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New release: Tintin in the Congo - English colour version

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advnarayan
Member
#51 · Posted: 9 Oct 2005 15:37
hey just cant wait to read CONGO- but no idea when it will reach the shores of India. and by the way, if i rmember correctly, congo was promised to be uploaded in an "unknown" site by one of our esteemed members. whatever happened to it.
jock123
Moderator
#52 · Posted: 10 Oct 2005 09:34
My local Waterstone’s had it in yesterday, so I bought my copy, and I can confirm that there is no killing with dynamite scene in the English version - it is the toned down version which appears.

Sadly it is not given the Hyslop-style handwritten text, but a computerised version of the slightly italic writing found in the French books; it would have been nice for the series to complete in the same style. It’s failing is most noticeable in that several balloons are in a much smaller size than those around them, where Mr. Hyslop tended to keep the letter height similar and vary the width to accommodate more text.

It’s also odd to see the album covers on the back laid out in a six by four matrix, with no gaps or filler…
heruursmith
Member
#53 · Posted: 10 Oct 2005 10:40
Thanks for that info Jock123 (sorry I don't know your name). A pity about the dynamite scene going... Maybe I should get my French version back again! lol

Even if the lettering isn't too great at least it's available in English at last. I was just thinking perhaps they chose a different font on purpose in order to give it a 'seperate' look/style from the other Tintin books because of it's controversial content? So that it shouts out to the reader "I'm not a regular part of the series"?

Are you generally pleased with the publication though?

Kamael
jock123
Moderator
#54 · Posted: 10 Oct 2005 13:10
heruursmith
Are you generally pleased with the publication though?

Generally yes; I still feel uneasy about the whole book, and it’s out-dated approach to the whole colonial thing (as I have said elsewhere, I think it was all very well for Hergé to apologise for his youthful indiscretions, yet he could have gone back later and revised the narrative to good ends, but didn’t, and seems happy to gloss over the fact that he didn’t improve things in the re-drawing/ editing/ colouring process at a much later date), but the fact that the set is now complete in English may actually go some way towards defusing things as it removes Congo’s “special” status - it won’t be so mysterious as a result.

It has been given a brief introduction by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner to explain the historical situation: I think it could have extended to a special section similar to the background information in the Making of books. In this way the story of the album from B&W onward could have been told, setting it in Belgian cultural history, and giving some of the “pro” arguments for the book’s continued availability; it would also have been possible then to show the dynamite page too (it always strikes me as odd that the page in the book which caused upset involved an animal, and not the way that people are shown…), and maybe discuss the (horrendous!) attitude to wildlife and hunting. A missed opportunity.

The book does have some nice passages, and as has been said by others the colouring is nice - scenes under water make good use of the variations in application of pigment.

I also wonder if the stow-away was a prototype for the drawing of Haddock? He has different hair for sure, but when disguised as a missionary, for example, and wearing a pith helmet he looks just like the Captain in a soutane!

Oh, and for completists, it is possible to slip the “belly band” off the book without breaking it!
heruursmith
Member
#55 · Posted: 10 Oct 2005 13:35
Yes the content really is a bit of a shocker isn't it. I have friends whom I would never show any of my various versions of "Tintin in the Congo" to! They'd probably distance themselves from me a bit and wonder what on earth I was thinking having such racist/violent stuff on my shelf. I'm sure that me commenting that I am just trying to complete the set, and that it has 'historical and artistic value' would not cut it with some of them.
LOL

When I was a boy I was shocked by some of the other racial stereotypes (e.g. Africans being drawn with big lips or speaking in pidgeon english etc). I actually remember being very young and spending some time trying to work out in my head if it was offensive or derogatory to other peoples. In the end I thought that because Tintin always stood up for the underdog no matter what their race (e.g. the potential slaves in Red Sea Sharks) that it was inherently not racist but just some of the people in it were perhaps insensitively drawn and that at times some of the characatures(sp?) were a bit off the mark!

The slaughter of all those animals was pretty awful and it seems so odd to see the Tintin that I grew up with, loving his pet dog Snowy so much, hunting and killing so many animals in the Congo... But now I just look at it and have to laugh at the naivety and colonial smugness with which it was written.

I take your point about wondering why Herge never wrote a different version of the story, as he was quite capable of adding or leaving out sections in other books (e.g. Land of Black Gold) - although usually when asked to by other people/publishers.

