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{{short description|Comic album by Belgian cartoonist Hergé}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2012}}▼
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}▼
{{good article}}
▲{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox graphic novel
|title=Land of Black Gold
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|date={{plainlist|
*1950
*
|series=''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]''
|creator=[[Hergé]]
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}}
'''''Land of Black Gold''''' ({{lang-fr|link=no|'''Tintin au pays de l'or noir'''}}) is the fifteenth volume of ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist [[Hergé]]. The story was commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper {{lang|fr|[[Le Vingtième Siècle]]}} for its children's supplement {{lang|fr|[[Le Petit Vingtième]]}}, in which it was initially serialised from September 1939 until the [[German invasion of Belgium (1940)|German invasion of Belgium]] in May 1940, at which the newspaper was shut down and the story interrupted. After eight years, Hergé returned to ''Land of Black Gold'', completing its serialisation in Belgium's ''[[Tintin (magazine)|Tintin]]'' magazine from September 1948 to February 1950, after which it was published in a collected volume by [[Casterman]] in 1950. Set on the eve of a European war, the plot revolves around the attempts of young Belgian reporter [[Tintin (character)|Tintin]] to uncover a militant group responsible for sabotaging oil supplies in the Middle East.
At the request of Hergé's British publisher, [[Methuen Publishing|Methuen]], in 1971 he made a range of alterations to the ''Land of Black Gold'', transferring the setting from the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]] to the fictional state of [[Khemed]]. As with the revised edition of ''[[The Black Island]]'', most of the changes to this third version of the volume were carried out by Hergé's assistant, [[Bob de Moor]]. Hergé followed ''Land of Black Gold'' with ''[[Destination Moon (comics)|Destination Moon]]'', while ''The Adventures of Tintin'' itself became a defining part of the [[Franco-Belgian comics|Franco-Belgian comics tradition]]. Critical approaches to the story have been mixed, with differing opinions expressed as to the competing merits of the volume's three versions. The story was adapted for the 1991 animated series ''[[The Adventures of Tintin (TV series)|The Adventures of Tintin]]'' by [[Ellipse Programmé|Ellipse]] and [[Nelvana]].
==
Across Europe, car engines are spontaneously exploding; this coincides with the spectre of a potential war throughout the continent, resulting in [[Captain Haddock]] being [[Mobilization|mobilised]] into the navy. Although detectives [[Thomson and Thompson]] initially suspect that the oil crisis is a
Upon arrival, Tintin and the detectives are
While on Müller's trail,
==History==
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The idea of European nations rivaling each other for oil supplies was inspired by a February 1934 issue of ''Le Crapouillot'' magazine.{{sfn|Farr|2001|pp=130, 132}}
The fictional Arabic names that Hergé integrated into the story were parodies based on the [[Marollien]] dialect of Brussels; "Wadesdah" translated as "what is that?",{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=94|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=130}} "Bab El Ehr" was Marollien for chatterbox,{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=94|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=130}} Kalish Ezab derived from the Marollien term for [[
''"[[Boum
In creating ''Land of Black Gold'', Hergé adopted many elements from a previously aborted idea about militants blowing up prominent buildings in Europe; rather than European buildings, this story would involve industrial sabotage.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=90}}
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===Second version: 1948–49===
By the late 1940s, after the end of the Second World War, Hergé was continuing to produce new instalments of ''The Adventures of Tintin'' for the Belgian magazine ''[[Tintin (magazine)|Tintin]]'', of which he was the artistic director. After completing serialisation of ''[[Prisoners of the Sun]]'' in April
Hergé was planning on creating a story in which Tintin travels to the moon, but his wife Germaine and close friend Marcel Dehaye both advised him to revive ''Land of Black Gold'' instead, recognising that it would entail less work and thus cause him less stress.{{Sfn|Goddin|2009|p=189}} Thus, ''Land of Black Gold'' was revived after an eight-year hiatus.{{sfnm|1a1=Peeters|1y=1989|1p=86|2a1=Assouline|2y=2009|2p=137}} In a letter to Germaine, he stated that "I don't like to restart things that are already finished, or to make repairs. ''Black Gold'' was a repair, and I abandoned it
The story began serialisation in ''Tintin'' magazine from 16 September 1948, before beginning its serialisation in the French edition of the magazine from 28 October
On 4 August 1949, the story was suspended part way through its serialisation as Hergé left Belgium for a holiday near
===Third version: 1971===
