History Recap / TintinTintinInTibet

* UndyingLoyalty: '''Haddock'''. No matter how stupid and unreal Tintin's quest is, he'll angrily follow him. Tintin gets to admit he's the best friend a man can hope for to Tharkey. Perhaps his most [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome moment is]] when he [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass charges towards]] the 8-9 foot tall Yeti, armed with just his ice axe, despite the fact that the Yeti could've squashed him like a bug. Fortunately, it was scared away by the flash bulb of Tintin's camera.

** A literal version from Haddock, causing the destruction of Tharkey's overcrowded tent in the midst of a storm.
** Haddock initially assumes Tintin's CatapultNightmare is one of these.
** A maid gives one that sounds like someone shouting 'CHANG!', startling our heroes.
** Fortunately another sneeze frightens away the yeti as it's sneaking up on them.

* CreepyGood: Haddock gets momentarily terrified upon waking up in the monastery, as his room turns out to have a couple of grotesque ''krodha'' guardian statues, one of them holding up a dagger over him.

* EmpathyDollShot: Tintin finds a teddy bear near a plane wreck in the mountains.

%%* AFriendInNeed

* OutOfFocus: Thompson and Thomson do not appear in the story.

* PostScriptSeason: According to Hergé, the series concluded with this album and the works that came after were basically this. However; they actually were well received.
%%* ThePowerOfFriendship

%%* TheBusCameBack: Chang

* ChangedMyMindKid: Tharkey leaves Tintin and Haddock in the mountains. Soon after, Tintin and Haddock are in a dire situation, with Haddock ready to CutTheSafetyRope. Tharkey reappears then and save them. He has changed his mind.

* BoringReturnJourney: Most of the album covers an epic journey through the Himalayas. The end of the album has the rescue group making their way back to a secluded monastery in Tibet. The return journey is never depicted.

The story came about in part because Hergé was still searching for Zhang Chongren, having lost contact with him after he returned to China due to World War II and the Chinese Revolution. Producing the album became very difficult for him because he was undergoing a deep personal crisis a the time: His marriage was on the rocks, but as a former boy scout he felt obliged to stay with his first wife while already spending most of his time with the woman who would eventually become his second, a colorist at his studio. The psychoanalyst he consulted even advised him to abandon work on the album, but luckily for the readers he persevered. Many people consider ''Tintin in Tibet'' Hergé's most personal book.

Notable for its portrayal of a true-to-mythology Yeti, with a high pointed skull, brown fur, and unusual big toed-feet. This is in part due to Herge's friendship with none other than Bernard Heuvelmans, the man who pioneered the practice of Cryptozoology (the hunt for legendary animals like the Yeti and sea serpent), who provided information on the Yeti for the book.

* EverythingsBetterWithCows: Captain Haddock tries to step over a sacred cow. The cow gives him an unasked-for ride.

* AbsenteeActor: Thompson and Thomson do not appear in the story.

* GeniusLoci: The monks treat an avalanch as sign of the wrath of the White Goddess (presumably a reference to the real life Tibetan Buddhist goddess Tara).

* CreepyGood: Haddock gets momentarily terrified upon waking up in the monastery, as his room turns out to have a couple of grotesque ''krodha'' guardian statues, one of them holding up a dagger.

* ShoutOut: Tharkey's name is inspired by Ang Tharkay Sherpa, a guide to Maurice Herzog in the first ascent of the Annapurna.

* ManlyTears: Shed by Tintin after learning that the airplane used by Chang had crashed with -- apparently -- no survivors. The fact that Chang is the only person other than Snowy over whom Tintin is shown crying has not gone unnoticed by those engaging in the exegesis of Hergé's works, of course.

* UndyingLoyalty: '''Haddock'''. No matter how stupid and unreal Tintin's quest is, he'll angrily follow him. Tintin gets to admit he's the best friend a man can hope for to Tharkey.
** Perhaps his most [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome moment is]] when he [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass charges towards]] the 8-9 foot tall Yeti, armed with just his ice axe, despite the fact that the Yeti could've squashed him like a bug. Fortunately, it was scared away by the flash bulb of Tintin's camera.

Days later, Tintin, Haddock and Tharkey awaken in the monastery and receive an audience with the monks. After Tintin tells the Grand Abbot why they are there, the Abbot tells him to abandon his quest and return to his country. However, Blessed Lightning has another vision, through which Tintin learns that Chang is still alive inside a mountain cave, but that the "migou", or yeti, is also there. Haddock doesn't believe the vision is genuine, but Tintin, after being given directions by the Abbot, travels to Charabang, a small village near the Horn of the Yak, the mountain mentioned by Blessed Lightning. Haddock initially refuses to follow Tintin anymore, but once again changes his mind and pursues him to Charabang. The two of them and Snowy head to the Horn of the Yak on the final lap of their journey.

* PostScriptSeason: According to Hergé, the series concluded with this album and the works afterwords were basically this. However; they actually were well received.