A Suit Against Tintin (and Snowy)

Bienvenu Mbuto Mondondo filed a lawsuit in Belgium two years ago, seeking symbolic damages of one euro from Tintin's publishers as well as the removal of Tintin in the Congo from the market. But his lawyer says their lawsuit has been ignored out of a political motivation since Tintin is a powerful symbol in Belgium. The book contains depictions of Africans that many consider offensive and has been banned elsewhere. Now the lawyer is getting ready to file suit in France and said he's ready to go "all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary." Tintin's publisher has called the controversy "silly," saying that the book must be seen in historical context.

Read original story in The Daily Telegraph | Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009