Tintin Narrative

While the narratives of Tintin in America and Cigars of the Pharaoh are very similar, and overlap in many plot points (and racist stereotypes as well as an almost complete lack of women), Cigars of the Pharaoh has the stronger story line of the two. In both of Tintin’s adventures he faces death around every turn, which makes the comics very fast paced, but can also distract from the overall narrative. While I understand that the comics were released in smaller instalments, which contributes to this disjointed nature, what makes the Cigars of the Pharaoh a more compelling read is the element of mystery (mostly surrounding the cigars) that it centers itself around making it feel more unified. In Tintin in America, Tintin tries to arrest the gangsters and the gangsters try to kill him and Tintin succeeds in arresting them and the story is resolved cleanly… the end. In contrast, the narrative of Cigars of the Pharaoh is less closed since Tintin says, “But somehow, I wonder…” after Maharaja says they have seen “the last of that evil gang.” To add to the suspense, we never discover the identity of one of the men who kidnaps Maharaja’s son. It is even suggested that the famous film tycoon, Rastapopoulus, might have something to do with the threats against Tintin’s life when Mr. Zloty says, “the boss…film…don’t trust…” after being poisoned, although Rastapopoulus’s involvement is never confirmed definitively. Overall, Cigars of the Pharaoh has more complexity to it, which lends itself to a marginally more mature reader who can cope with some plot elements being left up in the air to interpretation and make it the stronger of the two Tintin adventures.