The Adventures of Tintin (French:Les Aventures de Tintin;[lez‿avɑ̃tyʁdətɛ̃tɛ̃]) is a series of 24comic albums created byBelgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen nameHergé. The series was one of the most popularEuropean comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a century after Hergé's birth in 1907,[1]Tintin had been published in more than 70 languages with sales of more than 200 million copies,[2] and had been adapted for radio, television, theatre, and film.
The series first appeared in French on 10 January 1929 inLe Petit Vingtième (The Little Twentieth), a youth supplement to the Belgian newspaperLe Vingtième Siècle (The Twentieth Century). The success of the series led toserialised strips published in Belgium's leading newspaperLe Soir (The Evening) and spun into a successfulTintin magazine. In 1950, Hergé createdStudios Hergé, which produced the canonical versions of tenTintin albums. Following Hergé's death in 1983, the final instalment of the series,Tintin and Alph-Art, was released posthumously.
The series is set during a largely realistic[3] 20th century. Its protagonist isTintin, a courageous young Belgian reporter and adventurer aided by his faithful dogSnowy (Milou in the original French edition). Other allies include the brash and cynicalCaptain Haddock, the intelligent but hearing-impairedProfessor Calculus (French:Professeur Tournesol), incompetent detectivesThomson and Thompson (French:Dupont et Dupond), and the opera divaBianca Castafiore.
The series has been admired for its clean, expressive drawings in Hergé's signatureligne claire ("clear line") style.[4] Its well-researched[5] plots straddle a variety of genres: swashbuckling adventures with elements of fantasy, mysteries, political thrillers, and science fiction. The stories feature slapstick humour, offset by dashes of political or cultural commentary.
"The idea for the character of Tintin and the sort of adventures that would befall him came to me, I believe, in five minutes, the moment I first made a sketch of the figure of this hero: that is to say, he had not haunted my youth nor even my dreams. Although it's possible that as a child I imagined myself in the role of a sort of Tintin".
Georges Prosper Remi, best known under the pen nameHergé, was employed as an illustrator atLe Vingtième Siècle (The Twentieth Century), a staunchly Roman Catholic,conservative Belgian newspaper based in Hergé's nativeBrussels. Run by theAbbéNorbert Wallez, the paper described itself as a "Catholic Newspaper for Doctrine and Information" and disseminated a fascist viewpoint.[7] Wallez appointed Hergé editor of a new Thursday youth supplement, titledLe Petit Vingtième ("The Little Twentieth").[8] Propagating Wallez's sociopolitical views to its young readership, it contained explicitly pro-fascist andantisemitic sentiment.[9] In addition to editing the supplement, Hergé illustratedL'extraordinaire aventure de Flup, Nénesse, Poussette et Cochonnet (The Extraordinary Adventure of Flup, Nénesse, Poussette and Cochonnet),[10] a comic strip authored by a member of the newspaper's sport staff. Dissatisfied with this, Hergé wanted to write and draw his own cartoon strip.[11]
He already had experience creating comic strips. From July 1926, he had written a strip about a Boy Scout patrol leader titledLes Aventures de Totor C.P. des Hannetons (The Adventures of Totor, Scout Leader of the Cockchafers) for theScouting newspaperLe Boy Scout Belge (The Belgian Boy Scout).[11] Totor was a strong influence onTintin,[12] with Hergé describing the latter as being like Totor's younger brother.[6] Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier stated that graphically, Totor and Tintin were "virtually identical" except for the Scout uniform,[13] also noting many similarities between their respective adventures, particularly in the illustration style, the fast pace of the story, and the use of humour.[14] He was fascinated by new techniques in the medium such as the systematic use of speech bubbles—found in such American comics asGeorge McManus'Bringing up Father,George Herriman'sKrazy Kat, andRudolph Dirks'sKatzenjammer Kids, copies of which had been sent to him from Mexico by the paper's reporterLéon Degrelle.[15]
The front page of the 1 May 1930 edition ofLe Petit Vingtième, declaring "Tintin revient!" ("Tintin Returns!") from his adventure in the Soviet Union.[16]
Although Hergé wanted to send Tintin to the United States, Wallez ordered him to set his adventure in theSoviet Union, acting as antisocialist propaganda for children. The result,Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, was serialised inLe Petit Vingtième from January 1929 to May 1930.[17] Popular in Francophone Belgium, Wallez organised a publicity stunt at theParis Gare du Nord railway station, following which he organised the publication of the story in book form.[18] The story's popularity led to an increase in sales, so Wallez granted Hergé two assistants.[19] At Wallez's direction, in June he began serialisation of the second story,Tintin in the Congo, designed to encourage colonial sentiment towards theBelgian Congo. Authored in a paternalistic style that depicted the Congolese as childlike idiots, in later decades it was accused of racism, but at the time was uncontroversial and popular, and further publicity stunts were held to increase sales.[20]
For the third adventure,Tintin in America, serialised from September 1931 to October 1932, Hergé finally got to deal with a scenario of his own choice, and used the work to push an anti-capitalist, anti-consumerist agenda in keeping with the paper's ultraconservative ideology.[21]The Adventures of Tintin had beensyndicated to a Catholic magazine namedCœurs Vaillants (Brave Hearts) since 1930, and Hergé was soon receiving syndication requests from Swiss and Portuguese newspapers, too.[22]
Hergé wrote a string ofAdventures of Tintin, sending his character to real locations such as the Belgian Congo, United States,Egypt,India,Tibet,China, and theUnited Kingdom. He also sent Tintin to fictional countries of his own devising, such as the Latin American republic ofSan Theodoros, the East European kingdom ofSyldavia, or the fascist state ofBorduria—whose leader's name, Müsstler, was aportmanteau of the names of the Nazi German FührerAdolf Hitler and the Italian Fascist Prime MinisterBenito Mussolini.[23]
