time and I found the book so interesting that it was hard to put down,you always want to know what happens next...I must have read this same book at least 10 times and always wondered "what happened when they got to the moon ??"...sadly this was the only copy of a Tintin book in our small library...Then in 1976 I happened in a small bookstore and just happened to ask if they had ever heard of Tintin (they hadn't) but they checked their catalouge for me and THERE IT WAS !!!...'Exploreers on the Moon'..for $1.98 !!!...and more Tintin books , I ordered it and others and have loved the books ever since...Both my kids have read them and my brothers too...OK...I saw this book on Amazon and of course had to have it and it is well worth the money with interesting facts,trivia and more Tintin stuff that I never knew....very well written and researched,with great art and photos...If you like Tintin , you will love this...and it is in hardcover too...I wish I had the 'Detination Moon' hardcover copy from my youth...

I always liked Tintin as a kid, but never appreciated the amount of work that went into the creation of the books. Herge based several drawings on real photographs, some of the originals are here. I also used to think that translating the books into different languages was just a matter of changing the stuff written in the balloons. Hell, no! For example, in the original French version of Tintin in Africa, a rhino gets blown up. In a Scandinavian edition, the Scand editors refused to print such gratuitous violence to animals and several frames had to be changed so the rhino runs away, terrified but alive. Several pages are devoted to Herge's decision to continue working in Nazi Europe. The only problem with this book is that it's not long enough. I am sure Farr could have said a lot more if he'd been allowed to by the publishers!

In Tintin: The Complete Companion Michael Farr takes the reader on a trip from the early beginnings of Tintin in The Land of the Soviets to the final and unfinished album of the Alpha-Art. With a contagious enthusiasm Farr describes the creation phase of every album and reveals some remarkable trivia you would normally miss while reading Hergés masterpieces.

It is refreshing to see how thoroughly Hergé documented himself before letting Tintin loose on yet another adventure. A lot of this documentation is reproduced in this book together with the final drawings, so you quickly get a feel of professionalism Hergé showed in all of his work. This is clearly the main team of this companion.

While guiding the reader through the complete works, Farr does not neglect to describe some of the personal problems Hergé had to deal with during his career. Although Farr gives most of the time his personal view on topics such as Hergé working for a newspaper led by Nazis during the occupation of Belgium and the break-up of Hergés marriage, the author still gives the readers enough room for their own opinions. The sometimes quite remarkable links between the unpleasant episodes in the life of Hergé and the fantastic adventures Tintin and his elaborate entourage are getting into, can only give the reader more respect for one of the most important European cartoonists of the previous century.

This book is a must have for every Tintin-fan.

A few months ago I was visited by a particularly nasty strain of influenza. As I sat paralysed in an easy chair with everything that could possibly hurt hurting, I had to decide how to pass the time, since nobody in my family would agree to shoot me. I couldn't concentrate to read the tiny print in a book. The thought of television nauseated me. Only one thing would do. Tintin books! I used to collect and read Tintin books with my son about fifteen years ago, and hadn't read one in at least ten years. So I re-read them all, from Tintin In America to Tintin and the Picaros and they were wonderfully therapeutic. I then went on to order Tintin In the Land of the Soviets, Tintin In the Congo and Tintin and the Lake of Sharks. My interest in Tintin being re-awakened, I looked for commentary and analysis about Tintin and Herge, and came across Tintin, The Complete Companion.

This is a good book and a boon for Tintin fans, but it is far from comprehensive. 205 pages in not enough space to satisfactorily comment on all of the ground covered by Herge and Tintin in their 40+ year careers. What I think is needed is a complete annotated Tintin, along the lines of the two excellent annotated Sherlock Holmes sets that are available. To be comprehensive it would have to be four volumes of about 500 pages each. It would be pricey but I and other Tintinophiles would pay up. Such a comprehensive study would carry odd, eccentric, but interesting features. For example, I came across a page on the internet where someone had catalogued all of Captain Haddock's curses -by volume, by who was being cursed at, etc. I unsuccessfully scoured Tintin, the Complete Companion to find out what a Bashi-Bazouk was, but then found it on the internet (it is a type of Turkish irregular soldier, very undisciplined). If we are going to go crazy about this plucky little reporter and his faithful dog, we might as well go all the way. While I was re-reading the books this time, I kept a tally of assaults and other insults upon Tintin's person, as follows (warning, I know I will have missed some since I was sick at the time):