After Hergé had redrawn ''[[The Black Island]]'' for publication in the United Kingdom, his British publishers at that time, [[Methuen Publishing|Methuen]], suggested that alterations be made to ''Land of Black Gold'' before releasing it into the UK market; in compliance with their requests,
In the original versions, Tintin arrived at [[Haifa]] in the [[Mandatory Palestine|British
==Critical analysis==
[[File:Benoit Peeters 20100329 Salon du livre de Paris 3.jpg|thumb|right|Hergé biographer [[Benoît Peeters]] ''(pictured, 2010)'' felt that ''Land of Black Gold'' came across as being "rebaked".{{sfn|Peeters|2012|p=86}}]]
Hergé biographer [[Benoît Peeters]] stated that "no book has gone through more ups and downs" than ''Land of Black Gold'',{{sfn|Peeters|1989|p=85}} adding that it carries a "mood of foreboding" caused by the impending war in the story.{{sfn|Peeters|1989|p=86}} He also felt that the introduction of the Emir and [[Abdullah (Tintin)|Abdullah]] was "the most striking innovation in this story",{{sfn|Peeters|1989|p=91}} and elsewhere declared that its earlier versions contained "not the slightest trace of anti-Semitism", despite allegations that a number of other ''Adventures'' featuring Jewish characters exhibited anti-Semitic stereotypes.{{sfn|Peeters|2012|p=209}}
[[Jean-Marc Lofficier]] and Randy Lofficier believed that ''Land of Black Gold'' suffered from having been "rebaked", being "pulled between the 'old' pre-war Tintin and the more modern one
[[Michael Farr]] believed that ''Land of Black Gold'' illustrated how "shelved material could be usefully resuscitated
Farr felt that in this story, the Thom(p)sons "have a splendid adventure" with the various scenarios that they get into.{{sfn|Farr|2001|p=133}}
Harry Thompson described ''Land of Black Gold'' as a "patchwork effort", believing that the final result owed little to the "story's original satirical thrust".{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=91}} He praised Khemed as Hergé's "most successful imaginary country", something that he attributed to its "geographic accuracy" and to the "realistic parody" of Arabic names.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=94}} However, he criticised the way in which Haddock had been integrated into the story, deeming this to be "the least satisfying aspect" of it.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|pp=54–55}} Believing that it offered a "fine swansong" for the decline of the Thom(p)sons as central characters in the series,{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=96}} ultimately Thompson felt that ''Land of Black Gold'' retained a "somewhat fragmentary air".{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=95}} Differing from Thompson's assessment, Hergé biographer [[Pierre Assouline]] felt that the inclusion of Haddock into the story was successful, "precisely because [it] defied all logic".{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=138}}
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==Adaptations==
In 1991, a collaboration between the French studio [[Ellipse Programme|Ellipse]] and the Canadian animation company [[Nelvana]] adapted 21 of the stories into a series of episodes, each 42 minutes long. ''Land of Black Gold'' was the thirteenth episode of ''[[The Adventures of Tintin (TV series)|The Adventures of Tintin]]'' to be produced. Directed by Stéphane Bernasconi, the series has been praised for being "generally faithful", with compositions having been actually directly taken from the panels in the original album.{{sfn|Lofficier|Lofficier|2002|p=90}}
== See also ==
* [[The Adventures of Tintin publication history|''The Adventures of Tintin'' publication history]]
==References==
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===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |title=The Metamorphoses of Tintin, or Tintin for Adults |last=Apostolidès |first=Jean-Marie |
* {{cite book |title=Hergé, the Man Who Created Tintin |last=Assouline |first=Pierre |
* {{cite book |title=Tintin: The Complete Companion |last=Farr |first=Michael |
* {{cite book |title=The Art of Hergé, Inventor of Tintin: Volume 2: 1937-1949 |last=Goddin |first=Philippe |
*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|Historia|2012}}|editor1-first=Franz-Olivier|editor1-last=Giezbert|title=Les Personnages de Tintin dans l'Histoire: les Événements qui ont inspiré l'Œuvre de Hergé|volume=II|year=2012|publisher=Historia}}
* {{cite book |title=Land of Black Gold |last=Hergé |
* {{cite book |title=The Pocket Essential Tintin |last1=Lofficier |first1=Jean-Marc |last2=Lofficier |first2=Randy |
* {{cite book |title=Tintin and the Secret of Literature |last=McCarthy |first=Tom |
* {{cite book |title=Tintin and the World of Hergé |last=Peeters |first=Benoît |
* {{cite book |title=Hergé: Son of Tintin |last=Peeters |first=Benoît |
* {{cite book |title=Tintin: Hergé and his Creation |last=Thompson |first=Harry |
{{refend}}
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[[Category:1950 graphic novels]]
[[Category:1972 graphic novels]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Comics set in deserts]]
[[Category:Comics set in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Works originally published in Le Petit Vingtième]]▼
[[Category:Literature first published in serial form]]
[[Category:Methuen Publishing books]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Works originally published in Le Petit Vingtième]]
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