Tintin

I started reading Herge's Tintin comic books serialized in CHILDREN'S DIGEST in the early '70s, translated into English.  But since then I've learned enough French to read them in their original language.  It was shrewd of Herge to introduce the hard-drinking, irascible sailor Captain Haddock as a companion for his rather bland young hero.  But I never cared for those goofy twin detectives.

I have a copy of the colorful TINTIN IN TIBET and read a few others. (THE CASTAFIORE EMERALD is especially funny.) The French versions were easy to find in bilingual New Brunswick than in Toronto.  But I've managed to buy TINTIN IN THE LAND OF THE SOVIETS and TINTIN IN THE CONGO, which are hard to find in English.  The Russian adventure was the first Tintin story, and Herge's inexperience shows.  The Congo adventure is controversial because of its old-fashioned racial attitudes.  I've written my own English translations of those stories just for the experience.

When I was in London last September, I picked up the two volumes of Tintin's moon adventures.  Unfortunately, this edition is physically smaller than the versions I'm used to.  I've started translating the first one, but took a break for a while.  I suppose that when the TOR is finished I'll regain interest in that project.