Tintin/Recap/Tintin in the Congo

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Tintin and Snowy go on a trip to the Belgian Congo to hunt lions. While there, Tintin finds himself the target of a mysterious hired killer who follows him on his travels around the country. And as for actual plot, that's pretty much it. The bulk of the story is about Tintin's Random Encounters with the African wildlife and the childishly naive natives.

Today, Tintin in the Congo is rather infamous for its racist portrayal of the Congolese natives, its pro-colonialist themes and its utter disregard for wildlife wellfare. Hergé himself would later become embarrassed by it and cited it as "bourgeois" and "paternalistic". In recent years, attempts have been made to ban the book entirely. It currently tends to be sold with a warning label informing potential readers about the controversial content.

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Tropes

• Author Tract
• Big Bad: Al Capone. No, really.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: At one point, Tintin is captured by the hired killer, who instead of just shooting Tintin ties him up over the river and leaves him to be eaten by crocodiles. Somewhat justified in that we late find out that the guy had been instructed to make Tintin's death look like an accident, but that doesn't excuse his not sticking around to actually make sure he'd die.
• Comedic Sociopathy: Tintin's slaughter of the Congolese wildlife could be an unintentional example.
• Early Installment Weirdness
• Great White Hunter
• Mighty Whitey
• Misplaced Vegetation: Rubber trees in Africa.
• Never Smile At a Crocodile: Tintin and Snowy are almost eaten by a crocodile at one point. The hired killer who's been out to get Tintin is ultimately eaten by crocodiles.
• Ouroboros: Tintin makes a snake eat its own tail at one point.
• Random Events Plot
• Revealing Coverup: Al Capone suspected Tintin might be wise to his diamond smuggling operation, so he tried to arrange for his assassination. If he had just left Tintin alone, Tintin would never have found out about anything.
• Sequel Hook: Tintin is on his way to America to battle Al Capone. This is the only book in the series that isn't an actual two-parter to end in such a manner.
• Sinister Minister: Muganga the witch doctor.