Tintin in the Congo 1975 edition. In the late 20th century, "Tintin in the Congo" became increasingly controversial for both its perceived racist colonial attitude toward the Congolese and for its glorification of big-game hunting. Accordingly, attempts were made in Belgium, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States to either ban the work or restrict its availability to children. Critical reception of the work has been largely negative, with commentators on "The Adventures of Tintin" describing it as one of Hergé's lesser works. Belgian reporter Tintin and his dog Snowy travel to the Belgian Congo, where a cheering crowd of native Congolese greet
Tintin (character) and has prompted a few to devote their careers to his study. General Charles de Gaulle "considered Tintin his only international rival". Hergé biographer Pierre Assouline noted that "Tintin had a prehistory", being influenced by a variety of sources that Hergé had encountered throughout his life. Hergé noted that during his early schooling in the midst of World War I, when German armies occupied Belgium, he had drawn pictures in the margins of his school workbooks of an unnamed young man battling (a slang term for the Germans). He later commented that these drawings depicted a brave and adventurous character