This was amongst my favourites as a kid, and remains a favourite even now, all these years later.
The combination of flawless and fantastically evocative art with a really good story, it’s a winner. Not only is the drawing amongst Hergé’s very best, but also the colouring is fabulous; the palettes used are phenomenal: the campfire meal in the evening above the snowline, the muted tones of the ice-cave, or during the snowstorm.
Haddock’s on top curmudgeonly form, at his peak as the irascible sidekick, grouchy yet dependable. Tharkey’s a strong character as well, and by this stage Herge’s nuanced and sympathetic depictions of various ethnic types have come a long, long way from his In The Congo days.
The narrative threads of Tintin’s attachment to Chang and the role of the yeti, whilst non-naturalistic are great storytelling ploys, rich in emotional power. Having learned as an adult of how Herge’s real-life ‘Chang’ relationship didn’t measure up to this dreamlike idealisation. Well, like the book itself, whilst undoubtedly sentimental, there’s something very poignant about it all.
I like all the Tintin stories a lot, but there are a few I really love, and this is one of them, and possibly my very favourite. It’s beautiful in so many enchanting ways.