Tintin has long been a beloved figure among readers of graphic narratives, whether children or adults. TINTIN: THE COMPLETE COMPANION by Michael Farr (John Murray) is a comprehensive guide to the adventures of the boy reporter and his faithful dog Snowy, including visits to the moon and plots in South America and the Balkans. It shows the comic books’ evolution over the years, as they changed from black-and-white to colour, as new characters (such as Captain Haddock, who made a relatively late appearance) were introduced, and as Tintin became more cosmopolitan and less specifically Belgian. Includes much material on author Hergé’s pictorial sources. Fascinating.
The team authoring and drawing Madam & Eve has shrunk from a trio to a duo, but their take on South African life as seen through the eyes of their characters remains the same. CROUCHING MADAM, HIDDEN MAID by Stephen Francis and Rico (Rapid Phase) is the new hilarious collection of what goes on in the Anderson household — and outside it.
Bill Watterson‘s sublime creations Calvin and Hobbes (being an over-imaginative child and a toy tiger with powers of his own) ran as comic strips for 10 years, and then came to an end — Watterson has never whored himself. Sad though we may be to see the last of such hilarious figures, we can look back with joy upon CALVIN AND HOBBES: SUNDAY PAGES 1985-1995 (Andrews McMeel), a compendium of the best of Watterson’s bigger, colour cartoons for Sunday papers. If you’ve never read Calvin and Hobbes before, an experience of intense delight and uncontrollable laughter awaits you. And when you have read it, go out and buy all the rest of the Calvin and Hobbes books.
So how has it been for you? Cartoonist Zapiro reminds us of the highs and lows — largely the lows — of the past 12 months in his annual cartoon collection, THE ANC WENT IN 4X4 (David Philip). Starting with the health minister’s ascent to Planet Whacko and ending with the destruction of the World Trade Centre, we see the Treatment Action Campaign’s Zackie Achmat carving the mark of Zorro on pharmaceutical companies; the South African president and his foreign minister serenely reading the Sunday papers while next door President Robert Mugabe is beating up farmers, the media, the judiciary — but “good neighbours don’t make a fuss”; there’s the arms deal, Steve Tshwete and his amazing plots, crime, Heath, the economy …. revisit the year. Marvel at the fact that we’re still here.