In May 1940,Nazi Germany invaded Belgium asWorld War II spread further across Europe. Although Hergé briefly fled to France and was considered a self-imposed exile, he ultimately decided to return to his occupied homeland.[24] For political reasons, the Nazi authorities closed downLe Vingtième Siècle, leaving Hergé unemployed.[25] In search of employment, he got a job as an illustrator at Belgium's leading newspaper,Le Soir (The Evening), which was allowed to continue publication under German management.[26] On 17 October 1940, he was made editor of the children's supplement,Le Soir Jeunesse, in which he set about producing new Tintin adventures.[27] In this new, more repressive political climate ofGerman-occupied Belgium, Hergé could no longer politicizeThe Adventures of Tintin lest he be arrested by theGestapo. AsHarry Thompson noted, Tintin's role as a reporter came to an end, to be replaced by his new role as an explorer.[28]
In September 1944, theAlliesentered Brussels and Hergé's German employers fled.Le Soir was shut down andThe Adventures of Tintin was put on hold.[29]Then in 1946, Hergé accepted an invitation from Belgian comic publisherRaymond Leblanc and his new publishing companyLe Lombard to continueThe Adventures of Tintin in the newLe journal de Tintin (Tintin magazine).[30]Hergé quickly learned that he no longer had the independence he preferred; he was required to produce two coloured pages a week for Leblanc's magazine, a tall order.[31]
In 1950, Hergé began to poach the better members of theTintin magazine staff to work in the large house on Avenue Louise that contained the fledglingStudios Hergé.[32]Bob De Moor (who imitated Hergé's style and did half the work),[32] Guy Dessicy (colourist), and Marcel DeHaye (secretary) were the nucleus. To this, Hergé addedJacques Martin (imitated Hergé's style),Roger Leloup (detailed, realistic drawings), Eugène Evany (later chief of the Studios),[30] Michel Demaret (letterer), and Baudouin Van Den Branden (secretary).[33]As Harry Thompson observed, the idea was to turn the process of creatingThe Adventures of Tintin into a "veritable production line, the artwork passing from person to person, everyone knowing their part, like an artistic orchestra with Hergé conducting".[34]The studios produced eight new Tintin albums forTintin magazine, and coloured and reformatted two old Tintin albums.Studios Hergé continued to release additional publications until Hergé's death in 1983. In 1986, a 24thunfinished album was released, the studios were disbanded, and the assets were transferred to theHergé Foundation.[35]
Tintin is a young Belgian reporter and adventurer who becomes involved in dangerous cases in which he takes heroic action to save the day. TheAdventures may feature Tintin hard at work in his investigative journalism, but seldom is he seen actually turning in a story.Readers and critics have described Tintin as a well-rounded yet open-ended, intelligent, and creative character, noting that his lack of backstory and neutral personality permits a reflection of the evil, folly, and foolhardiness which surrounds him. The character never compromises hisBoy Scout ideals, which represent Hergé's own, and his status allows the reader to assume his position within the story, rather than merely following the adventures of a strong protagonist.[36] Tintin's cartoonish representation against more realistic backgrounds enhances this aspect, withScott McCloud noting that it "allows readers to mask themselves in a character and safely enter a sensually stimulating world".[37]
Snowy (Milou in Hergé's original version), a whiteWire Fox Terrier dog, is Tintin's loyal companion. Like Captain Haddock, Snowy is fond ofLoch Lomond brandScotch whisky, and his occasional bouts of drinking tend to get him into unintentional trouble, as does his only fear: arachnids.
Captain Archibald Haddock (Capitaine Haddock in Hergé's original version) is aMerchant Marinesea captain and Tintin's best friend. Introduced inThe Crab with the Golden Claws, Haddock is initially depicted as a weak and alcoholic character, but later evolves to become genuinely heroic and even a socialite after he finds a treasure from his ancestor,Sir Francis Haddock (Chevalier François de Hadoque). The Captain's coarse humanity and sarcasm act as a counterpoint to Tintin's often-implausible heroism; he is always quick with a dry comment whenever the boy reporter seems too idealistic. The hot-tempered Haddock uses a range of colourful insults and curses to express his feelings, such as "billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles!" (Mille milliards de mille sabords!) or "ten thousand thundering typhoons!"
Professor Cuthbert Calculus (Professeur Tryphon Tournesol in Hergé's original version;tournesol is the French word for 'sunflower') is anabsent-minded andpartially deafphysicist and a regular character alongside Tintin, Snowy, and Captain Haddock. He was introduced inRed Rackham's Treasure, and based partially onAuguste Piccard, a Swiss physicist.[38]
Hergé's supporting characters have been cited as far more developed than the central character, each imbued with strength of character and depth of personality, which has been compared with that of the characters ofCharles Dickens.[40] Hergé used the supporting characters to create arealistic world[3] in which to set his protagonists' adventures. To further the realism and continuity, characters would recur throughout the series. The occupation of Belgium and the restrictions imposed upon Hergé forced him to focus on characterisation to avoid depicting troublesome political situations. As a result, the colourful supporting cast was developed during this period.[41]
Thomson and Thompson (Dupont et Dupond in Hergé's original version) are two incompetent detectives who look like identical twins, their only discernible difference being the shape of their moustaches.[42] First introduced inCigars of the Pharaoh, they provide much of thecomic relief throughout the series, being afflicted with chronicspoonerisms. They are extremely clumsy, thoroughly incompetent, and usually bent on arresting the wrong character. The detectives usually wear bowler hats and carry walking sticks except when sent abroad; during those missions they attempt thenational costume of the locality they are visiting, but instead dress in conspicuously stereotypical folkloric attire which makes them stand apart. The detectives were based partly on Hergé's father Alexis and uncle Léon, identical twins who often took walks together, wearing matching bowler hats while carrying matching walking sticks.
