NOTE: The translated French version of my analysis is a little bit longer, I'll try to update this version when I have the time or post the full French version when I'm finished. Again, comments and feedback are much appreciated!
Tintin In The land of the Soviets is seen by many people to being a bit crude and primitive by Herge's standards. Some dismiss it entirely as being anti-communist propaganda for kids, not comparable to Herge's later work in the Series. While the comic does mark early days for Herge, I think it can still be sat next to the other Tintin album's without standing out, because it's still undeniably Tintin. For example a lot of Herge's drawing techniques are still apparent, like his famous 'ligne claire' style. 'Ligne claire' (or clear line in English) is a drawing technique applied by Herge and later several other artists of his time like french artist Ted Benoit and Joost Swarte, who invented the name 'ligne claire' in 1977 when he was visiting a Tintin exposition in Rotterdam (this was known as the 'ligne claire' movement). Ligne claire characteristic's are often marked by the use of clear, strong lines of uniform importance that never change or falter in quality throughout the comic. This is largely done because Herge was a perfectionist, often putting extreme care and effort into every one of his panels. Because Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets isn't in colour, the thick black lines are immediately apparent and nothing is done 'sketchy' at all. For example look at this extract from page 29:
English stereotypes aside, the black and white colour palette really suits Herge's style, but another distinct 'ligne claire' trademark, the use of vivid, vibrant colours is of course absent from this work. Notice how the thickness of the black lines are always the same, whether you're looking at the clothing, the backgrounds ect.... And another noticeable trait of the 'ligne clair' style is the lack of lighting or shadows on ANYTHING. So because it's black and white we don't even know what time of day it is. You could also say that the comic lacks atmosphere because of this, and just why Herge never used shadows or lighting effects in his work in unknown to me. It wasn't because Herge was lacking in the drawing department, as another aspect of his style is the detailed, realistic backgrounds set against the cartoon-y looking characters. Everything looks like it could be set in the real world but the characters designs are exaggerated enough to give it that much needed comic book feel. Now notice anything else that stays the same in Herge's style? The panels on each page are all drawn with the same simple black stroke, and nothing steps out of the allotted zone which gives the comic a one dimensional 'flat' feel. So while Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets style is a bit more loose and rough when compared to the other Tintin comic books, it's still recognisably Tintin in it's design, structure and sense of humour, if a bit crude at times. Remember, this was supposed to be anti-communist propaganda!
Very good Tim, full of interesting facts, i do think he drew this way, so people could relate to the picture and get the humour.
ReplyDeleteHi Tim, Andrew here - just got the message from Barbie that you want some comments, and I'm guessing this is the piece of work in question? Anyway, I'll comment and hopefully that'll be useful...
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have two main points:
Ligne clair is flat and uninformative, and
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (note how I’ve used capital letters, by the way) is a piece of propaganda, but still has the characteristics of Tintn.
Is that an accurate summary?
I’d say these are both perfectly good points, and you probably need to be a bit more assertive about the way you make them. The problem is that your style moves between ‘third person’ objectivity, and ‘first person’ chattiness. I would try to be a bit less conversational and try to back up your points with evidence. So, for example, “Some dismiss it entirely as being anti-communist propaganda for kids” Who? It would be good to quote someone here. And you could improve this:
“why Herge never used shadows or lighting effects in his work in unknown to me. It wasn't because Herge was lacking in the drawing department, as another aspect of his style is the detailed, realistic backgrounds set against the cartoon-y looking characters”
by saying, for example, “why Herge never used shadows or lighting effects in his work is unclear. There is no lack of realism and detail in the backgrounds in his work, despite the cartoon characters.” Do you see how that gives your ‘voice’ more authority, while not changing the fundamental point you are making? Try reproducing that approach in other sentences.
By the way, I wonder if ‘ligne clair’ and the absence of shadows, was anything to do with the print medium at that time? I imagine reproduction on poor quality paper meant that any image that was too cluttered or fuzzy would have lost a lot detail. Just a thought – I might be wrong about that.
One other thing, watch your use of and apostrophes. “Ligne claire characteristic's” should be Ligne clair’s characteristics. “the characters designs” should be ‘the characters’ designs.’
Anyway, hope that’s useful. The point that the lines are all the same thckness is very interesting, and you could perhaps say that it all adds to the stylistic impact, rather than just making it ‘crude’. (Is that what you really think?