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Cigars of the Pharaoh: Snowy gets bat's wings?

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Borschtisov
Member
#1 · Posted: 6 Aug 2007 16:46
Hi.
If you have the black and white version of "Cigars of the Pharaoh", I have a question for you.
On page 18, when Tintin and Snowy enter the tomb of Kih-Oskh, something weird happens.
Snowy all of a sudden cries out and Tintin quickly lights a match to find that Snowy has seemingly (from my point of view at least) grown a pair of bat-like wings, which carry him off into the far reaches of the tomb.

Now, what on earth is happening here?!
Does this scene make sense to anybody? How does Snowy come to be wearing wings?

Is it just something weird Hergé put in that has no explanation? That's what I think.

Any thoughts?
Harrock n roll
Moderator
#2 · Posted: 6 Aug 2007 18:15
I would say that it doesn't make any sense and was just a random scene that Hergé snuck in. Cigars is in the mould of the earlier adventures - Soviets, Congo and America - padded out with some pretty implausible scenes at intervals. But I think it's also an improvement on the earlier ones in that there is a lot more plot which carries through the book. Not surprisingly Hergé cut the bat-wing scene out along with a few others involving crocodiles and snakes for the redrawn colour edition.
Rocky
Member
#3 · Posted: 11 Aug 2007 18:08
It seems obvious to me that a bat grabs Snowy and carries him off, with Tintin in pursuit.
pokemon
Member
#4 · Posted: 12 Aug 2007 14:34
Rocky:
It seems obvious to me that a bat grabs Snowy and carries him off, with Tintin in pursuit

I don't think a bat can carry Snowy.

Cigars is a wierd book. I have heard that you can see a copy of Destination Moon in it!
jock123
Moderator
#5 · Posted: 12 Aug 2007 15:01
I don't think it is a literal transformation, or even a real bat - isn't it just meant to convey the fact that Snowy has had the devil scared out of him (i.e. been greatly shocked), and that he takes off like "a bat out of hell"?
pokemon
Member
#6 · Posted: 15 Aug 2007 11:30
jock123
Tintin is reality and the events in the books are not represented as it is usually done in cartoons.
jock123
Moderator
#7 · Posted: 15 Aug 2007 12:08
pokemon
Tintin is reality and the events in the books are not represented as it is usually done in cartoons.
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you are saying.
mct16
Member
#8 · Posted: 15 Aug 2007 19:53
Further into this edition of the book, Tintin tells of how he cannot recall what happened between arriving in Cairo and waking up the Red Sea. He actually refers to the events as a dream, which might explain it.
pokemon
Member
#9 · Posted: 18 Aug 2007 11:58
jock123:
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you are saying.

jock never understands what I am saying.
sorry for shouting.

Example:In cartoons, whenever somebody is seriously angry, red-coloured horns appears on their head just to indicate the degree of anger - but I don't think anything like this is shown in Tintin.
jock123
Moderator
#10 · Posted: 18 Aug 2007 23:01
pokemon
jock never understands what I am saying.
No, that is not true, and not fair: but this time you were particularly hard to follow (not helped by the lack of punctuation, capitals etc., which you have been repeatedly requested to use, as per the posting rules, meaning we have to edit your posts).

In cartoons, whenever somebody is seriously angry, red-coloured horns appears on their head just to indicate the degree of anger.

If I get you, you are saying that although it is typical that cartoonists use shorthand in their images, such as the horns etc., that thi sort of thing doesn't happen in Tintin, therefore there has to be a "real" reason for Snowy to have bat-wings?

But what about the appearances of good and bad angels to represent inner struggles between the good and the bad sides of the personality (Haddock and Snowy both), demons carting off criminals, the frequent use of coloured stars for those who are hit, the habit of characters to sweat a little halo of tears when anxious, and Tintin's ability to levitate with both feet off the ground in a sort of sitting position when startled? These are all no more or less cartoony than Snowy's winged exit.

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