Hergé may not have been an intellectual (although he was undoubtedly bright, according to biographers), but within his work is a subtle portrayal of objects that serves as a short and scintillating practical philosophy of things. Indeed, a true irony of the object is created, whereby a highly original dialogue is established between technology and individual (Robert, 2018a). Here, technology becomes far more than a tool to be utilized. No longer does the individual simply use technology. The technology itself rebels, attacks, defends itself, prevaricates of its own accord; it seems to be imbued with some sort of malign intent. This is something that sociologists exploring the use of technology have never truly tackled; their concern is to prove that the individual can regain control of technology. In Hergé’s work, instead, the individual is the pawn in the game, as well as the player. He or she is a victim, though indirectly, of this irony of the object, its rebellion, in a literal feedback that often catches the individual off-guard (catches him or her out, strictly speaking), and this is where the logic of the joke lies. However, stepping back slightly from the joke itself, we notice how sharply the behavior of objects is scrutinized. This behavior is shown through the objects’ mise-en-scène.
The use of technological, transport, and information logistics (Robert 2019a, 2019b) as the very crux of the narrative development can be seen throughout the Tintin comics. Woven together, these logistics are not only a pretext (which they are quite literally) but an essential vehicle for plot progression…