The Blue Lotus (The Adventures of Tintin)

I love all of Herge's Tintin books, but The Blue Lotus is perhaps his masterwork. I'm happy to report that far from a dated, culturally problematic representation of Japan and China in 1934 (the date of this book's first printing), Herge is incredibly respectful of the cultures, presenting them educationally and observationally, and even sees Tintin criticize anti-Asian racist stereotyping! Aside from this, the story is among the most complex and action-packed of Tintin's adventures. Herge's style is at it's minimal best, and the panels are small and packed with exposition and some of his greatest illustrations.

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This adventure continues where "The Cigars of the Pharaoh" left off. Tintin leaves India and travels to Shanghai. The story itself is entirely fictional, of course, but some of the events are historically accurate, such as the bombing of the Manchurian Railroad, Japan resigning from the League of Nations, the Japanese occupation and an American presence in the international settlement. Tintin and Snowy have many mysteries and near-misses, keeping this story fast-paced and entertaining. One of the best of the series.

I am buying the whole series for my kids. Myself I grew up with comic books in Belgium but they were all in flemish so now I am buying the English classics so they get the enjoy them too. These books are of excellent quality with no blemishes. They do not come wrapped in plastic but straight in a prime envelop. love these and will buy more.

Reading the Tintin adventures when I was a kid changed my life. It was my first exposure to the graphic novel experience. back then you got them a chapter at a time, later in complete book form like this. They were adventure stories with exciting action, mysterious puzzles, hilarious characters, and real world concepts I could understand. I buy them now for my nieces and nephews to read when they come over, but I have to read each one again as well. I very much like this extra-large softcover edition. The art work is much better presented and you can really put you whole focus into the story. I can't afford the hardcover editions so this is the next best thing. Not a one of these is bad. I'm working on collecting them all.

My eleven-year old son absolutely loves the entire Tintin series. I purchased all the comics and he so enjoys them that I have to restrict him to reading one a day, which I make available to him when I pick him up at school. They are so well written, clever, and all around entertaining that despite an iPad and an iPhone that my son owns, he opts instead to read his Tintin comic on the drive home from school. Your child will unsuspectingly learn world history and pick up on great vocabulary. Highly, highly recommended!!!

Three generations of my family are Tintin fans starting in the late 70's. We even bought the miniaturized hardbound, boxed collectors edition of all Tintin stories. And, we've seen the movie -- in 3D. But to really enjoy the adventures of this young journalist and his dog, you need the full-sized soft cover edition. This was it! The art is great. The characters and adventures are memorable and intriguing. If you're a parent, uncle, aunt or grandparent, get it for the kid in your life -- then sit down and enjoy it yourself.

In this early story Tintin ends up in the International Settlement in Shanghai which is quite fascinating historically speaking. I have read that Hergé was heavily criticized for his racial views but what I read in these comics as an old man nowadays is quite the opposite. His empathy for the Chinese is obvious and unalloyed. His early books about The Soviets and The Congo seem more like aberrations and his cracking story about gangs drugs and smuggling is a very enjoyable historical read. Implausible of course but enormous fun.