Tintin in America by Georges Remi Herge (Egmont Books)

It's been really great to experience all the Tintin books again through Charlotte's eyes. Deep discussions at ReadItDaddy Towers extol the merits of Tintin as a comic book hero, over some of his compatriots (Charlotte pins her colours to Tintin rather than Asterix, despite actually loving both).

Here in "Tintin in America" by Herge, I had to reacquaint myself with the story. I had the dimmest of dim memories of it being a bit violent and close to the knuckle compared to other Tintin books and indeed it really feels like a complete departure from the sort of adventures you'd expect from everyone's favourite cow-licked hero. But it's fairly lightweight, certainly far less of a mindless experience than something like Ben 10 so we dived in.

Tintin is visiting the land of the free having carved out a successful career as a journalist and all-round mystery solver. Along with Snowy the dog, Tintin finds himself a stranger in a strange land - and in danger in a dangerous city. The mighty Al Capone has heard of Tintin's exploits and worries that he's coming over to act as a one-man gangbuster.

Criminals from all over the country converge to do Capone's bidding - rub out Tintin once and for all, so the mob underworld can rest easy in their beds.

A huge caper, ranging from the urban sprawl of New York to the unspoiled plains of the wild wild west, this is a rootin' tootin' Tintin adventure that is probably more suitable for children older than Charlotte (after all, trying to explain the whole 1920s and 30s gangster scene to a 6 year old without it all sounding a bit horrifying is no mean feat) but it's definitely one of Tintin's greatest adventures to date.


Charlotte's best bit: Charlotte was completely and utterly engrossed in this from page one. The only sound, the odd little giggle here and there every time Snowy barns "ooyahh ooyahh!"

Daddy's Favourite bit: Despite the setting, it's a completely timeless classic that features Tintin in peril at every turn. Utterly sublime!