The importance of Tintin to the medium of comics can’t be overstated. Tintin anticipated creator-ownership, lengthier serial publications, and the globalization of comics, laying the groundwork for comics like American Flagg, Martha Washington, Scott Pilgrim, and even Astro Boy. The adventurous character has become a beloved icon.
That’s part of what makes Tintin in Thailand, a satirical piece featuring the title character and his gang of friends discovering the wonders of Asia’s most famous Red Light District, and Breaking Free, the tale of Tintin’s later days as an anarchist, so delightful. Much as Frank Miller reinvented Batman for a modern age, Alan Moore retooled the Charlton Comics characters for Watchmen, and Grant Morrison revamped large swaths of the DC universe, these amateur creators seek to reimagine the cast of Tintin for modern readers. Alan Moore they ain’t–but they’re fun to read nonetheless. It’s remix culture at its finest.
