What Is The Reading Order For The Adventures Of Tintin?

I tend to give two quick routes depending on what mood I’m in. For a thorough, almost museum-like experience I recommend reading the adventures in the order they were published. That starts with 'Tintin in the Land of the Soviets', then 'Tintin in the Congo', 'Tintin in America', and continues through the middle-era gems like 'The Blue Lotus' and 'Cigars of the Pharaoh' into the later classics such as 'The Calculus Affair' and 'Tintin in Tibet'. Publication order is great because you can see Hergé refine his craft; it feels like watching an artist grow.

If you want a more bite-sized, binge-friendly route, read them by strong pairings and arcs: the mystery duo of 'The Secret of the Unicorn' and 'Red Rackham's Treasure', the archaeological/pseudo-myth duology 'The Seven Crystal Balls' into 'Prisoners of the Sun', and the lunar two-parter 'Destination Moon' and 'Explorers on the Moon'. Also, note that there are about two dozen completed albums and the fragmentary 'Tintin and Alph-Art' was left unfinished. For modern readers I usually suggest the recolored editions and a short essay or foreword about colonial-era attitudes before tackling 'Tintin in the Congo' — it helps keep the reading fun and thoughtful.

If you've got a shelf craving classic comics and want to follow Tintin the way Hergé intended, I usually tell people to read in publication order. That means starting with 'Tintin in the Land of the Soviets', then moving through early adventures like 'Tintin in the Congo' and 'Tintin in America', and following all the way to the later masterpieces. Publication order shows Hergé's evolution — you can literally see his drawing style, pacing, and research getting sharper over the decades. It also lets you appreciate how recurring characters and running jokes develop organically.

A few practical tips from my own rereads: look for the modern color editions where available, because Hergé redrew and recolored some early albums (for example, later versions of 'The Black Island' and 'The Crab with the Golden Claws'), and those editions feel more consistent with the rest of the series. Read the two-parters together — 'The Seven Crystal Balls' plus 'Prisoners of the Sun', and 'The Secret of the Unicorn' plus 'Red Rackham's Treasure' — they’re best enjoyed back-to-back. Also be prepared to approach 'Tintin in the Congo' with historical context; it's a product of its time and benefits from a little modern commentary or an introduction.

If you prefer a different path, you can pick out the highlights by theme — the exotic mysteries, the political thrillers, or the sci-fi duology 'Destination Moon'/'Explorers on the Moon'. Personally, starting from the beginning and going straight through gave me the biggest payoff: Hergé’s storytelling gradually becomes astonishingly precise, and the recurring cast grows into a family I wanted to revisit, page after page.

When I just want to be practical I tell friends: read in publication order — it’s the simplest and most rewarding route. Start with 'Tintin in the Land of the Soviets' and carry on through the classic timeline so you can watch Hergé evolve from his early black-and-white pages into the lush, researched color albums of later decades. Group the true two-part stories together — especially 'The Seven Crystal Balls' + 'Prisoners of the Sun', 'The Secret of the Unicorn' + 'Red Rackham's Treasure', and the moon pair 'Destination Moon' + 'Explorers on the Moon' — they work best as binges.

One more tip from my own bookshelf: pick editions with Hergé’s later redrawings when you can, because they smooth out early inconsistencies; and if you hit 'Tintin in the Congo', read it with some historical background so you can enjoy the art without missing the bigger context. There's also the unfinished 'Tintin and Alph-Art' which is interesting as a coda but not a full stop.