BookTalk.org

There are many sites in Belgium about the polemic surrounding the comic book "Tintin au Congo".

As with Conrad and Heart of Darkness, the question was asked if Herge was a racist and whether the comic book was suitable for children.

The two following links are in French, but have cartoons, from Tintin, and then caricatures published in Belgium.

http://www.actuabd.com/spip.php?article5495


http://www.actuabd.com/spip.php?article5580


Maybe I should start a poll: Do children read Tintin in your country?

Dunno' - I never hoid of it anyway.

And I don't read French that well - just enough to read the backs of the soup cans - that's about all.

J'Regret . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintin_in_the_Congo

http://www.forbes.com/2007/07/23/tintin ... can01.html
Tintin's Racist Past

"Tintin is Belgium's most famous export, with over 200 million copies of his adventures sold worldwide."

The work is clearly discriminatory because the villain is named 'Tom'

Tom

Thanks for giving those references Tom.

My Grandson - aged seven next month - collects the TinTin books because he can read them himself and follow the pictures.

TinTin is a bit out of fashion but there was a production in London's West End of TinTin around Christmas time and Isaac's Daddy took him to see it and since then, we have been collecting the books.

They might be a bit biased and racist.....but they seem preferable to some of the violent comic book cartoons which our children are served on television.

The vocabulary is very good in comparison to a lot of modern stuff too.