Tintin in Tibet almost needs no introduction. It’s perhaps the best-known of the Tintin books, and was the author’s favorite of his creations. It’s unique among the canon as a book with very few characters, no villains, and no crime or intrigue; it’s simply the story of Tintin’s steadfast search for his friend Chang, lost in the Himalayas after a plane crash. The book is also interesting because of the emotional thread that runs through the book; Tintin cries, Haddock tries to take his own life in order to save Tintin’s, and people take huge risks left and right, all in the name of searching for someone who it seems could not have survived the crash. But of course he has survived, and he is found, and the reunion between Tintin and Chang, whom we first met so long ago in The Blue Lotus, is one of the most emotional moments in the entire series.

It’s the consensus opinion that this is the finest of Hergé’s work, but it’s been awhile since I’ve actually read it. First of all, the book is graphically quite stunning. The mountain landscapes are beautifully rendered, and the emotional content is pretty amazingly expressed in the drawings, as well. The book features another amazing hallucination scene, as Haddock gets beaten by Calculus with an umbrella while playing life-size chess. Snowy has a few angel and devil on his shoulders scenes, which he doesn’t exactly pass with flying colors, but he does end up helping save Chang, so he’s forgiven. It’s difficult to describe, and much better to read than to read about. The book is an exceptional adventure and a riveting tale of courage and the unbreakable bond of friendship.

And yes, that is a plane flying over our house.