The Pocket Essential Tintin

by Jean-Marc Lofficier, Randy Lofficier

The silhouette of Tintin—a young man wearing golf trousers, running with a white fox terrier by his side—is easily one of the most recognizable visual icons of the modern world. In fact Tintin is nine years older than Superman and 10 years older than Batman, having first appeared in Belgium in 1929. This fully revised and expanded edition of this popular pocket-sized reference book offers a comprehensive and critical overview of the Tintin series. Starting with the character's humble origins in the children's supplement of a Belgian Catholic newspaper in the 1920s, the authors track Tintin's development and success throughout the decades, including the stormy World War II years. Each book is analyzed in detail, both in the context of the series, and in its larger framework: that of the comic's medium and of society in general. The authors also look at the massive industry that has developed around the figure of Tintin, the trivia, the anecdotes, the movies and television series, and the multitude of Tintin spinoffs.

Genres: Comics, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Jean-Marc Lofficier is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier

Reviews

[Annalissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read that is basically a short biography of Herge, the author of Tintin, and a detailed review of each book. For each book, he had a synopsis, a little trivia, and a review, which were all very thought out and detailed.
I didn't agree with each of his reviews (sometimes it felt like he was grasping at straws) but he did have good reasons for all his dislikes. My favourite part of the reviews was the detailing of the images, or scenes removed by for conciseness.
The one annoying thing was that he often referred to characters by their English names. I read the books in French and sometimes didn't even know who he was talking of, based on their names. And I'm sorry, but if you think Tintin is good in English, you have not truly met him until you read him in French.

*mentions of infidelity, drinking, and a little violence*

[Nick Vicentini · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recently re-read (and re-watched), the entire Tintin series, along with this book. (Casterman editions and Nelvana Cartoons, respectively). I enjoyed having this little book for some insight on the Le Petit Vingieme and when the various books were originally published and when they were redrawn.

However, from reading the 'Pocket Essentials', I can only deduce that the Lofficier brothers were not big Tintin fans. They give hilariously low ratings to many of the books. Maybe I am biased, but I think all the stories are good, and understand reserving 4/5s and 5/5s for the best ones.... but 1/5s? 2/5 for Broken Ear. Very interesting, and quite suspect.

I purchased this book at the thrift store for $1, a fair price. I don't think it would be worth paying more.

[Sourya Dey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, but delightful journey into the world of Tintin. As someone who grew up on the Tintin books and cartoon show, this book feels very entertaining. It is not loaded with analysis or philosophy, instead this book feels clean and to the point. It starts off with an introduction to Tintin and then to Herge, then dedicates a chapter to each adventure (including Soviets, Congo and Alph-Art), before ending with a list of Tintin media (including the 1991 Ellipse-Nelvana cartoons I am so fond of).

The chapter for each adventure goes into depth without appearing to do so, which keeps the book fresh and engaging. Each chapter is divided into Publishing History, Plot, Characters, Continuity, Influences, Trivia and Review, which ends with a rating out of 5. I generally agree with the ratings. All in all, this is a nice pocketbook companion to Tintin which can be read through while waiting to board a flight.

[Bradley White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading off the back of Harry Thompson's book Tintin, I found this a bit repetitive. Each Tintin book is profiled using the same format: publishing history, plot, characters, continuity, influences, trivia, and a review. They even give each book a score out of five!

[G-E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un livre intéressant qui décortique de chaque album de la série sous plusieurs aspects comme l’intrigue, les personnages, la continuité, les influences et le contexte autour de l’album.

[Viral Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must Read for Tintin fanboys

[Skúli Sigurðsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is no secret that I adore Tintin so when I came across this one in a Reykjavík bookstore, I naturally picked it up. This is a neat little book, providing brief insights on each Tintin adventure. There are no pictures, a shame given the topic, but being that this is a “pocket essential” book this is to be expected.

Some of the ratings do not seem to match the reviews given and the scores seem inconsistent from album to album. The Broken Ear and Black Island score only 2/5 despite only minor criticisms, while Tintin and the Picaros gets the same rating but is lambasted at length, described as “just sad” and “frustrating”, and saying that “the characters seem tired” and “[t]he hero is dead”. Then a critical review of Flight 714 results in 3/5.

For aspiring Tintinologists, this may be a decent starting point and reference guide but Michael Farr’s Tintin: Complete Companion is far superior.

See also my article on Medium, Twenty-Twenty in Books …so far.

[Kaustubh R. Mone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous read, even for a veteran Tintinophile. I merely bought this book because I needed some Tintin on my Kindle, and was glad to find an unread one (thanks to goodreads, in fact). Having read most of the books that are about Tintin, including those by Michael Farr and Benoit Peeters, I was expecting a quick revision about all we know of Tintin, and got that and much more too.

The Lofficiers have included intriguing tidbits about every book, and plenty of information that helps the reader understand Hergé's mindset before/during creating each story. The details of the discarded storylines are also a treat, and ardent Tintin fans can't help imagining completing the journeys down these unchosen paths.

At the same time, they haven't balked from pointing out Georges Rémi's errors, oversights etc either. As expected, the review for The Shooting Star is particularly scathing. The odd rare blooper - Patrash Pasha showing Tintin a copy of a future adventure, a stars-and-stripes that was supposed to have been replaced in the later edition etc - has also been included. Also included are overviews of Tintin's appearances on Stage and Cinema and of course the beloved TV series that still touches the heart.

The authors have rated each book on a 1-5 scale, so that's another curious pastime for fans: comparing these ratings with their own. Most of the non-book appearances have been, perhaps charitably, excluded from the rating test.

Overall, an accomplished, well-researched appreciation of Tintin. It's not a long book, but still the pace at which one flies through it is all to the credit of the authors. I of course need some more Tintin on my Kindle now...

[Lucythereader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting historical and political information, as well as explaining the origins of Tintin. Would recommend the book reviews to anyone looking for some tintin nostalgia, but other than that, primarily a book for the hard core fan.

[Kiron Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to read this book to understand how the mind of Herge functioned.