Bianca Castafiore is an opera singer of whom Haddock is terrified. She was first introduced inKing Ottokar's Sceptre and seems to appear wherever the protagonists travel, along with her maidIrma and pianistIgor Wagner. Although amiable and strong-willed, she is also comically foolish, whimsical, absent-minded, talkative, and seemingly unaware that her voice is shrill and appallingly loud. Her speciality is the Jewel Song (Ah! Je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir /Ah! My beauty past compare, these jewels bright I wear) fromGounod's operaFaust, which she sings at the least provocation. She is often maternal toward Haddock, of whose dislike she remains ignorant. She often confuses words, especially names, with other words that rhyme with them or of which they remind her; "Haddock" is frequently replaced bymalapropisms such as "Paddock", "Stopcock", or "Hopscotch", while Nestor, Haddock's butler, is confused with "Chestor" and "Hector". Her own name means "white and chaste flower": a meaning to which Professor Calculus once refers when he breeds a white rose and names it for the singer. She was based upon operadivas in general (according to Hergé's perception), Hergé's Aunt Ninie (who was known for her "shrill" singing of opera), and, in the post-war comics, onMaria Callas.[43]
Other recurring characters includeNestor the butler,Chang (or Chang-Chong-Chen) the loyal Chinese boy,Rastapopoulos the criminal mastermind,Jolyon Wagg the infuriating (to Haddock) insurance salesman,General Alcazar the South American freedom fighter and (on and off) President of San Theodoros,Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab the Arab emir, andAbdullah his mischievous son,Dr. Müller the evil German psychiatrist,Oliveira da Figueira the friendly Portuguese salesman,Cutts the butcher whose phone number is repeatedly confused with Haddock's, andAllan the henchman of Rastapopoulos and formerly Haddock's first mate.
The settings withinTintin have also added depth to the strips. Hergé mixes real and fictional lands into his stories. InKing Ottokar's Sceptre (revisited once more inThe Calculus Affair) Hergé creates two fictional countries,Syldavia andBorduria, and invites the reader to tour them in text through the insertion of a travel brochure into the storyline.[44] Other fictional lands includeKhemed on the Arabian Peninsula andSan Theodoros,São Rico, andNuevo Rico in South America, as well as the kingdom ofGaipajama in India.[45] Apart from these fictitious locations, Tintin also visits real places such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, Belgian Congo, Peru, India, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, Iceland, Nepal, Tibet, and China. Other actual locales used were the Sahara Desert, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Moon.
Fictional settings include:
Black Island, an island off the Scottish coast,The Black Island
/Borduria is the historical rival of Syldavia and attempts afascistannexation similar to the 1938Anschluss of Austria inKing Ottokar's Sceptre. Borduria is ruled by the military dictatorMarshal Kûrvi-Tasch, who oppresses his own people and attempts to influenceThird World conflicts by sending "military advisors" to countries such as San Theodoros.
Gran Chapo, after the South AmericanChaco region.The Broken Ear is set in a war inspired by the Chaco War.
San Theodoros inSouth America, a prototypicalbanana republic where US-based companies and Borduria (meant as an allusion to theUSSR orCuba) vie for power, with "advisors" of local generals. The capital is Los Dopicos, which is later renamed Tapiocapolis.
São Rico in South America. São Rico was added as a reference in a later versions ofThe Shooting Star. The original version had the villainous masterminds as stereotypical Jewish American puppet-masters; the later version darkens their skin tone and inserts São Rico as a reference.
Most of the events ofFlight 714 to Sydney take place on the island of Pulau-Pulau Bompa ("pulau-pulau" is Indonesian for "islands") involving people Hergé calls theSondonesians. Said to be undergoing a civil war or a war for independence and now rebels for hire, the people may be based on separatist fighters of theRepublic of South Maluku.[46] It was a self-proclaimed republic of seismically active islands in theMolucca Sea, whose residents fought for independence fromIndonesia in the 1950s and 1960s. The inclusion of Jakarta'sKemajoran Airport and the radio message fromMakassar just before the plane is hijacked suggests that the location is within the Indonesian archipelago. The Sondonesians' conversations in the album are in Indonesian Malay (Indonesian). TheProboscis monkey, which appears in the album, is exclusive toBorneo.
Hergé's extensive research began withThe Blue Lotus; Hergé said that "it was from that time that I undertook research and really interested myself in the people and countries to which I sent Tintin, out of a sense of responsibility to my readers".[49]
Hergé's use of research and photographic reference allowed him to build a realised universe for Tintin, going so far as to create fictionalised countries, dressing them with specific political cultures. These were heavily informed by the cultures evident in Hergé's lifetime. Pierre Skilling has asserted that Hergé saw monarchy as "the legitimate form of government", noting that democratic "values seem underrepresented in [such] a classic Franco-Belgian strip".[50] Syldavia in particular is described in considerable detail, Hergé creating a history, customs, and a language, which is actually a Slavic-looking transcript ofMarols, a working-class Brussels dialect. He set the country in theBalkans, and it is, by his own admission, modelled afterAlbania.[51] The country finds itself threatened by neighbouring Borduria, with an attempted annexation appearing inKing Ottokar's Sceptre. This situation parallels theItalian conquest of Albania, and that ofCzechoslovakia andAustria by expansionist Nazi Germany prior to World War II.[52]
Hergé's use of research would include months of preparation for Tintin's voyage to the Moon in the two-part storyline spread acrossDestination Moon andExplorers on the Moon. His research for the storyline was noted inNew Scientist: "The considerable research undertaken by Hergé enabled him to come very close to the type of space suit that would be used in futureMoon exploration, although his portrayal of the type of rocket that was actually used was a long way off the mark". The Moon rocket is based on the GermanV-2 rockets.[53]
In his youth, Hergé admiredBenjamin Rabier and suggested that a number of images withinTintin in the Land of the Soviets reflected his influence, particularly the pictures of animals.René Vincent, theArt Deco designer, also affected early Tintin adventures: "His influence can be detected at the beginning of theSoviets, where my drawings are designed along a decorative line, like an 'S'".[54] Hergé also readily adopted the image of round noses fromGeorge McManus, feeling they were "so much fun that I used them, without scruples!"[55]
During the extensive research Hergé carried out forThe Blue Lotus, he became influenced by Chinese and Japanese illustrative styles andwoodcuts. This is especially noticeable in the seascapes, which are reminiscent of works byHokusai andHiroshige.[56]
Hergé also declaredMark Twain an influence, although this admiration may have led him astray when depictingIncas as having no knowledge of an upcoming solar eclipse inPrisoners of the Sun, an error T. F. Mills attributed to an attempt to portray "Incas in awe of a latter-day 'Connecticut Yankee'".[57]
Tintin first appeared in English in the weekly British children's comicEagle in 1951 with the storyKing Ottokar's Sceptre.[a][58] It was translated in conjunction withCasterman, Tintin's publishers, and starts by describing Tintin as "a French boy". Snowy was called by his French nameMilou.[59]
