Created
by Hergé in 1929, Tintin remains one of the great international comic strips of
all time. The Belgian Hergé (real name Georges Rémi (1907-1983)) is among the well known
and influential European artists of all times. The books show Tintin as a teenage
reporter who travels the world in search of adventure with his faithful fox-terrier Snowy.
Along the way, Tintin meets and befriends the rum-guzzling Captain Haddock and the
absent-minded Professor Calculus, and comes to stay at the beautiful Marlinspike estate
owned by the Captain.
There are many things that I can mention that I like about the Tintin comics. Not the least of which is the action and comedy which Hergé infused these tales. Some of the earlier books, you will find are dryer and have more adventure than funny moments. Personally, I think the books became great after the introduction of Captain Haddock. I cannot remember the first time I read a Tintin comic book, I do recall my father reading it to my brother and I. We were especially tickled by the antics of the duo Thompson and Thomson, detectives extraordinaire. Those two bumbling nitwits were a never ending source of merriment to us brothers. In fact, all the recurring characters that Herge created in the books were memorable, Professor Calculus, Thompson, Thomson, Snowy and ofcourse Captain Haddock and Tintin. Then there were the hilarious lesser characters like the butler Nestor, the insurance salesman Jollyon Wagg, the nightengale of Milan/opera legend Bianca Castafiore, the rascally Rastapopoulos are equally engaging.
I own the set of 21 Tintin books which include all but the earlier works. These are the hard to get books Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in Congo. These are the first two books in which Tintin appeared. The character Tintin, however, for the very first time appeared in the magazine Le Petit Vingtième on 10th January 1929. Accompanied by Snowy, the young reporter boards the train for Moscow. From that small beginning, Tintin books have gone on to achieve international acclaim, sell millions of copies and be translated into 40 languages. But of all the languages, to me, Captain Haddock's language is the most floral (or florid, if I may say). Captain Haddock was first introduced in The Crab with Golden Claws. In that book Captain was the shadow of the man he will become in later books. Even then Hergé drew him as a passionate old salt with a penchant to giving severe tongue lashing to anyone that crossed him. I have compiled a list of nearly all the choice words used by the Captain together with their meaning here.
Hergé wrote Tintin stories throughout his life, creating a comic epic of twentieth century life from the thirties to the seventies that covers subjects as diverse as archaeology and space travel and politics and technology. Charles de Gaulle once said, "Tintin is my only international rival." Andy Warhol was greatly influenced by Hergé, as was Steven Spielberg. A whole generation of European comic artists grew up with Hergé, who is referred to in Europe as the "Father of la bande desinee." Hergé died in March, 1983. Before his death, Hergé stipulated that no one else draw Tintin, that Tintin not go on any more adventures. The unfinished "Tintin and Alph-Art" was published posthumously.
I have devoted one more page to Tintin books and that has a brief on the main characters in the books.
| Haddock'isms |
 created by Hemu |
