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The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in the Congo
Egmont
Hergé (Georges Remi), writer and artist

This collected edition is the second serialized Tintin adventure by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. This is typically the hardest to find of the 24 Tintin adventures because of the controversy it caused in the 1940s. The story, originally published in 1930-31, reflects the attitudes of the time, mainly that the natives of the Congo were simple and child-like, needing the care and watchful eyes of their European betters. Many folks also objected to the depictions of violence against animals when the tale was first printed in English, so Hergé made some changes to the story beginning with a collection in 1946. Subsequently, this volume has been reprinted very rarely.

The tale begins with Tintin and Snowy setting out on a new adventure, this time to explore the Congo. There is no mention of this being a work-related voyage as Tintin's trip to Russia was in the first serialization. It seems to be more of a vacation of sorts. But it is clear both from the crowd at their departure and the reception when the pair arrive at their destination that Tintin and Snowy are known the world over for their reporting from the land of the Soviets.

Not all of the attention they draw is the good kind, however. Even as they depart from Belgium, Snowy and Tintin are shadowed by a dark, bearded man who stows away on the vessel. Snowy takes the brunt of the earliest dangers, first being attacked by a belligerent parrot and contracting psittacosis. No sooner is that malady treated by the ship's physician than Snowy discovers the bearded man and is thrown overboard and menaced by a shark!

Once Tintin and Snowy arrive in the Congo, their notoriety is proven once again as representatives of the "London Daily," the "Diadio de Lisboa" (Lisbon) and the "New York Evening Press" all try to bid for the exclusive story of their trip. The bidding reaches $10,000 in advance before Tintin shuts them all down by announcing his loyalty to "Le Petit Vingtieme."

While on his Congolese safari, Tintin takes his rifle to all manner of beasts. First, while hunting an antelope, Tintin inadvertently kills 15 of the creatures. Later, when Snowy is kidnapped by a curious chimpanzee, Tintin shoots a second chimp and uses its skin to disguise himself. Later victims of Tintin's hunting forays include a de-tailed lion, a tame leopard Tintin mistakes for a wild animal, several snakes, a bull elephant, a buffalo, some crocodiles, a rhinoceros and a giraffe.

Amid all of this animal slaughter, Tintin has several run-ins with the bearded gentleman, and it soon becomes clear that he has been hired by someone to kill Tintin. By the end of the story, Tintin manages to learn that the bearded man was hired by someone with the initials A.C. The quest to track down A.C. will lead Tintin to America in his next adventure.

This volume is reprinted in color like the later collections, but it remains obvious that this story is made up of a collection of serialized episodes. Both Tintin and Snowy are drawn closer to the later appearances I am more familiar with, although Tintin is drawn quite a bit smaller in stature here than in subsequent volumes. This adventure was not quite as entertaining to read; much of the animal slaughter is played for laughs and when viewed with modern sensibilities, they make Tintin much less of a heroic figure. But for the completist, it is worth searching for this hard-to-find book.