The process of translating Tintin intoBritish English was then commissioned in 1958 byMethuen, Hergé's British publishers. It was a joint operation, headed by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner,[60] who worked closely with Hergé to attain a translation as true as possible to the original work.[61] Due in part to the large amount of language-specificword play (such as punning) in the series, especially the jokes which played onProfessor Calculus' partial deafness, it was never the intention to translate literally; instead they strove to fashion a work whose idioms and jokes would be meritorious in their own right. Despite the free hand Hergé afforded the two, they worked closely with the original text, asking for regular assistance to understand Hergé's intentions.[61]
The British translations were also Anglicised to appeal to British customs and values. Milou, for example, was renamed Snowy at the translators' discretion. Captain Haddock'sLe château de Moulinsart was renamed Marlinspike Hall.[62]
When it came time to translateThe Black Island, which is set inGreat Britain, the opportunity was taken to redraw the entire book. Methuen had decided that the book did not portray Great Britain accurately enough and had compiled a list of 131 errors of detail which needed to be put right, such as ensuring that the British police were unarmed and ensuring that scenes of the Britishcountryside would be acceptable to British readers.[61] The resulting 1966 album is the dramatically updated and redrawn version most commonly available today.[63] As of the early 21st century,[update]Egmont publishes Tintin books in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.[64]
TheTintin books have had relatively limited popularity in the United States.[65]
The works were first adapted for theAmerican English market byGolden Books, a branch of theWestern Publishing Company in the 1950s. The albums were translated from French into American English with some artwork panels blanked except for the speech balloons. This was done to remove content considered to be inappropriate for children, such as drunkenness and free mixing of races.[66] The albums were not popular and only six were published in mixed order.[67] The edited albums later had their blanked areas redrawn by Hergé to be more acceptable, and they currently appear this way in published editions around the world.[67]
From 1966 to 1979,Children's Digest included monthly instalments ofThe Adventures of Tintin. These serialisations served to increase Tintin's popularity, introducing him to many thousands of new readers in the United States.[b][67]
Atlantic Monthly Press, in cooperation withLittle, Brown and Company beginning in the 1970s, republished the albums based on the British translations. Alterations were made to vocabulary not well known to an American audience (such asgaol,tyre,saloon, andspanner). As of the early 21st century,[update] Little, Brown and Company (owned by theHachette Book Group USA) continues to publish Tintin books in the United States.[68]
Moulinsart's official Tintin app inApple'sApp Store, launched with the release of the digital version ofTintin in the Congo on 5 June 2015, features brand new English language translations by journalist, writer and Tintin expertMichael Farr.[69]
The English-languageAdventures of Tintin books were originally published with handwritten lettering created by cartographer Neil Hyslop.[70] 1958'sThe Crab with the Golden Claws was the first to be published with Hyslop's lettering. Hyslop was given versions of Hergé's artwork with blank panels.[70] Hyslop would write his English script on a clearcellophane-like material, aiming to fit within the original speech bubble.[70] Occasionally the size of the bubbles would need to be adjusted if the translated text would not fit.[70] In the early 2000s, Tintin's English publishersEgmont discontinued publishing books featuring Hyslop's handwritten lettering, instead publishing books with text created with digital fonts. This change was instigated by publisherCasterman and Hergé's estate managersMoulinsart, who decided to replace localised hand-lettering with a single computerised font for all Tintin titles worldwide.[71]
On 1 June 2006, theDalai Lama bestowed theInternational Campaign for Tibet'sLight of Truth Award upon the Hergé Foundation, along with South African ArchbishopDesmond Tutu.[72] The award was in recognition of Hergé's bookTintin in Tibet, Hergé's most personal adventure,[73] which the executive director of ICT Europe Tsering Jampa noted was "for many ... their introduction to the awe-inspiring landscape and culture of Tibet".[74] In 2001, the Hergé Foundation demanded the recall of the Chinese translation of the work, which had been released with the titleTintin in Chinese Tibet. The work was subsequently published with the correct translation of the title.[75] Accepting on behalf of the Hergé Foundation, Hergé's widow Fanny Rodwell said: "We never thought that this story of friendship would have a resonance more than 40 years later".[72]
The study of Tintin, sometimes referred to as "Tintinology", has become the life work of some literary critics in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom.[76] Belgian authorPhilippe Goddin has writtenHergé et Tintin reporters: Du Petit Vingtième au Journal Tintin (1986, later republished in English asHergé and Tintin Reporters: From "Le Petit Vingtième" to "Tintin" Magazine in 1987) andHergé et les Bigotudos (1993) amongst other books on the series. In 1983, French authorBenoît Peeters releasedLe Monde d'Hergé, subsequently published in English asTintin and the World of Hergé in 1988.[77] English reporterMichael Farr has written works such asTintin, 60 Years of Adventure (1989),Tintin: The Complete Companion (2001),[78]Tintin & Co. (2007)[79] andThe Adventures of Hergé (2007),[80] while English television producerHarry Thompson authoredTintin: Hergé and his Creation (1991).[81]
Literary critics, primarily in French-speaking Europe, have also examinedThe Adventures of Tintin. In 1984,Jean-Marie Apostolidès published his study of theAdventures of Tintin from a more "adult" perspective asLes Métamorphoses de Tintin, published in English asThe Metamorphoses of Tintin, or Tintin for Adults in 2010.[82] In reviewing Apostolidès' book, Nathan Perl-Rosenthal ofThe New Republic thought that it was "not for the faint of heart: it is densely-packed with close textual analysis and laden with psychological jargon".[83] Following Apostolidès's work, French psychoanalyst Serge Tisseron examined the series in his booksTintin et les Secrets de Famille ("Tintin and the Family Secrets"), which was published in 1990,[84] andTintin et le Secret d'Hergé ("Tintin and Hergé's Secret"), published in 1993.[85]
The first English-language work of literary criticism devoted to the series wasTintin and the Secret of Literature, written by the novelistTom McCarthy and published in 2006. McCarthy compares Hergé's work with that ofAeschylus,Honoré de Balzac,Joseph Conrad, andHenry James and argues that the series contains the key to understanding literature itself.[86] McCarthy considered theAdventures of Tintin to be "stupendously rich",[40] containing "a mastery of plot and symbol, theme and sub-text"[87] which, influenced by Tisseron's psychoanalytical readings of the work, he believed could be deciphered to reveal a series of recurring themes, ranging frombartering[88] to implicit sexual intercourse[89] that Hergé had featured throughout the series. Reviewing the book inThe Telegraph, Toby Clements argued that McCarthy's work, and literary criticism of Hergé's comic strips in general, cut "perilously close" to simply feeding "the appetite of those willing to cross the line between enthusiast and obsessive" in the Tintinological community.[90]
The earlyAdventures of Tintin depicted controversial images, which Hergé later described as "a transgression of my youth". In 1975, he substituted this sequence with one in which the rhino accidentally discharges Tintin's rifle.[91]The character ofMr. Bohlwinkel has been criticised as a negativeJewish stereotype.
