This is the “canonical” version of the Tintin adventure “Land of Black Gold”, in which the brave young reporter and his somewhat goofier friends find themselves in the middle of a struggle for control over Mideast oil. The plot is set in the fictional Arab emirate of Khemed, where the emir is threatened by rebels on the payroll of a competing oil company. Sabotage of the world's oil supplies in the midst of rising tensions between the great powers give the story a realistic feel…or could have, if it hadn't been for all the confusing and slapstick-type elements.
In addition to all the usual annoying characters, Hergé introduces the spoiled
and naughty little child Abdullah, the emir's son, whose physical countenance
is based on a photo of a four-year old King Faisal II of Iraq! Abdullah pretty
much destroys the whole story, unless the “humor” aspect is what you mostly
cherish of “The Adventures of Tintin”. A funny detail lost in translation is
that the names of the Arab characters are parodies of the Belgian working class
dialect Marols. Had no idea, promise.
Apparently, “The Land of Black Gold” exists in several different versions, one
of which is set in British Palestine and features the Irgun as the main
protagonist! In 1971, Hergé decided (perhaps wisely?) to depoliticize the
story, placing it in the non-existent Khemed Emirate instead.
Not a good story, despite the colorful transformation of the Thompson Twins
into something closely resembling early 70's rock stars, and I will therefore
only give it two stars.
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