Created by Belgian cartoonist Hergé in 1929, The Adventures of Tintin follow the intrepid globetrotter reporter and adventurer named Tintin as he travels all over the world to investigate mysteries.
Aided by his faithful dog Snowy and his friends, the brash and cynical Captain Haddock and the intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus, Tintin evolves in realistic environments as well as in pure science fiction and fantasy.
Disclaimer: It’s an old comics, so there are some ideas and representations that are quite offensive today. It’s sometimes racist. Just saying. You know, like in the old issues of The Spirit.
The Adventures of Tintin Reading Order:
The way The Adventures of Tintin were written is really formulaic. There’s a bit of continuity, but almost all the stories can be read independently from one another. There are a few exceptions with some 2-part stories.
The first books
These three books were the first published, but you can skip them and come back to them later. It’s not a great entry point.
- Tintin in the Land of the Soviets – It’s the only one in B&W.
- Tintin in the Congo – Talking about racism… this one is quite problematic on that front. Still fun if you can overlook some pretty outrageous things.
- Tintin in America
My recommended entry point
- Cigars of the Pharaoh – Part 1 of 2. First appearance of Rastapopoulos, Thomson and Thompson.
- The Blue Lotus – Part 2 of 2. First appearance of Chang Chong-Chen
- The Broken Ear
- The Black Island
- King Ottokar’s Sceptre – First appearance of Bianca Castafiore.
- The Crab with the Golden Claws – The introduction of Captain Haddock.
- The Shooting Star
- The Secret of the Unicorn – Part 1 of 2. First appearance of Nestor.
- Red Rackham’s Treasure – Part 2 of 2. First appearance of Professor Calculus.
- The Seven Crystal Balls – Part 1 of 2.
- Prisoners of the Sun – Part 2 of 2.
- Land of Black Gold
- Destination Moon – Part 1 of 2.
- Explorers on the Moon – Part 2 of 2.
- The Calculus Affair – First appearance of Jolyon Wagg.
Though not canon but Tintin and the Lake of Sharks is an animated adventure film not written by Hergé, but by the Belgian comics creator Greg, a friend of Hergé. It was later adapted into a comic book with still images from the film used as illustrations, and you can read it here.
- The Red Sea Sharks
- Tintin in Tibet
- The Castafiore Emerald
- Flight 714 to Sydney
- Tintin and the Picaros
- Tintin and Alph-Art – Unfinished book, published posthumously and mostly for the completist.