The earliest stories inThe Adventures of Tintin have been criticised[92] for animal cruelty;colonialism; violence; andethnocentric, caricatured portrayals of non-Europeans.[93] While the Hergé Foundation has presented such criticism as naïveté and scholars of Hergé such as Harry Thompson have said that "Hergé did what he was told by the Abbé Wallez",[94] Hergé himself felt that his background made it impossible to avoid prejudice, stating: "I was fed the prejudices of thebourgeois society that surrounded me".[55]
InTintin in the Land of the Soviets, theBolsheviks were presented as villains. Hergé drew onMoscow Unveiled, a work given to him by Wallez and authored byJoseph Douillet, the former Belgian consul in Russia, that is highly critical of the Soviet regime, although Hergé contextualised this by noting that in Belgium, at the time a devout Catholic nation, "anything Bolshevik wasatheist".[55] In the story, Bolshevik leaders are motivated by personal greed and a desire to deceive the world. Tintin discovers, buried, "the hideout whereLenin,Trotsky, andStalin have collected together wealth stolen from the people". In 1999, the issue of Tintin's politics was the subject of a debate in the French parliament;[95] this event prompted the British weekly newspaperThe Economist to publish an editorial on the matter.[96]
Tintin in the Congo has been criticised as presenting the Africans as naïve and primitive.[97] In the original work, Tintin is shown at a blackboard addressing a class of African children: "My dear friends. I am going to talk to you today about your fatherland: Belgium".[c] Hergé redrew this in 1946 to show a lesson in mathematics.[98] Hergé later admitted the flaws in the original story, excusing it saying: "I portrayed these Africans according to ... this purely paternalistic spirit of the time".[55] Sue Buswell, who was the editor of Tintin at Methuen, summarised the perceived problems with the book in 1988 as "all to do with rubbery lips and heaps of dead animals",[d] although Thompson noted her quote may have been "taken out of context".[99]
Drawing onAndré Maurois'Les Silences du colonel Bramble, Hergé presents Tintin as abig-game hunter, accidentally killing fifteenantelope as opposed to the one needed for the evening meal. However, concerns over the number of dead animals ledTintin's Scandinavian publishers to request changes. A page of Tintin killing arhinoceros by drilling a hole in its back and inserting a stick of dynamite was deemed excessive; Hergé replaced the page with one in which the rhino accidentally discharges Tintin's rifle while he sleeps under a tree.[91] In 2007, the UK'sCommission for Racial Equality called for the book to be pulled from shelves after a complaint, stating: "It beggars belief that in this day and ageBorders would think it acceptable to sell and display Tintin in the Congo."[100] In August 2007, a Congolese student filed a complaint in Brussels that the book was an insult to the Congolese people. Public prosecutors investigated, and a criminal case was initiated, although the matter was transferred to a civil court.[101] Belgium's Centre for Equal Opportunities warned against "over-reaction and hyperpolitical correctness".[102]
Hergé altered some of the early albums in subsequent editions, usually at the demand of publishers. For example, at the instigation of his American publishers, many of the African characters inTintin in America were re-coloured to make their raceCaucasian or ambiguous.[103]The Shooting Star originally had an American villain with the Jewish surname of "Blumenstein".[104] This proved controversial, as the character exhibited exaggerated,stereotypically Jewish characteristics. "Blumenstein" was changed to an American with a less ethnically specific name,Mr. Bohlwinkel, in later editions and subsequently to a South American of afictional country São Rico. Hergé later discovered that 'Bohlwinkel' was also a Jewish name.[52] In recent years, even Tintin's politics of peace have been investigated.[105]
The Adventures of Tintin has been adapted in a variety of media besides the original comic strip and its collections. Hergé encouraged adaptations and members of his studio working on the animated films. After Hergé's death in 1983, the Hergé Foundation andMoulinsart, the foundation's commercial and copyright wing, became responsible for authorising adaptations and exhibitions.[106]
Two animated television adaptations and one radio adaptation have been made.
Hergé's Adventures of Tintin (Les aventures de Tintin d'après Hergé) (1957) was the first production ofBelvision Studios.[107] Ten of Hergé's books were adapted, eachserialised into a set of five-minute episodes, with 103 episodes produced.[e] The series was directed byRay Goossens and written by Belgian comic artistGreg, later editor-in-chief ofTintin magazine, and produced byRaymond Leblanc.[f] Most stories in the series varied widely from the original books, often changing whole plots.[107]
The Adventures of Tintin (Les aventures de Tintin) (1991–92) was the more successfulTintin television series. An adaptation of twenty-oneTintin books,[g][108] it was directed by Stéphane Bernasconi and was produced byEllipse (France) and CanadianNelvana on behalf of the Hergé Foundation. The series adhered closely to the albums to such an extent that panels from the original were often transposed directly to the screen.[108] The series aired in over fifty countries and was released on DVD. It aired in the US onHBO.[109]
TheAdventures of Tintin were also released asradio dramas onLP andcompact cassette recordings in French language versions in Belgium, France and Canada, German language versions in Germany, Swedish language versions in Sweden, Danish language versions in Denmark and Norwegian language versions in Norway.[110]
Five feature-lengthTintin films were made before Hergé's death in 1983 and one more in 2011.
