Tintin will mark his 90th birthday this year with a return to controversy as his Belgian creator’s heirs release a new edition of “Tintin in the Congo”, a work from 1930 that draws accusations of racism.
Brussels-based comic book artist Barly Baruti, Said that he felt that bringing out a new edition of the work at a time when nationalist and racist groups appear to be on the rise in Europe was questionable: “We really ask ourselves if it is the right moment,”.
A Belgian court reject an attempt by Congolese campaigners a decade ago to have the book banned. The judges said it reflected the colonial attitudes of its time and there was no evidence that Herge — who died in 1983 aged 75 — had held racist views.