-imprisoned: 10 -car/motorcycle crash (unconscious): 3
-hit over head: 20 -gun pointed at: 14
-car run off road: 2 -house blown up (unconscious): 1
-drugged: 7 -shot at: 44
-kicked by horse: 1 -fall from horse: 1
-tied up/handcuffed: 21 -falls over cliff: 1
-torpedoes fired at: 1 -train wreck: 1
-lynched (rope broke): 1 -plane hijacked: 1
-thrown into water (tied up): 3 -thrown into sausage machine: 1
-attacked with knife/sword: 5 -plane crashes/explodes: 2
-caught in volcanic eruption: 1 -falls into crevasse: 1
-caught in avalanche: 1 -buried alive: 1
-caught in bear/tiger trap: 2 -shot: 4
-knocks self out: 1 -tackled: 2
-punched/assaulted: 3 -bitten on nose by parrot: 1
-almost run down by car: 2 -faces firing squad: 1
-smoke inhalation: 1 -hits face with rake handle (unconscious): 1
-ship wreck: 1 -hit by car: 1
-swatted by shark's tail (unconscious): 1 -huge crate of sardines just misses: 1
-attacked by condor: 1 -falls from waterfall: 1
-attacked by Incas: 1 -bitten by rat: 1
-falls down steps (unconscious): 1 -blacks out during rocket launch: 2
-lack of oxygen (unconscious): 1

As you can see, this is one tough young man. Any one or two of the above incidents would have most people talking for years. One would have to fear for Tintin's health in later years from all those knocks on the head or post traumatic stress disorder from all of the close calls.

Back to Mr. Farr's book. Quibbles and suggestions are as follows:

Quibbles. 1. The chapter on The Black Island goes into minute, mostly boring, detail in describing the changes from the black and white to the colour edition. Some changes are interesting, most are not. Eg. P. 77: '... the ticket collector has dispensed with a wing collar and bow tie, preferring an ordinary tie and collar and a shorter coat. The Thom(p)sons have less luxurious moustaches...' 2. From the start, Farr is dismissive of Snowy. To me, Snowy is a major character and deserves to treated as such. 3. In regards to the moon books, many readers at the time would have been to the moon through the works of science fiction authors, such as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Robert Heinlein (Rocket Ship Galileo has a Nazi plot element similar to Herge's Borduria involvement) and others. Why not comment on this and compare? Did Herge read the stuff?

Suggestions: 1. Comment/discussion is needed in regards to Tintin's androgyny. There is no hint in any of the books that anything as strange and wonderful as sex exists on planet earth. There are very few female characters at all, and only one major one (Castafiore). Tintin never as much as holds hands with a girl, never goes on a date, and, indeed, shows absolutely no interest in the opposite sex (unlike his dog Snowy). Instead, he chooses to live in a huge mansion with a crusty, alcoholic sailor who also seems to have no girlfriend. In real life, eyebrows would be raised. While I have no problem with all of this, I think it does merit comment. 2. I would have liked Farr to tell the reader how King Ottokar's Sceptre was received in Nazi Germany. How about The Shooting Star? How did the Belgians take to Tintin during the occupation? Herge stayed in Belgium instead of fleeing, like many others, so he could contribute to keeping up his countryman's spirits. Did he have an effect? 3. The index of the book in spotty and incomplete. It should be alphabetised and greatly expanded.

I became acquainted with Tintin in second grade, when I discovered a shelf of Children's Digests which ran abridged, black-and-white excerpts of his adventures. The digests were in no particular order, so I found myself reading, for example, a few pages of "The Black Island," then a smattering of "Tintin in the Picaros" followed by the ending of "Cigars of the Pharaohs."

It didn't matter that the bits were all out of sequence and context, I loved Herge's characters and stories. Recently, a couple of decades later, I started recollecting the complete Tintin adventures and stumbled onto "The Tintin Companion" in a local bookstore. It was shrinkwrapped but I took a chance and bought it anyway.

It was definitely worth it. This book gives a great history of Herge and his career and work. It also goes into detail about each of the stories and the inspirations behind the illustrations.

An extremely beautiful, enlightening, well-put-together book. Fans will love it.