Tintin in Tibet (1960)
Tintin in Tibet Review
Tintin in Tibet is the 20th volume of The Adventures of Tintin comics series by Belgian cartoonist Herge. It was published in 1960 and it is the greatest entry in the series.
Tintin searches for his friend Chang Chong-Chen, who the authorities claim has died in a plane crash in the Himalayas. Convinced that Chang has survived and accompanied only by Snowy, Captain Haddock and the Sherpa guide Tharkey, Tintin crosses the Himalayas to the plateau of Tibet, along the way encountering the mysterious Yeti. This comic brought back Chang from ‘The Blue Lotus’ and once again Tintin’s friendship with him was quite beautiful to witness.
The highlight of this story is its authentic approach to storytelling that is simple on the surface, but actually thematically rich and emotionally highly engaging. In what was a bold move by Herge, there are no villains or conspiracies to speak of here nor do we get any action or fight scenes. What we do get is a human story that feels timeless in its high emotions and undeniable grace.
Tintin has never been better than he was here. Apparently, Herge infused a lot of his own struggles with adultery and imminent divorce into this story and Tintin’s character, which led to a more meaningful tone. It just goes to show that being personal and intimate when writing stories will almost always make those stories more impactful. Tintin’s resolve to help his friend Chang made him such an admirable hero and through his struggles the comic explores the concept of sixth sense and it showcases that sometimes you have to believe in yourself and that can bring you to your goals as Tintin here encounters not just obstacles in terms of harsh natural environments, but friends and allies who simply don’t share his optimism.
Speaking of those friends, Captain Haddock was simply wonderful in this adventure. There is a running gag where Haddock refuses to go with Tintin only to make up an excuse in order to eventually accompany him. Not only was this running gag consistently hilarious, but it also led to so many heartwarming moments that affirmed their incredible friendship without ever being too cloying or on-the-nose about it. The subtlety that Herge employed here was admirable.
Tharkey is solid but underutilized and if there is one thing that I can complain about in this comic is the fact that the monks were somewhat sidelined. That moment with Snowy was great and they were well incorporated, but they should have gotten bigger roles as the story is set in Tibet after all. But Snowy is hilarious in that bone scene where his devil and angel argued whether or not to drop the message and chew the bone.
Nepal proved to be an unforgettable setting for a Tintin story, and sure enough the illustration work done on this volume was astonishing. A lot of the imagery was unforgettable with that plane crash large panel being the standout. The panels where we see whiteout were also artistically inclined. Herge’s writing was incredible and the dialogue superb. The mixing of humor and emotional levity led to a true crowd-pleaser. The comic also ended with the introduction of the Yeti, which was the only fantastical element in a Tintin comic up until this point, but it worked as they effectively humanized this creature. That final scene where he stays alone as he watches Chang and others leave the area was genuinely heartbreaking and so striking.
