From your Tutor, Brendan Weir.   Example Blog answer/response.

How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults?

Tintin is a timeless graphic novel that according to the author Hergé "appeals to all young people aged seven to seventy-seven" (Farr, 1991). This adult appeal could be attributed to the main characters travels to all corners of the globe allowing people from all ages and cultures to gain a sense of familiarity when reading one of Tintins adventures. Farr justifies this adult appeal through Hergé's use of current political events throughout the characters adventures. By including these events, Hergé adds an adult perspective.  He is also able to include a subtle undertone of criticism towards various world events that an adult audience will notice and relate to.

As Farr says in Tintin the complete companion "the adult will additionally find political satire, parody and puns throughout" (Farr, 1991).  Farr also believes that this use of topical events is one of the reasons for Tintin's universal age appeal and also for its world wide success.

Tintin the Blue Lotus is a great example of Hergé's use of a world stage.  In this comic, Tintin's escapades take him to shanghai (Hergé, 1935).  Herge's very adult perspective on politics is also evident in this comic. The antagonist in the story uses explosives to blow up a rail road then blames it on someone else. This is a direct reference to a real life event. For children reading the story it just adds to the mystery that Tintin must solve. For the adult reader, however, Hergé has used this to convey the Mukden Incident where Japanese military bombed a railroad then blamed Chinese rebels as a pretence for invasion (Duss & Hall 1988).

In his article, Farr also points that not only are the stories topical but they included a lot of very accurate detail.  Hergé had been gathering such a large archive of articles and pictures, which he used as points of reference for the Tintin comics, it meant that they were accurate which in turn created more appeal to an adult audience.

So, it is Hergé's use of current events, accurate detail and political commentary throughout Tintin's adventures that Farr believes justifies how Hergé has managed to create a character with a repertoire of adventures that appeal to all age's and which will survive the ages.

References

Hergé, 1935). The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Methuen.

Farr, M. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London. John murray

Duus, P., & Hall, J. W. (1988). The Cambridge history of Japan. Cambridge UK.: Cambridge Univ. Press.