Tintin - Comics for children or adults?

Do you think comics are a childrens or adults genre/media?

Comics, in general, have been around for a long time. In it’s earliest form, comics were printed in newspapers as short stories and acted as an alternative reading to the news. Moving forward, the popularity of comics grew and this led to comics being able to be published as a stand alone feature in which longer stories could be told to it’s readers.

It is important to note that, as mentioned, comics were originally made for newspapers which suggest that they were intended to be read by adults who were interested in keeping up with the latest news. But as time passed, more and more comics were created and were aimed at a younger audience. This is highlighted by the famous comic, Tintin. Farr (1991) states that Herge, creator of Tintin, was originally tasked to create illustrations that would be released weekly that would help engage younger readers or children. However, as Tintin stories futher developed and started to discuss real life problems, the reading audience changed and started to interest adults as well. Furthermore, Farr (1991) discusses that every individual that reads a comic will have a different interpetation of the story and be able to relate or apply it to their own life. This can be portrayed by the different views that a child and an adult may have about the comic, ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus’ (2005). A child may see this as a grand adventure story filled with beautiful colors and characters that has Tintin travelling from India to China but an adult could view this as an insight of what China was like under Japanese occupation and the other subtle political messages that were hinted upon throughout. 

In summation, I believe that comics can be enjoyed equally by both children and adults. Comics can present different ideas and appeal to both sets of audiences simultaneously almost without effort. In the case of Tintin, children are able to go on an adventure and see the beautiful sights of the world whereas an adult will be given more insight into important historical events.     

Reference List:

Farr, Michael. (1991). Introduction. In Tintin: the complete companion (pp.8-9). London: John Murray.

Hergé. (2005; 1935). The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Egmont.