Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.

                In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that of the movies and books that Oliver discusses in this book, I have not read the Twilight series, Insurgent Series, The Hunger Games, or seen the movie Hanna in its entirety.  I have read 50 Shades of Grey (I wish I hadn’t) and part of the Hunger Games. 

                To say this is an interesting book would be wrong.  It is a rather unique look at a raising cultural trend.  You may end up disagreeing with Oliver but at the very least, she will make you think.

                Oliver’s focus is on the prevalence of young girls in movies who at first glance seem to kick ass.  While much of the movies she deals with were books first, Oliver’s discussion is primary focused on the film versions of the various series.  This, on one level, is understandable because the film undoubtedly reaches a wider audience, but also because it is the creative output of more than one person.  Oliver contends that while the more active “princess” character is good, there is something off about the vast numbers of girls who get beaten and almost raped, usually beaten at one point by the boy she loves.  Oliver’s analysis of this beating the girl up is most powerful when she discusses the Kick-Ass series. In these sections, Oliver also considers the camera angles and views. 

                The connection between the hunting girls and campus date rape is not as quite strong as it could be.  The strongest point is the link is between 50 Shades and campus date rape, a connection that Oliver makes.  She always draws connections to the old Sleeping Beauty stories (where the prince rapes Sleeping Beauty) as well.  The connection to Bella, Katniss, and Tris is less clear, though not due to Oliver’s writing.  The hunter as hunted is good, but she seems to be on surer ground when she deals with the boy being controlled and forced to attack the heroine.   The connections she makes between such scenes and campus/date rape is rather powerful as is the use of social media in the various movies and how it connects to interactions with social media in the real world.

                Also of interest is when Oliver compares the hunting girls of today to the animal loving girls of the movies.  It is a valid point, this switch to hunting animals and no longer protector of animals.  These passages in particular raise several questions – is it identifying the girls more closely with the male world, is it a symbol of strength or something else?  This leads into a discussion about Artemis, the first girl with a bow, and what she symbolized.

                I do wish that Oliver had considered more of the role of other women in the stories.  Isn’t it just as damaging and dangerous to have only the heroine be the only capable female in the story.  This trend, sadly, is seen in more than young adult kick ass heroines.  At the very least, however, she does get the reader to think about the portrayal of girls as action heroes, and whether so much blood must be shed by them.

This is certainly not one of Herge's best works, in fact it is probably what most people think is the most offensive, which is why it was not translated into English until 1991. Okay, when I was a kid there was a German version available at the local library, and I did attempt to read it, however the problem was that I couldn't speak, let alone read, German. So technically this is the first time that I have actually read this album. Further, even if we ignore the racist references to the Africans (and there are quite a few of them) it is quite clear that this one of Herge's earliest works (and he did attempt to suppress it).

The story itself is quite basic, namely Tintin travels to Africa to explore and take some wildlife photographs. On his way there he encounters a stowaway who seems to follow him everywhere, and once he has dealt with him, he then stumbles upon a diamond cartel headed up by Al Capone. Once he busts this cartel he then heads off to America to deal with Capone, and as such the story then shifts over the Tintin in America.

The African natives are portrayed really badly in this album. They are painted as being ignorant, stupid, and superstitious. Further they are painted as falling down and worshipping white people. It is as if white man brings the good things to this godforsaken and barbaric land. Tintin is a hero and is very well known, to the point that people are falling over him with praise and worship. This is not something as evident in the later albums. Obviously Herge began to change his tact when it came to Cigars of the Pharaoh, and while the Tintin in America is not as intense as this, it is still portrayed in a similar way. Another difference is that Herge edited out all of the bad references to Negroes in Tintin in America, however it is so prevalent here that it is clearly not possible to do the same thing.

The other criticism that comes up in this album is the treatment of animals, and it is not pretty. While Herge is being comical with his albums, it seems that animals are treated really badly in this particular one. Tintin goes on an elephant hunt and returns with the tusks. These days this is a very big no, no, but that is a recent development especially as it is becoming ever more clear that certain animals are in danger of becoming extinct (however Elephants are work horses in numerous Asian countries, so they are unlikely to suffer the same fate as their African cousins). While the event with the Boa Constrictor is rather amusing, having Snowy rip through its gut, and then trick the snake into eating itself is getting to the point of ludicrous.

I think I might finish off saying a few things about the diamond trade. It is a very lucrative business but not necessarily illegal. Technically it is not illegal to mine with government permission, and it is not illegal to import or stockpile them. Well, it is if you are not members of the cartels, but as long as you don't rock the boat they don't care. The belief is that there are actually quite a lot of diamonds on Earth, more than actually justifies the price we pay for them. Some people I have spoken to suggest that if diamonds were not as expensive as they are then nobody would attach the same value to them, while others persist that they would. I probably can't say that they are as common as quartz (unlikely) but they are not as rare as they are made out to be.

It is believed that the cartels mine the diamonds and then move them to Europe and America where they are stockpiled and locked up. Those that will be sold are cut and put on display, while the rest are locked up in secret warehouses. This issue is dealt with in a film called Blood Diamond. It is not that it is illegal to mine them, or take them out of Africa, but it is the treatment of the miners, the poor pay and working conditions, and the fact that the government does not get a kickback for the production of these diamonds. Any kickback received generally goes into the pockets of the officials. African friends have said that bribery is rife and that if you want things done then you have to grease somebody's palm.

In a way I am still wondering how it is that these diamond smugglers were actually doing anything wrong, per se, but it was probably enough for Herge to write about it. While this story is very early Herge, and very, very politically incorrect (by our standards that is), there is still an indication of Herge's later brilliance and political commentary in this album to make us notice. It is a shame though that despite the glimpse of Herge's later brilliance, he had to undermine his credibility with such poor treatment of the African Negro. At least he realised his mistake later on and worked to prevent it from being published, at least in English. Still, it existed, and it was only a matter of time before somebody pulled it out of the bottom draw and released it to the English speaking world.