Recently I read Tin Tin for class and I really enjoy how are
class is basically going through graphic novels in a sort of chronological
order. Tin Tin, by Herge is, at least for me, the first time comics seem to be
made for long for and to start to become graphic novels. Earlier in the
semester we read works by Winsor Mcay and George Herriman and while these works
were good, each story seemed to end at the end of the page. (Even Little Nemo
in Slumberland.)
Tin Tin breaks that rule by becoming a long form comic. I
think that this gives cartoonists more freedom to develop their stories and
characters. I only read three volumes of Tin Tin, which encompass the first
compilation of the Tin Tin stories, and I grew fond of Tin Tin and his
Maltese/terrier Snowy. (I found it hilarious that Snowy was sentient and only
Tin Tin could understand him.)
I think what Herge is doing is he’s picking up on what the
readers want. Comic readers are getting older and there are more and more comic
readers coming about around the time that Tin Tin is created so he’s responding
to that by creating long form comics.
Other publishers are doing the same thing around this time
like EZ comics, but I decided to read Tin Tin for this week because it’s one of
those comics I’ve “always wanted to read but never got around to it.” You know,
the indefinitely postponed kind. (The great thing about this class is that it
gets me to read things that are on my list but would take me much longer a time
to actually get around to.)
I think with Tin Tin, you start to see the blueprints of the
graphic novel being set. At least that’s how I feel. These long form comics
really paved the way for works like A Contract with God, Blankets, and others.
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