I think the english colour version of Tintin in the Congo will be a guilty pleasure to read to be honest - although I still will miss that Rhino being blown up with way too much explosives! But perhaps the different scene of Tintin sitting under a tree for a nap and the Rhino setting off his gun might be a more idyllic read...
:)

Kam
jock123
Moderator
#56 · Posted: 10 Oct 2005 16:17
heruursmith
a guilty pleasure
Probably the best way to put it, yes…

Curiously, for a book which I don’t really like, it has come to be the album of which I have most copies!

I’ve managed to accumulate three copies of the standard French edition (one I bought myself, and two were presents over the years), and a copy each in English of the two B&W editions (the white and the cream) and now an Egmont version; added to this I have a binder from when I was at school which appears to be the outside jacket of the book (again in French)…
heruursmith
Member
#57 · Posted: 10 Oct 2005 22:53
jock123:
for a book which I don't really like, it has come to be the album of which I have most copies!

I had to laugh when I read that because it is the same for me.
It is my least favourite Tintin book, but I have the Sundancer 1991 edition, plus the French cream facsimile, plus I am getting the English new colour version and the French facsimile colour edition (including exploding rhino).

I think when I manage to get my hands on the English cream facsimile edition, I'll get rid of the French version of that, as it does seem a bit excessive having so many copies of the thing!

Speaking of the English cream facsimile edition, is there anywhere online that I can buy it
I know that the Tintin shop hasn't got any in at the moment, but I can't find it anywhere else either. Not on the Casterman site even, let alone any of the international Amazon sites...

I only want to get it so that when I'm an old man and kick the bucket I have a collection of the complete set in English to leave my relatives...
hehehe...

But back on topic, I wish it was one of my favourite Tintin albums that had three versions (i.e. black and white; facsimile; colour redrawn version). Why did it have to be Congo?
Still, "L'isle Noir" and"Au Pays de L'or Noir" are great ones to have in their different forms.
It is rather like the missing Doctor Who episodes; some of the ones from the 1960's that survived are hardly the best examples of the show, whereas some of the most celebrated stories ended up being lost.
Well, maybe it is nothing like that at all, but my mind seemed to find a correlation.

Actually, if I kick my brain into gear (only just got up this morning New Zeland time) I should have remembered that "Tintin in America" and "Cigars of the Pharaoh" were completely redrawn from the original artwork, whereas after that it tended to be the original drawings that were shrunk and coloured to be put into their current form. With the addition of background detail of course.

Kam
Richard
UK Correspondent
#58 · Posted: 10 Oct 2005 23:42
For me, two standard French editions, a French colour facsimile, 1991 English Sundancer, a Juventud Spanish edition and the Egmont edition on order. And a binder too, with Tintin dangling over the crocodile-infested river. Odd how we all seem to have so many copies of it !

heruursmith
Speaking of the English cream facsimile edition, is there anywhere online that I can buy it?

I think your best bet would be to email the Tintin Shop and ask them to reserve you a copy if they get any more in.
If they're unable to get hold of one, they may be able to point you in the right direction (Jane Taylor, the manager of the Floral St. branch is also Moulinsart's UK representative, so she may know who to contact regarding the book).
heruursmith
Member
#59 · Posted: 12 Oct 2005 21:29
Thanks for that advice Richard. I did as you suggested and Jane Taylor replied telling me that although it is currently out of print they will keep my details on file and respond telling me when they get any new stock in. This may be good news for anyone else who wants a copy but missed out on the first print run. Sorry for going off topic by the way.

I noticed that on Amazon.co.uk the estimated despatch time for the new english colour version of "Tintin in the Congo" is now down from 3-4 weeks to 5-7 days... So I assume that they must have their copies in now but are probably inundated with people wanting it (even if it isn't particularly high in their sales lists).

Kam
heruursmith
Member
#60 · Posted: 14 Oct 2005 22:01
I just had another peek at the Amazon.co.uk site and the estimated delivery time for the new version of Congo is now 2-3 days instead of the 5-7 that they had on there before. I am probably coming across as a bit sad mentioning this but oh well!
LOL
:oP

Kam

Just edited this to say it's now back at the 3-5 weeks estimated delivery time. I've emailed them so will let this board know if they respond with a better idea of when they will be sending this out to those of us who've ordered it through them...

...They replied (another edit to this post yes) and just had the generic standard reply of apology about delivery estimates being outside their control sometimes and the date having changed - no specific explanation though as to the reason for the extended delay.

But I cancelled my order with them (explaining the delay being the reason) and they emailed me a 5UK Pound gift certificate as an apology. So I reordered it through them.
:D

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