Sunday, June 29, 2025

Stratoship H.22 (1) : Mr Pump's legacy

Herge's Tintin is world famous of course, and rightly so, but Herge drew other comic strips too including the adventures of Jo, Zette and Jocko. Jo and Zette are two children who get into adventures with their pet chimp Jocko, though the adventures are usually facilitated by their engineer Father.

In this adventure Jo, Zette and Jocko end up flying an advanced new aeroplane that is trying to win a prize by crossing the Atlantic in the fastest time yet.

The comic strip is truly beautifully drawn, and wonderfully reproduced here with some of the cleanest lines i've ever seen in a ligne claire strip. It is a true period piece set in the 1930s with a heavy dose of art deco, especially in the aeroplane, the Stratoship H.22.

There is a good plot too with other powers trying to sabotage the record attempt. How the children manage to end up flying the plane is a bit contrived maybe but it nicely sets up part 2 of the story as they fly off lost...

The only criticism i have is that Jocko is a bit annoying though does provide some needed comic relief at times. It's not Tintin but it is an excellent comic adventure in its own right.

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