TinTin "In America" & "Cigars of the Pharaoh"

For obvious reasons, my first experience of TinTin was marked by Hergé's shocking use of stereotypes. First and foremost, I was surprised by the seeming ignorance with which Hergé handled his depiction of various cultural and geographical groups. Secondly, I was surprised by my own ability to put aside this ignorance and enjoy the comic despite its paramount flaws. After a brief in-class discussion I realized some of the political complexities that affected Hergé's work; nevertheless, modern audience's ability to take pleasure in reading TinTin despite the comic's use of stereotype, seems counterintuitive. From this counterintuitive reaction, arises questions surrounding who Hergé intended his audience to be. Although the style of the illustrations and the silhouettes Hergé implements to censor overly violent panels, suggest that Hergé was primarily catering towards a younger audience, the content involved seems to suggest otherwise. Finally, I was intrigued by TinTin's character. In the Hergé comics we have encountered, TinTin is portrayed as a hero who is able to catch criminals in a manner more effective than law enforcement. This quality seems to precede that of later superheroes, such as Superman and Spiderman. However, much of the comedy arises from TinTin's accidental success--it seems that TinTin catches criminals and escapes dangerous situations by mistake or via pure luck. This is vastly different from his successors, who dedicate themselves and their skills to fighting crime and I am thus curious to examine Hergé's relationship with his successors.