The Blue Lotus (1934)

The Blue Lotus Review

The Blue Lotus is the 5th volume of The Adventures of Tintin comics series by Belgian cartoonist Herge. It was published in 1934 and it was the best volume released up to this point in the series.

It follows Tintin and his dog Snowy, who are invited to China in the midst of the 1931 Japanese invasion, where he reveals the machinations of Japanese spies and uncovers a drug-smuggling ring. This was the continuation of the previous volume and it trumps that one in terms of memorable moments and adventurous elements.

This is the time when Herge almost entirely changed his ways and attitudes regarding different cultures, which resulted in a surprisingly modern work that stood the test of time stupendously well. The Japanese are depicted as villains, but they depicted the Chinese with so much warmth and respect that was surprising for the time.

There is this wonderful scene in the comic where Tintin has this deep, touching and amusing conversation with his Chinese companion Chang. The two talk about the Westerners’ stupid beliefs about Chinese people. This scene was both insightful and delightfully lightweight. The entire comic is highly historically accurate and even too meticulously detailed as it requires a history enthusiast to fully understand every plot point, but that insight and level to detail are definitely admirable.

The illustrations are once again gorgeous and the best so far in the series’ run. Not only are the backgrounds gorgeous, but the setting is brought to life with a vivid color palette and a great eye for detail. Those large half-page panels were particularly bursting with life.

Tintin is quite fun here, though Snowy is a bit sidelined in this story. But Tintin has by now become not only heroic, but wonderfully respectful of other people and their cultures. The story has its issues – it has too many plot twists and turns, but the villains are competent and delightfully over-the-top in their schemes while some action adventure moments are unforgettable.

The Blue Lotus has an overly complicated story with too many historical details, but that attention to detail is also admirable and so was the surprisingly politically correct treatment of the Chinese and their problems with Japan. Tintin is quite likable here, the illustrations are so gorgeous and the adventurous elements are superb, making for the best Tintin volume released up to this point in the series’ run.

My Rating – 4.4