The Crab with the Golden Claws (Le crabe aux pinces d'or) (1947) was the first successful attempt to adapt one of the comics into a feature film. Written and directed by Claude Misonne and João B Michiels, the film was a stop-motion puppet production created by a small Belgian studio.[111]
Tintin and the Golden Fleece (Tintin et le mystère de la Toison d'Or) (1961), the first live-actionTintin film, was adapted not from one of Hergé'sAdventures of Tintin but instead from an original script written by André Barret and Rémo Forlani.[112] Directed by Jean-Jacques Vierne and starringJean-Pierre Talbot as Tintin andGeorges Wilson as Haddock, the plot involves Tintin travelling to Istanbul to collect theGolden Fleece, a ship left to Haddock in the will of his friend, Themistocle Paparanic. Whilst in the city however, Tintin and Haddock discover that a group of villains also want possession of the ship, believing that it would lead them to a hidden treasure.[112]
Tintin and the Blue Oranges (Tintin et les oranges bleues) (1964), the second live actionTintin film, was released due to the success of the first. Again based upon an original script, once more by André Barret, it was directed by Philippe Condroyer and starred Talbot as Tintin andJean Bouise as Haddock.[113] The plot reveals a new invention, the blue orange, that can grow in the desert and solve world famines, devised by Calculus' friend, the Spanish Professor Zalamea. An emir whose interests are threatened by the invention of the blue orange proceeds to kidnap both Zalamea and Calculus, and Tintin and Haddock travel to Spain in order to rescue them.[113]
Tintin and the Temple of the Sun (Tintin et le temple du soleil) (1969), the firsttraditional animationTintin film, was adapted from two of Hergé'sAdventures of Tintin:The Seven Crystal Balls andPrisoners of the Sun. The first full-length, animated film from Raymond Leblanc's Belvision, which had recently completed its television series based upon the Tintin stories; it was directed by Eddie Lateste and featured a musical score by the critically acclaimed composerFrançois Rauber. The adaptation is mostly faithful, although theSeven Crystal Balls portion of the story was heavily condensed.[113]
Tintin and the Lake of Sharks (Tintin et le lac aux requins) (1972), the second traditional animationTintin film and the last Tintin release for nearly 40 years, it was based on an original script byGreg and directed by Raymond Leblanc.[114] Belvision's second feature takes Tintin to Syldavia to outwit his old foe Rastapopoulos. While the look of the film is richer, the story is less convincing.[115] The movie was subsequently adapted into a comic album made up of stills from the film.[116]
I, Tintin (Moi, Tintin, 1976) was produced by Belvision Studios and Pierre Film.[118]
Tintin and I (Tintin et moi, 2003), a documentary film directed by Anders Høgsbro Østergaard and co-produced by companies from Denmark, Belgium, France, and Switzerland, was based on a taped interview with Hergé byNuma Sadoul from 1971. Although the interview was published as a book, Hergé was allowed to edit the work prior to publishing and much of the interview was excised.[119] Years after Hergé's death, the filmmaker returned to the original tapes and restored Hergé's often personal, insightful thoughts—and in the process brought viewers closer to the world of Tintin and Hergé.[118] It was broadcast in the US on thePBS network on 11 July 2006.[120]
Sur les traces de Tintin (On the trail of Tintin, 2010) was a five-part documentary television series which recaps several albums of the book series by combining comic panels (motionless orotherwise) with live-action imagery, with commentary provided.
Tintin and the Black Island at theArts Theatre in theWest End of London, by the Unicorn Theatre Company, in 1980–81[121]
Hergé himself helped to create twostage plays, collaborating with humouristJacques Van Melkebeke.Tintin in the Indies: The Mystery of the Blue Diamond (1941) covers much of the second half ofCigars of the Pharaoh as Tintin attempts to rescue a stolen blue diamond.Mr. Boullock's Disappearance (1941–1942) has Tintin, Snowy, and Thomson and Thompson travel around the world and back to Brussels again to unmask an impostor trying to lay claim to a missing millionaire's fortune. The plays were performed at theThéâtre Royal des Galeries in Brussels. The scripts of the plays are lost.[122]
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, two Tintin plays were produced at theArts Theatre in theWest End of London, adapted by Geoffrey Case for the Unicorn Theatre Company. These wereTintin's Great American Adventure, based on the comicTintin in America (1976–1977) andTintin and the Black Island, based onThe Black Island (1980–81); this second play later toured.[h][121]
TheYoung Vic theatre company in London ranHergé's Adventures of Tintin, a musical version ofTintin in Tibet, at theBarbican Arts Centre (2005–2006); the production was directed by Rufus Norris and was adapted by Norris andDavid Greig.[124] The show was successfully revived at thePlayhouse Theatre in the West End of London before touring (2006–2007)[125] to celebrate the centenary of Hergé's birth in 2007.[1]
Images from the series have long beenlicensed for use onmerchandise, the success ofTintin magazine helping to create a market for such items. Tintin's image has been used to sell a wide variety of products, from alarm clocks to underpants. Countless separate items related to the character have been available, with some becomingcollectors' items in their own right.[134]
The Hergé Foundation has maintained control of the licenses, through Moulinsart (now Tintin Imaginatio),[135] the commercial wing of the foundation. Speaking in 2002, Peter Horemans, the then director general at Moulinsart, noted this control: "We have to be very protective of the property. We don't take lightly any potential partners and we have to be very selective ... for him to continue to be as popular as he is, great care needs to be taken of his use".[136] However, the Foundation has been criticised by scholars as "trivialising the work of Hergé by concentrating on the more lucrative merchandising" in the wake of a move in the late 1990s to charge them for using relevant images to illustrate their papers on the series.[137]
