"The Broken Ear" was a commercial success and was published in book form shortly after its conclusion. Hergé continued "The Adventures of Tintin" with "The Black Island", while the series itself became a defining part of the Franco-Belgian comics tradition. In 1943, "The Broken Ear" was coloured and reformatted for republication by Casterman. Commentators have praised the book for showcasing Hergé's then-newfound commitment to a clear narrative structure and strives for historical and technical accuracy, but believe that its use of humour comparable to earlier "Adventures" renders it inferior to the previous volume, "The Blue Lotus". "The Broken Ear" introduces the recurring character General Alcazar, and was the first to include fictional countries. The story was adapted for both the 1956 Belvision animation, "Hergé's Adventures of Tintin", and for the 1991 Ellipse/Nelvana animated series "The Adventures of Tintin".