TinTin Books discussion

The Red Sea Sharks opens when Tintin has a peculiar reunion with his old friend General Alcazar. Shortly afterward, he learns of a coup in Khemed - which leads the fallen Emir to send Abdullah to Marlinspike Hall for protection. Journeying to Khemed, Tintin and Haddock find themselves embroiled in the machinations of the slave trade - where the mysterious Marquis di Gorgonzola has been capturing African Muslim pilgrims for his own nefarious ends.

After the success of his Cold War-inspired The Calculus Affair, Hergé decided to further use his 'Tintin' series to write about global issues, this time focusing on the slave trade. What resulted was "The Red Sea Sharks", published in book form in 1958 after a 14-month serialisation in "Tintin" magazine: a breathless adventure through the sands of Khemed and across the Red Sea. By now, thanks mainly to the machinations of Herge's editor, Tintin was a major commodity: aside from the merchandise and the speedy translation into English (a full 12 albums would be published in English between 1958 and 1962), there was a French-language radio series, three film adaptations in the works, and several more being considered for television in short five-minute episodes.

Herge was understandably overwhelmed and exhausted by this work, and perhaps partly because of this - and no doubt partly because of the growing appreciation for the world of Tintin - he brought back an even larger amount of characters from previous adventures. Aside from Tintin, Haddock, Snowy and Nestor, we have brief glimpses of Oliveira de Figuera, Bianca Castafiore, the Emir, Abdullah, General Alcazar and Jolyon Wagg. On the side of evil: there's Dawson (a minor figure from The Blue Lotus), Allan (formerly Haddock's villainous first mate in The Crab with the Golden Claws), Dr. Muller (who had menaced Tintin twice before, most recently in Land of Black Gold) and - of course - the Marquis di Gorgonzola, who is none other than Tintin's greatest enemy Rastopopoulos. While one could argue that the number of unexpected reunions is bordering on the fantastic, it was a treat for readers at the time, and remains so for readers from our era who expect the world of a series to be populated by recurring characters.

While "The Red Sea Sharks" was another success for Herge, there were - and have been since - some concerns about his depiction of the Africans, as good-natured but simple (a concern that has also affected his early works such as Tintin in America and Tintin Au Congo). Generally, however, these concerns can be written off as Herge was clearly against slavery, and truthfully gives non-standard speech patterns to many of his characters (including, in this volume alone, the pilot Piotr Skut).

"The Red Sea Sharks" was first published in English by Methuen in 1960. It was the first album published after the Belvision TV series and thus was not adapted for that run of stories. However, the story was made into a two-part animated episode of the 1990s TV series, and a two-part radio play for the BBC in 1993.

Links:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_...

Tintinologist: http://www.tintinologist.org/guides/b...

24 Days of Tintin: http://tintinblog.com/2009/12/09/24-d...

Places visited or mentioned in "The Red Sea Sharks" (with thanks to Wikipedia):

*Brussels, Belgium
* Beirut, Lebanon
* Khemed, Middle East Region

(This is Tintin's only visit to Lebanon [he travels through it to get to Khemed] and his last visit to the politically unstable Khemed)

My review:

"The Red Sea Sharks" often gets a bit forgotten, coming on the heels of two masterpieces - Explorers on the Moon and The Calculus Affair - and preceding as it does Herge's experimental works. Which is a shame, since this is a solid adventure story, expertly rendered. (He'd been writing 'Tintin' solidly for 30 years, after all)

In terms of story, things are intriguing from page one, and very little is predictable. General Alcazar and the Emir pop up early on and set the story in motion, and yet comparatively little time is spent in Khemed, and none in San Theodoros. Despite what it may look like, Herge is in fact already experimenting with formula: the plot moves fast and through various locales and episodes, yet at the same time is clearly all connected, and never feels gratuitous. Best of all, the appearances of recurring characters such as Oliveira and La Castafiore are entirely connected to the story, and help to propel the plot.

Herge's artwork has reached a peak in the last few albums, and that carries on here. The sands of Khemed, the emptiness of the Red Sea and so on, contrast nicely with the vividness of Brussels and Marlinspike (particularly noticeable in that final page, which is reminiscent of the lighter mood of "The Calculus Affair"). Note, particularly, the torpedo sequence, which is intensely gripping, jumping off the page as if on film.

Perhaps my favourite page is Page 60, a whole page of newspaper articles piled on top of each other. In that single page, the plotlines of the Emir, the slaves, Dawson, Allan, Tintin and Rastopopoulos (or at least his escape) are tied up, as well as a brief mention that General Alcazar has toppled his rival Tapioca again. My God!

Very occasionally, in the early pages, it becomes clear that Herge had grown accustomed to havnig Tintin surrounded by friends. When he and Snowy are on their own, Tintin begins to speak a bit like an annoying children's TV presenter: "Hmmm how can I sneak past this window without being seen? I know! I'll crawl under it!" The animal-rights activist in me also ponders Herge's treatment towards animals, again seen in the destruction of a shark - however Herge himself later apologised for this, and one must admit it is a unique and clever way to resolve that particular cliffhanger!

Politically, this is the angriest "Tintin" album by far. Haddock's refusal to believe that slavery still exists in the 20th century, and his growing awareness of it, is classily done. Look, it's certainly clear that his humble Muslims are quite simple characters. They're cheerful, easily contented folks with incorrect speech patterns and an inability to grasp subtle points. But... as with the pilot Piotr Skut, I would argue part of this is a language barrier issue. And I would certainly state that the artist's clear push against slavery tempers these characterisations. It seems like an odd thing to say, but I think for Herge himself he felt it necessary to draw these people as quite simple, and further hammer home the immorality of slavery. (On top of this, his clear contrast between the slaves and the debauchery of di Gorgonzola's yacht should clearly show on which side of things Herge stood).

But leaving aside such implications, there is barely a wrong turn. Calculus only appears in a few frames, but has very funny cameos alongside Nestor and Abdullah. The plot comes thick and fast, utilising an old enemy of Tintin's very well. (It's strange, but unless I missed it, Tintin never actually is given a realisation moment. Somewhere between escaping the ship and seeing Rastopopoulos, he's already figured it out! I guess Herge assumed that we as the audience would pick up on it - either that or the moment was edited out between strip and album). Characters appear in context, without feeling like mere coincidences, and humour abounds without detracting from the seriousness of the situation. There may not be anything experimental about "The Red Sea Sharks", but it stands alongside "The Calculus Affair" as the best examples of Tintin doing what he does best: adventure.