Tintinmemorabilia and merchandise has allowed a chain of stores based solely on the character to become viable. The first shop was launched in 1984 inCovent Garden, London.[133] Tintin shops have also opened in bothBruges and Brussels in Belgium, and inMontpellier, France. In 2014, a Tintin shop opened in Taguig, the Philippines, only the second of its kind in Southeast Asia. The first Tintin shop in Southeast Asia opened in Singapore in 2010.[138]The British bookstore chain,Ottakar's, founded in 1987, was named after the character of King Ottokar from the Tintin bookKing Ottokar's Sceptre, and their shops stocked a large amount of Tintin merchandise until their takeover byWaterstone's in 2006.[139]
Belgian Post's series of postage stamps "Tintin on screen" issued 30 August 2011 featuring a chronological review ofTintin film adaptations made through the years.[140]
Tintin's image has been used onpostage stamps on numerous occasions.The firstTintin postage stamp was an eight-franc stamp issued byBelgian Post for the 50th anniversary of the publication of Tintin's first adventure on 29 September 1979, featuring Tintin and Snowy looking through a magnifying glass at several stamps.[141]In 1999, a nine-stamp block celebrating ten years of theBelgian Comic Strip Center was issued, with the center stamp a photo of Tintin's famous Moon rocket that dominates the Comic Strip Center's entry hall.[140]To mark the end of the Belgian Franc and to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the publication ofTintin in the Congo, two more stamps were issued by Belgian Post on 31 December 2001: Tintin in apith helmet and a souvenir sheet with a single stamp in the center. The stamps were jointly issued in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.[140]In 2004, Belgian Post celebrated its own seventy-fifth anniversary, as well as the fiftieth anniversary of the publication ofExplorers on the Moon, and the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Moon landings with a souvenir sheet of five stamps based upon theExplorers on the Moon adventure.[142]To celebrate the centenary of Hergé's birth in 2007,[1] Belgian Post issued a sheet of 25 stamps depicting the album covers of all 24Adventures of Tintin (in 24 languages) plus Hergé's portrait in the center.[140]A souvenir sheet of ten stamps called "Tintin on screen", issued 30 August 2011, depicts theTintin film and television adaptations.[i][140]
Tintin has also beencommemorated by coin several times.In 1995, theMonnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) issued a set of twelve goldmedallions, available in a limited edition of 5000.[143]A silver medallion was minted in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Tintin bookExplorers on the Moon, again in a limited run, this time of 10,000. It quickly sold out.[144]In 2004, Belgium minted a limited edition commemorativeeuro coin featuring Tintin and Snowy celebrating the 75th anniversary of Tintin's first adventure in January 2004.[145] Although it has a face value of €10, it is, as with other commemorative euro coins, legal tender only in the country in which it was issued—in this case, Belgium.[145]In 2006–2012 France issued the Comic Strip Heroes commemorative coin series featuring famousFranco-Belgian comics, beginning in 2006 withTintin.[146]It was a set of six different euro coins honouring Hergé: three 1½-euro silver coins featuring Tintin and the Professor, Tintin and Captain Haddock, and Tintin and Chang; a €10 (gold) featuring Tintin; and a €20 (silver) and a €50 (gold) featuring Tintin and Snowy.[146] In 2007, on Hergé's centenary, Belgium issued its €20 (silver) Hergé/Tintin coin.[147]
During Hergé's lifetime,parodies were produced of theAdventures of Tintin, with one of the earliest appearing in Belgian newspaperLa Patrie after the liberation of the country from Nazi German occupation in September 1944. EntitledTintin au pays de nazis ("Tintin in the Land of the Nazis"), the short and crudely drawn strip lampoons Hergé for working for a Nazi-run newspaper during the occupation.[149]
Following Hergé's death, hundreds more unofficial parodies andpastiches of theAdventures of Tintin were produced, covering a wide variety of different genres.[148] Tom McCarthy divided such works into three specific groupings: pornographic, political, and artistic.[150] In a number of cases, the actual name "Tintin" is replaced by something similar, like Nitnit, Timtim, or Quinquin, within these books.[148]
McCarthy's first group, pornographic parodies, includes 1976'sTintin en Suisse ("Tintin in Switzerland") and Jan Bucquoy's 1992 workLa Vie Sexuelle de Tintin ("Tintin's Sex Life"), featuring Tintin and the other characters engaged in sexual acts.[151] Another such example wasTintin in Thailand, in which Tintin, Haddock, and Calculus travel to the East Asian country for asex holiday. The book began circulating in December 1999, but in 2001, Belgian police arrested those responsible and confiscated 650 copies for copyright violation.[152]
Other parodies have been produced for political reasons: for instance,Tintin in Iraq lampoons the world politics of the early 21st century, with Hergé's character General Alcazar representing President of the United StatesGeorge W. Bush.[148] Written by the pseudonymous Jack Daniels,Breaking Free (1989) is arevolutionary socialist comic set in Britain during the 1980s, with Tintin and his uncle (modelled after Captain Haddock) being working class Englishmen who turn to socialism in order to oppose the capitalist policies of theConservative Party government ofMargaret Thatcher. When first published in Britain, it caused an outrage in the mainstream press, with one paper issuing the headline that "Commie nutters turn Tintin into picket yob!"[148]
Other comic creators have chosen to create artistic stories that are more likefan fiction than parody. The Swiss artist Exem created the irreverent comic adventures of Zinzin, whatThe Guardian calls "the most beautifully produced of the pastiches."[148] Similarly, Canadian cartoonistYves Rodier has produced a number of Tintin works, none of which have been authorised by the Hergé Foundation, including a 1986 "completion" of the unfinishedTintin and Alph-art, which he drew in Hergé'sligne claire style.[148]
The response to these parodies has been mixed in the Tintinological community. Many despise them, seeing them as an affront to Hergé's work.[148] Nick Rodwell of the Hergé Foundation took this view, declaring that "none of these copyists count as true fans of Hergé. If they were, they would respect his wishes that no one but him draw Tintin's adventures".[148] Where possible, the foundation has taken legal action against those known to be producing such items. Others have taken a different attitude, considering such parodies and pastiches to be tributes to Hergé, and collecting them has become a "niche specialty".[148]
