Tintin Forums

The Tintin shop's website is confusing - misleading even - about what they're actually selling when it comes to the facsimiles. Here's their blurb that heads up that page of colour facsimile editions that Jock's given a link to above:

Finally, what the English speaking Tintin fans have been waiting for - faithful recreations of the Tintin albums as they appeared the first time they were published in English.

They're not faithful recreations of the Tintin albums as they appeared the first time they were published in English. That would imply they're facsimiles of the first English editions of Tintin books, which they're nothing like. What they are, of course, is English versions of faithful recreations of the Tintin albums as they appeared the first time they were published in French, and the shop's website should say so.

(This incorrect description was pointed out by someone else a while back on this forum, at a time when one of the regular posters here was working at the shop, but this kind attempt to improve the shop's website got nowhere.)

To get back on topic, I've got the French facsimile of the 1949 Black Gold, and even though I'm in no way fluent at reading French, I don't find this a problem. If you've already read the modern version in English, you'll follow it all fine, as it's mostly just the drawings that are different from the modern version in those early pages, rather than anything very significant in the text or story. In the few panels which are completely different - ie: the stuff with the Zionist militia group - it's pretty easy to follow what's going on from the pictures. And most of the book, after those early pages, is pretty much identical to the modern version. It's very interesting to see the different drawings in the early pages on the Speedol Star, and the Palestinian setting, and I'm glad I bought this facsimile, but I don't now feel the need to have this version in English, even if it were ever to be published.

Have you guys (& gals) tried lastgasp.com?

Only found four of the b&w editions: America, Congo, Soviets and Lotus.
Still looking for the last five of nine. Any help?

You appear to be missing Cigars of the Pharaoh; the rest have never appeared in English (as mentioned earlier in the thread, the list on the back including things like Crab is misleading - it may have been the original intention to release them, but they never came out).

I don't think those that were released are still in print, other than Soviets (and that only in its "standard" version, rather than as the "facsimile"), but you may find a comics shop with stock, or a second-hand copy on eBay, AbeBooks or sites like those.