TAC - 21 - Tintin and the Picaros

Tintin and the Picaros

This is it. The last day of the Tintin Movie Advent Calendar, and the last completed book by Hergé. I wish I could end this little journey on a happier note, but I have to admit that a read-through of Picaros generally leaves me depressed. It isn't just because it's the last full Tintin adventure (although, hell, I sometimes get a little teary-eyed on the final panel); I just don't really care for the tone and direction that this album takes...and the fact that it has to end on this note.

...By the way, my brother is totally distracting me right now. We're talking about the movie.

ANYWAY. Basically, the characters changed in this album, and not necessarily for the better. I always thought Tintin was a bit of a jerk in this one, refusing to accompany the Captain to help their friends (uh, stark contrast from Tibet much?), and then turning around and helping General Alcazar mount a revolution because...he's his friend, I suppose? Captain Haddock is deprived of his beloved whiskey, thanks to some rather cruel and careless experimentation by Professor Calculus (using the Captain as a guinea pig, really?). Ah, I don't know. It bothers me.

And then those two panels-- the ones depicting the slums of Tapiocopolis/San Theodoros, one under Tapioca's rule, the other under Alcazar. They are almost identical, and yet that is how Tintin and his friends leave the story (and the series) behind, with hardly a backward glance, in spite of the fact that they have had little to no impact on events. Again...it bothers and saddens me.

But this album isn't completely devoid of the typical Hergé spirit. It is, overall, slightly more palatable than Flight 714's surreal story, and...as I've always said...I rate this on a scale of Tintin to TINTIN!

This is Tintin.


_{My brother has informed me that he likes this one more than I do. I granted it an extra half-star because of this. 9_9}

HERE'S A HAPPIER NOTE: I have seen the movie. And I WILL share my review/thoughts someday soon, probably after I've seen it a second time. But for now, I'll just leave you with one word:

YES.

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The Adventures of Tintin is © HERGE/MOULINSART S.A. estate; I will not be personally profiting from ANY of this art