As of 1 January 2025, Tintin and other characters appearing in the 1929 comic strips have entered thepublic domain in theUnited States,[153] but not in Hergé's nativeBelgium, which will be in 2054. The French artist Fabrice Sapolsky has announced his plans for a 1929 Tintin reboot.[154]
Scenes from the albumRed Rackham's Treasure are being used to illustrate the concept ofunderwater diving in this exhibition, located in the corridors of the Blocry Sports Centre inLouvain-la-Neuve.Hergé art exhibition at theCentre Georges Pompidou modern art museum in Paris, commemorating the centenary of Hergé's birth in 2007.[156]
After Hergé's death in 1983, his art began to be honoured atexhibitions around the world, keepingTintin awareness at a high level.The first majorTintin exhibition in London wasTintin: 60 years of Adventure, held in 1989 at the Town Hall in Chelsea. This early exhibition displayed many of Hergé's original sketches and inks, as well as some originalgouaches.[157]In 2001, an exhibition entitledMille Sabords! ("Billions of Blistering Barnacles!") was shown at theMusée national de la Marine in Paris.[158]In 2002, theBunkamura Museum of Art in Tokyo staged an exhibition of original Hergé drawings as well as of the submarine and rocket ship invented in the strips by Professor Calculus.[159]TheNational Maritime Museum inGreenwich, London, hosted the exhibitionThe Adventures of Tintin at Sea in 2004, focusing on Tintin's sea exploits, and in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the publication of Tintin's first adventure.[160]2004 also saw an exhibition in theHalles Saint-Géry/Sint-Gorikshallen in Brussels titledTintin et la ville ("Tintin and the City") showcasing all cities in the world Tintin had travelled.[161]
The Belgian Comic Strip Center in the Brussels business district added exhibits dedicated to Hergé in 2004.[162]TheBrussels' Comic Book Route in the center of Brussels added its firstTintinmural in July 2005.[163]
The centenary of Hergé's birth in 2007[1] was commemorated at the largest museum for modern art in Europe, theCentre Georges Pompidou in Paris, withHergé, an art exhibition honouring his work. The exhibition, which ran from 20 December 2006 until 19 February 2007, featured some 300 of Hergé's boards and original drawings, including all 124 original plates ofThe Blue Lotus.[156]Laurent le Bon, organiser of the exhibit said: "It was important for the Centre to show the work of Hergé next to that ofMatisse orPicasso".[164] Michael Farr claimed: "Hergé has long been seen as a father figure in the comics world. If he's now recognised as a modern artist, that's very important".[165]
2009 saw the opening of the Hergé Museum (Musée Hergé), designed in contemporary style, in the town ofLouvain-la-Neuve, south of Brussels.[166] Visitors follow a sequence of eight permanent exhibit rooms covering the entire range of Hergé's work, showcasing the world of Tintin and his other creations.[167] In addition, the new museum has already seen many temporary exhibits, includingInto Tibet With Tintin.[168]
In the wider art world, bothAndy Warhol andRoy Lichtenstein have claimed Hergé as one of their most important influences.[172] Lichtenstein made paintings based on fragments fromTintin comics, whilst Warhol usedligne claire and even made a series of paintings with Hergé as the subject. Warhol, who admired Tintin's "great political and satirical dimensions",[172] said, "Hergé has influenced my work in the same way asWalt Disney. For me, Hergé was more than a comic strip artist".[173]
Hergé has been lauded as "creating in art a powerful graphic record of the 20th century's tortured history" through his work on Tintin,[120] whilstMaurice Horn'sWorld Encyclopedia of Comics declares him to have "spear-headed the post-World War II renaissance of European comic art".[174] French philosopherMichel Serres noted that the twenty-three completed Tintin albums constituted a "chef-d'oeuvre" ("masterpiece") to which "the work of no French novelist is comparable in importance or greatness".[175]
In 1966,Charles de Gaulle said: "Basically, you know, my only international rival is Tintin! We are the little ones who don't let themselves be fooled by the big ones".[176][j]
The following are the twenty-four canonicalTintin comic albums, with their English titles. Publication dates are for the original French-language versions.
Hergé attempted and then abandonedLe Thermozéro (1958). Outside theTintin series, a 48-page comic album supervised (but not written) by Hergé,Tintin and the Lake of Sharks, was released in 1972; it was based on the filmTintin et le lac aux requins.
^Tintin first appeared inEagle Vol 2:17 (3 August), which ran in weekly parts in the lower half of the centerfold, beneath the cutaway drawings, until Vol 3:4 (2 May 1952).
^At that time,Children's Digest had a circulation of around 700,000 copies monthly.
^"Mes chers amis, je vais vous parler aujourd'hui de votre patrie: La Belgique."
^"Dead animals" refers to the fashion for big-game hunting at the time of the work's original publication.
^Two series were created. Series 1: Two books, twelve episodes, were adapted in black and white as a test of the studio's abilities; these were actually faithful to the original albums. Series 2: Eight books, 91 episodes, were adapted in colour; these were often unfaithful to the original albums. The animation quality of the series was very limited.[107]
^Belvision had just been launched byRaymond Leblanc, who had createdTintin magazine a decade earlier.
^The series ran for three seasons, 13 episodes each season; the 21 stories usually presented in two-part segments.
^Geoffrey Case (adapted), Tony Wredden (directed):Tintin's Great American Adventure, Arts Theatre, London, 18 December 1976 to 20 February 1977, Unicorn Theatre Company.Tintin and the Black Island, Arts Theatre, London, 1980–81, Unicorn Theatre Company.
^"Tintin on screen" depicts bothTintin television programs and four of the fiveTintin film adaptations (Lake of Sharks was omitted).
^"Au fond, vous savez, mon seul rival international c'est Tintin! Nous sommes les petits qui ne se laissent pas avoir par les grands." Spoken by Charles de Gaulle, according to his Minister for Cultural AffairsAndré Malraux. De Gaulle had justbanned all NATO aircraft bases from France; "the great ones" referred to USA and USSR. De Gaulle then added, "On ne s'en apperçoit pas, à cause de ma taille." ("Only nobody notices the likeness because of my size".)[176]
^The original serialization appeared in the Belgian newspaperLe Vingtième Siècle between 25 September 1939 and 8 May 1940, when it was interrupted due to the shutdown of the newspaper by the German occupation.
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