Rating: 
Summary: Okay, so it seems a little racist. But so is Mark Twain.
Review: First of all, if you don't know what Tintin is, he is one of the most famous characters in Europe. This is the second adventure George Remi (AKA Herge) wrote, and one of the most controversial. Okay, so the portrayal of the Africans is racist, but this was at a time where everything was racist. Herge was just reflecting the views of the time. The book, however, is just as racist as Huck Finn or something like that, but is it regarded as a classic? Nooooooooo...
Anyway, this is about how Tintin, star reporter of a children's magazine, goes to the Congo, and his adventures there. In it, there are a lot of wonderful characters, such as his dog, Snowy, the evil stowaway, and, who could forget, a brief appearance by Al Capone, who appears in the later "Tintin in America". This book is a rare treat because it is in black and white, and I just love the style he uses in the circumstances. People might not like it as much as the later Tintin books because of the loose storyline and simple drawing, but I like it a lot.
However, there is one thing that might offend a lot of people: a certain animal getting blown up with dynamite, and Tintin saying "the fuse might have been a little too strong". But other than that, this is a classic, and there is no reason you shouldn't buy it unless you are an extreme animal rights activist. But then again, that part WAS pretty funny.
Rating: 
Summary: Herge's infamous first adventure of "Tintin in the Congo"
Review: "Tintin in the Congo" was the second adventure of the intrepid reporter and is one of the most controversial stories (along with "Tintin in the Land of the Soviets," albeit for different reasons). The problem with this Hergé offering from the 1930s is that it contains racist ideas and images. "Tintin in the Congo" fully embraces Belgian colonialism, white supremacy, and heroic missionaries bringing the word of God to the unwashed savages. Tintin himself is almost unrecognizable to readers who have come to love him through the traditional 21 adventures in the easily available canon (seven volumes each containing three adventures). Tintin calls natives "boy," bullies them around, and has clearly come to Africa to have a grand timing shooting animals during his safari holiday. More recognizable are the local gangsters who assume Tintin is there to bring them to justice and take pre-emptive action, which results in the recognizable series of perilous escapes. The best part of this adventure is that Snowy does more than his fair share in rescuing his master from trouble and ends up becoming the king of the pygmies. As you would expect Hergé works in as many exotic animals as he can into the story. So there are plenty of crocodiles, snakes, buffalo, giraffes, rhinos and the like. But the problem is that there are also a tribe of monkeys who bear an uncomfortable resemblance to the natives. Fortunately, the benevolent Belgians are there to make the Congo a better place. Now, as far as I am concerned there are clearly a lot of indefensible things in "Tintin in the Congo." Hergé's story and art clearly contain racist elements. I do find the story to be of historical value because it represents a clear manifestation of the racism of the times. Does this get Hergé off the hook? Absolutely not. But given the humanitarianism that is evident in the vast majority of the Adventures of Tintin it is clear that Hergé's attitudes changed for the better. If George Wallace and Strom Thurmond can get away with similar conversions on substantially less evidence in their favor in the political arena, than Hergé can get the benefit of the doubt when we take into account his entire body of work. Young kids who love the Adventures of Tintin should not read "Tintin in the Congo" until they are older and can better understand why an author they admire could tell a story so racist and offensive. They certainly do not want to read this story at a point in their lives where they cannot realize what is wrong about this particular story. This is the second Tintin story, but it should not be one of the first Tintin stories anybody reads. With its rather limited availability, it probably will not be.
Rating: 
Summary: This should never be your first Tintin book.
Review: Deeply racist in the classic big-I imperialist sense, plus a terrible story; it belongs in the same category of "early and deeply flawed effort" as Tintin in the Land of the Bolsheviks. It is hard to swallow in our modern context. As an, er, 'unfortunate' adventure from the point of view of modern Tintin fans, it is yet, like the first Tintin book, a candid (and illuminating) insight into the popular mentality around the young author. Only slightly later, with the Blue Lotus, did Herge get Tintin's politics (somewhat) in line with modern sensibilities. Either way, all later works eclipse this. By a lot. If you are sufficiently into Tintin-stuff to get it in French *and* English, buy it. Otherwise, don't waste your time. Get another Tintin book ! (I recommend Cigars of the Pharaoh)
Rating: 
Summary: This book lacks of good quality of graphics and art.
Review: I already had the spanish version of this adventure-story. That book was colorful and the graphics was great as we found in the other Tintin-books. But the english version is black-white, graphics is dumb and raw - page qualty of this book is below the standard.
This book is not for the average Tintin lover - not for the children - only if you are a mad-fan of Tintin you can waste your money by buying it.
Rating:
Summary: It's pretty alright!
Review: I was expecting to be smothered in racism throughout this book; but to be honest, I don't think it was very racist. Yes: Tintin hunting and killing animals is a little shocking. But then, the time it was written probably dictated all that.
It is funny throughout and Snowy is superb. And, another plus point here is that it is quite long: 120 pages is almost double the usual Tintin pages(62).
Rating: 
Summary: Racist Depiction of Africans Disappointing
Review: People who complain about the low quality of the illustrations in this book are missing the point. This is a reprint of the original strips that ran in the 1930's. Herge reworked most of his other stories from that period in the 50's and 60's to bring them up to the higher standard that most people associate with Tintin. However, an updated Tintin in the Congo was never released in English due to it's sunny portrayal of colonialism (which Herge later repudiated). This book is a wonderful time capsule of Herge's early work, but you have to keep in mind the time and place it comes from.
Rating:
Summary: Missing the Point
Review: People who complain about the low quality of the illustrations in this book are missing the point. This is a reprint of the original strips that ran in the 1930's. Herge reworked most of his other stories from that period in the 50's and 60's to bring them up to the higher standard that most people associate with Tintin. However, an updated Tintin in the Congo was never released in English due to it's sunny portrayal of colonialism (which Herge later repudiated). This book is a wonderful time capsule of Herge's early work, but you have to keep in mind the time and place it comes from.
Rating:
Summary: The Adventures of Tintin in the Congo
Review: This early example of a Tintin adventure is quite good in itself, although the artwork and narrative style are rather primitive and simple compared to the rest of the Tintin books. This is the early black & white version as first published in book form rather than the later color album version that is currently available only in French. "The Adventures of Tintin in Congo" will definitely be of great interest to devotees of Herge's works, and anyone who is a Snowy fan will love this one, as the little dog is quite prominent and has lots of comments. There is a bit of controversy about this book concerning racism, but I frankly found it rather difficult to detect. Obviously the story reflected the typical attitude of Europeans towards Africans back in the 1930's, but there is nothing at all of a mean-spirited or disrespectful nature. The depiction of Africans is a little paternalistic, but completely benign. I honestly have to conclude that this book is offensive only to someone extremely sensitive to racial issues. Everyone else will enjoy it. There are also some concerns about Tintin hunting lots of animals, which doesn't offend me anymore than the beef or chicken industry. I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to all Tintin fans.
Rating:
Summary: The Adventures of Tintin in the Congo
Review: This early example of a Tintin adventure is quite good in itself, although the artwork and narrative style are rather primitive and simple compared to the rest of the Tintin books. This is the early black & white version as first published in book form rather than the later color album version that is currently available only in French. "The Adventures of Tintin in Congo" will definitely be of great interest to devotees of Herge's works, and anyone who is a Snowy fan will love this one, as the little dog is quite prominent and has lots of comments. There is a bit of controversy about this book concerning racism, but I frankly found it rather difficult to detect. Obviously the story reflected the typical attitude of Europeans towards Africans back in the 1930's, but there is nothing at all of a mean-spirited or disrespectful nature. The depiction of Africans is a little paternalistic, but completely benign. I honestly have to conclude that this book is offensive only to someone extremely sensitive to racial issues. Everyone else will enjoy it. There are also some concerns about Tintin hunting lots of animals, which doesn't offend me anymore than the beef or chicken industry. I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to all Tintin fans.
Rating:
Summary: Tintin goes on a big game hunt in the Congo
Review: This is the black and white original version of Tintin in the Congo, not the reworked color version. Problems that people have had with this book are racism and animal cruelty issues. In doing the color version Herge downplayed the animal cruelty and took out a bit of the racist elements. (Some of this was expanding the comics to a wider market, but mostly it was changes Herge wanted to make since he could make them.)
The animal cruelty is definitely a big presence in this book. Tintin goes to the Congo on vacation to hunt big game. In most scenes he is off in the jungle hunting. In this black and white version he blows up a rhino with dynamite - the dynamite was removed in the color revamp.
The racism is present in this black and white one. Tintin gives a lesson to African school children, which he prefaces with, "I am going to teach you about your country Belgium." (Congo was a colony of Belgium at the time.) In the color revamp he teaches math instead. I have read the color version and don't see it as racist although blacks are drawn with huge lips etc as in other period comics.
Herge redid this comic and made changes to remove elements that were offensive - offensive to himself as well as others. One could argue that his making these changes was some sort of attempt to "cover up" On the other hand he had more creative control later in his career so perhaps he thought the new version was better. Ironically the color version is unavailable in English, but the black and white one is. (Color version is available in Italian, French, Spanish and German - so maybe you could read that one if you are bilingual.) The currently available color English editions reflect what Herge wanted people to read and reading one of those would be a better option. Read this for historical interest or to see an early drawing style. (Herge did not have formal training as an artist, so art style is interesting to consider.) Be aware that this was updated by Herge later in his career into a milder version.
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